keennneeth":1xhhym2p said:
about a month since i posted this and he is still the same size! i'm not actually weighing him in grams but i have recently ordered silkworms so hopefully that'll fatten him up a bit. i still don't know why he hasn't grown in 3 months if i been giving him everything he needs
How much did he weigh at first, and how much now ?
Is he pooing regularly ?
Is there mesh between him and the UV tube ?
.................. If there is I recommend moving the T5 tube so it's UNDER the mesh top and a bit closer to his basking spot.
I think the crux of the problem is going to be either insufficient UVA (this will result in a reduced apetite) because he can't close enough to the T5 tube and possibly the temperatures are not as warm as you think they are (this will result in a much slower metabolism and also a reduced apetite and he''ll take longer to digest the food he has eaten as a result).
How are you measuring the temperatures (exactly and with what) ?
what is your feeding schedule (when , what and how many offered each time ) and are you keeping a detailed record ?
what is your lighting schedule (when on , when off) ?
..................I recommend 14-16 hrs per day.
I think it's likely your combined lighting and feeding schedules may need tweeking.
..................If you are feeding BSF maggots (phoenix worms) they are quite OK to leave in the food dish longer than 15 minutes, I'd leave them between live feedings and simply count the number that offered for each of three (assuming he's only about 4 months old) daily live insect meals. I'd continue offering extra live protein and do some tweeks to the intensity of the UVA and UVB (move basking spot closer, move tub so it's UNDER the mesh and not ONTOP of it) , double check the tank temperatures to ensure these are right , and bump up the daycycle if it's shorter than 14 hours.
It's OK to offer a combination of crickets and silkworms and BSF maggots. The variety will help keep him interested.
If he's still not eating well, or thriving how he should be when you have the UVA and UVB levels at his basking spot, and his warm zone and basking spot temps right, then it may be necessary to force feed him his bugs by hand or use GrubPie as a supplement (given orally by feeding syringe) to get him growing.
By way of comparison
at 5 weeks old
Peppa (F) was 13.9g
Toothless (M) was 11.0g
at 5 weeks old I was giving Peppa and Toothless 12x 1/3 sized crickets EACH in the am and 6x 1.5" silks EACH in the pm + greens & veg
at 6 weeks old
Rex (F) was 7g
Puff (M) was 8g
at 4 months old
Peppa was 119.5g
Toothless was 91.1g
.... at this age Peppa and Toothless were taking 2 insect meals per day (up to 20x 1/3 to 2/3 sized crickets each split over meals) + greens in the pm/eve. My light schedule is 16hr.
Rex was 128.5g
Puff was 105.2g
I was giving the crickets a few at a time , and leaving the uneaten crickets in their rearing tubs until the next day
- I've found lizards prefer to eat at their own pace and not to suit a human schedule, and some are shy eaters , preferring to hunt and eat when no human is watching them -
.... I'd just made sure to leave the greens and veg in the tubs overnight, the uneaten crickets simply came out after the lights were timed out and often Peppa and Toothless would get up to midnight nibble on their greens and they'd hammer and eat as a snack any crickets they found. (Very rarely found more than 1 or 2 crickets left hiding the next day).
Two other issues :
1) mesh hammock - nail snagging ==> shoulder / hip & leg / arm & foot / hand / finger and toes and nail injury hazard = HIGH.
2) carpet , see 1).
