Hide and Seek

[Taterbug]

Pepper had the sunroom all day Sunday and I forgot to get him before sundown. After an unusually long game of "find the lizard" turns out he'd tucked himself in for the night in his tree rather than behind/under something on the floor. Maybe I'll add some more lizard friendly furniture and force the cat to give him more turns out there (the cat gets locked out and generally resents any sharing with Pepper)

 

[CooperDragon]

Seems like a very reasonable spot to bunker down. I'm glad to see he loves his window time too. I like that perch you have for him. I'd love to build something like that for Darwin but don't have the room yet so his dog bed perch sits on the back of a chair up against the window.

 

[Taterbug]

He seems to really like it. When he gets all scrabbly I'll take him out there and he'll sit on the perch for hours staring outside, take a wander around the room then back up for more basking/watching.

 

[CooperDragon]

Darwin was just climbing the livingroom wall (glass dancing in his house sized tank I guess). I think he senses activity outside and gets curious. So I put him up on his dog bed and he's watching out the window contently. I'm not sure what it is that got his attention. Seems like no matter how much space we give them they can use a little more =).

 

[Taterbug]

Yeah I haven't figured out Peppers -need- to go west. He either makes his way over to the sunroom door (glass door wall) and scrambles to get out there tinhis tree or the other way and just tries to climb the blank wall. It's almost always a west facing wall.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's interesting. Darwin is back to running about now. He's alternating between his plain halogen basking station and one of his Megarays which are set up in a North-South direction. In between he climbs the south wall but he also tries very hard to get into the fireplace which is on the West wall. It's covered in plexiglass and I think he's trying to get at the dead bugs inside but I never really considered the direction it's in. Is there something on the outside of your West wall that might be interesting to him or is making vibration etc that might be attracting him? The South and East walls of our house face a hospital and somewhat busy road with cars and pedestrians. The West wall is up against another apartment (duplex) so there isn't much activity on that side.

 

[Taterbug]

Now that you mention it the power lines run down the west side of the lot. But. Also the south. Otherwise it's all woods that way..... I don't imagine his spacial reasoning is THAT good but the sunroom is an addition out the south side so he gets to watch the woods if he wants.....

 

[CooperDragon]

This is what Darwin has been doing for the last 20 minutes or so. https://vimeo.com/207173063 He'll do that, then bask a bit, then test the outside wall sometimes, then return to his patrol between the living room and kitchen in a big loop for 10 minutes or so then bask again for a bit. I haven't found much rhyme or reason to it other than patrolling in a circle around the first floor walls and basking when he gets cold. His alternating between the plain heat and MVBs lend credit to your thinking of offering them multiple combinations of basking options (and lots of room). I followed him around at one point for a bit and took a time lapse of his usual circuit. He's now given up on the fireplace and returned to his halogen to warm up. Crazy dude. :roll:
https://vimeo.com/192692498

 

[Taterbug]

There is clearly important lizard business to tend to in There. He's fortunate he gets such an opportunity to wander about. If I didn't have the cat to worry about I'd probably have something like it sounds you've got going on.

Have you tried any foraging enrichment for him? Like leaving treats in or near his path? Maybe a dish of treat worms to find? If he gets good at it you can up the challenge over time - great mental stimulation

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm fortunate to not have any other animals in the house and to be able to spend a lot of time at home with him. I tried putting supers in those cat toys but he got pretty good at picking them off without much effort. I leave his salad bowl on the floor in different places near his path each day (sometimes moving it during the day) and he's good at tracking it down and having a snack when he's hungry. I usually feed him roaches in the kitchen so it's easy to clean up but I'll hold the cup near the floor in the kitchen and try to catch his eye. Same with the silks. He can see the container from two rooms away and comes running if he sees them. I release the roaches one at a time on different parts of the floor and let him stalk them until he's full. He mostly eats his salad though. Bug meals only every few days except for occasional worm snack.

 

[Taterbug]

That's awesome, he's got a swell life it sound like. Funny too that he figured out the puzzle feeder so well.

 

[kingofnobbys]

That's an awesome bit of tree bark .... is it cork ?

 

[Taterbug]

Yep, it's cork - I wish I could find more slabs this big for a decent price.

 

[NBGwen]

Wish I could have a spot like that for Charlie! Or allow her to wander like Darwin - unfortunately, my two cats, big dog and 3 year old toddler are way too much of a risk for any of that...BUT in the summertime it gets pretty nice on our deck. I would take Evee and Gonzo out there last summer and they loved it. I am sure Charlie will too.

I love the way that perch is set up - very cool.