Feeding Time

[Silver]

Have had Silver for just over a week. Not sure of his age ...they told me 6 mo at the store. He is 9 1/2 inches sound asleep and totally pancaked out. He eats well. I drop dusted crickets one by one into the food bowl until he walks away. Any tips on when to feed....Can he have a bath after he eats? I read somewhere (not here) not to feed after 6pm....any reason for that? I am interested in any tips on establishing a routine that's beneficial to him.

 

[Paradon]

I wouldn't play with him or pick him up right after he's eaten. The stress will make him regurgitate his food.

 

[EccentricME]

I feed my guy about 1 hour after the lights have been turned on in the morning and then I feed diner around 5ish. I don't think the 6pm time matters. I think what matters is they are basking for at least 2 hours after they eat so they can properly digest their food. Sometimes I get home late so Lincoln eats late, I just make sure to keep the lights on for him a little later than usual. Bath time is any time in the day after he has been basking for a few hours after a meal, or after he poops 'cause the pooper usually walks right through it. Need to figure out training him to not do that! :wink:

 

[Silver]

Thanks......I knew the basking helped them digest. All that makes sense. I've only had Silver for a little over a week and want to do the best I can. I've ordered Phoenix worms and they should be here tomorrow. He's been turning his nose up at his collard greens the last few days. I want to put the woms on top of the greens and try to get him back into them.

 

[Paradon]

Try giving him the salad first and leave it in there. Then feed the live food later in the morning. Maybe if he is hungry enough, he'll eat that first.

They can eat later, but make sure the temperature is warm enough for him to digest his meal. When they are active during the day, they'll actually bask throughout the day after they eat. So, yeah, it's better to feed them in the morning or late in the morning...to early afternoon.

 

[Mediabandit]

I put Havoc's salad in his enclosure 1 hour after he wakes up and I leave it in there all day, I spray it down with R/O water twice a day to keep it fresh and to give him that extra hydration. He gets 30 crickets 3 times a day and still eats pretty well all of his salad throughout the day, he will bask, hop down and eat some salad then go back to basking, there are usually only a couple pieces left by the next morning.
If he is not interested in the salad, try hand feeding it to him for a week or so and then just leave it in his enclosure and he will take the hint. That's how I got Havoc eating his when he was a baby.