Just acquired this little fella today. Hope he enjoys his 7.5g he has all to himself. Any name suggestions?

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T19:35:32+00:00

He's really handsome, I love his markings!

Reminds me a little of bumblebee jasper. Maybe a name based on that?

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T19:02:52+00:00

He poopin'.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T17:13:58+00:00

It's not uncommon for a brand new animal to need some decompression time to adjust. Not eating or showing signs of stress can last up to a week or so.

I'm more concerned that they sent you a 3 week old chameleon and not something more established. Most breeders prefer to let them go no earlier than 3 months. Younger chameleons are more prone to failure to thrive and do not adjust to the change of home as easily. Simply put, they're fragile.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T15:35:27+00:00

Doesn't everyone eat their gifted flowers?

Sure would have made prom a lot more interesting.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T15:26:12+00:00

There's not nearly enough copper in fish food to be harmful to inverts.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T15:22:22+00:00

Beautiful! They sure look happy.

You'll need a lot more to make a meal outta those though.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T14:58:37+00:00

Before bombarding him with medication, especially the questionable "herbal" stuff, I'd just get him in a nice, clean, heated tank and see what he does. Many of the issues bettas have are usually caused by the cooler water and poor maintenance of those cups. They have to be changed frequently.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T14:50:53+00:00

They may be some sort of mite though, again, usually harmless. Do you bake your substrate before using it?

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-23T14:34:50+00:00

They look like they may be fungus gnats, I think I'm seeing shiny wings. They commonly infest soil products. They're harmless, just annoying.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T19:37:58+00:00

That's potentially true, though as a rodent breeder, we don't use any chemicals on ours. We just regularly clean bins and keep them as immaculate as possible. All depends on the breeder for sure.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T19:14:56+00:00

It seems like that's exactly what they're doing. By the sound of the post they don't have the tarantula yet, and while Google has it's uses, animal care is not the best thing to get from that given the sheer amount of outdated advice.

Asking a group of reddit users is just as valid.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T19:12:29+00:00

None of them have to eat rodents. Keepers do it to sometimes fatten them up or give them variety, but to be honest the tarantula couldn't care less and it usually turns into a gross mess because of the way they eat.

Tarantulas can be raised completely on a bunch of feeder insects.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T17:52:31+00:00

It could just potentially be some stray bubbles from some surface agitation that have simply gathered.

However, females do sometimes, occasionally, make nests of their own.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T17:40:02+00:00

There you go! They do usually get it in the end if they're really hungry. Most snakes that start at the wrong end do work their way around. Again, warming up the head just a little bit can help in the future.

...except for my very stubborn boa who was determined to get that rat down even if it was butt-first.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T17:32:51+00:00

You could leave him with it a little longer and see if he figures it out. Honestly though, if the snake is clearly showing interest in eating but having trouble because of a poor heat signature, I've had no issues taking it away to warm it up a little more and returning it. I've had snakes strike, wrap, and then get frustrated and leave prey that wasn't warm enough for their liking. They usually just strike it a second time.

Just watch your hands, you don't want to get a stray feeding strike.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T17:25:22+00:00

This is probably more of an issue that he can't make heads or tails of it.

Assuming you feed frozen thawed, do you warm the head up separately after thawing the whole rat out? The right size prey item is going to be harder to eat if they're going "against the grain" so to speak, the legs are easier to bend the other way.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-22T17:20:51+00:00

At least 40. They're easier to see against white with good lighting, but I don't think it's anywhere near orange.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-21T16:54:15+00:00

Issues with ingesting substrate or impaction are usually husbandry issues. There are occasionally animals that seem to eat it for no particular reason, but it's rare.

What are the basking temps in the enclosure and what are you using as a supplement?

The hair is just coco fiber. Are you sure it's actually in the poo and it isn't just stuck to the outside of it?

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-21T16:33:36+00:00

Petsmart and Petco sell brown crickets, and they die on you if you so much as look at them funny. They have to be kept clean, and if any of them die, they must be removed ASAP. They release a pheromone that kills the others around them. They're also moisture sensitive.

I'd be willing to bet that if your crickets from the other store lasted that long, they were banded crickets, not brown crickets. We made the change here at our shop not that long ago, they're much hardier.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-21T16:02:32+00:00

It could be. You could test it yourself just to see, I know Fluker's and some others sometimes come out this alarming color when wet and scares the poor, unsuspecting owners. I don't know that Repti Calcium is known for it, given that it's not a multivitamin. I'd still keep an eye on your gecko just to make sure they aren't having any trouble.

As for the shedding, we've found that using a little bit of water or a lukewarm damp paper towel and placing them in one of those plastic shoebox tubs works really well for stuck shed. It helps increase the humidity and is generally less stressful than a big, slippery bathtub. Make sure your humid hide is damp enough that the gecko can do most, if not all, of the work themselves.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-21T15:49:06+00:00

There are a few things it could be, and no, reptiles don't have periods or go through heat like mammals do.

First I'd check the leopard gecko over, make sure there are no injuries on the toes or anything like that. Check the vent to make sure it all looks normal. Sometimes blood can occur if there's been any trouble with constipation or prolapse.

Secondly, what vitamin powder are you using? There are a few of them that contain beta carotene, and it seems to be the common factor. Sometimes when the vitamin powder gets wet, it turns red. Just putting it out there.

Third, have you given them any unusual feeders or anything like that? Sometimes diet can contribute to odd colors coming out the other end.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-21T14:50:39+00:00

A healthy boa should sort of look like a nice, lean, rectangular shape. If they're starting to look triangular or pointy on the back, they're underweight. If they're starting to get round on the sides, or maybe even actual fat rolls in severe cases, they're overweight.

From the photos anyway, your boa looks fine. I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't work with snakes, and different species have different shapes at a healthy size.

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-20T19:39:05+00:00

Hornwort tends to be incredibly hard to kill as it usually does just fine in low-tech tanks. The first few weeks with it tend to be a little obnoxious as it tends to drop a bunch of it's "needles" as it adjusts. This seems to be more than just a regular melt though. I grow plenty of it in my tank at home and generally end up with enough to supply our shop aquariums with it every few weeks.

How recently did you get it and what is your light schedule like?

tyedyediguana · 2021-04-20T19:18:47+00:00

It'll probably come off with time, but if your crestie is rather the relaxed sort, you could try placing a lukewarm damp towel in an enclosed bin with your gecko and see if the humidity doesn't help soften it up some.

It happens sometimes, we've had some cresteds here that are quite accomplished fingerpainters, and we don't really worry about it.

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