Its a boy! (I think)

Hey, I just thought that i would give an update on my little guy, _______. Yep, he still has no name. I have had him for over a month, but if it weren't for people on this site and others, he may not still be around. I would have soaked up all the advice from :twisted: Petco :twisted: and done it all wrong. And for that, i want to say thanks. He just finished shedding his tail yesterday, now he has to finish his head, then it starts all over. Here are a bunch of pics I took of him today.

He really likes his greens, but only if I hand feed him.

Next pic, he is such a little fatty!

He HATES his baths.

My dog, Scout, get EXTREMELY jealous whenever I pay attention to the beardie or my leopard gecko. So I took some pics of her.

I forgot to get a pic of my leo, but I'll try to get one tomorrow. Thanks for looking!

Andy

 

[diamc]

Halogens throw off a lot of heat, you may not need that much but you'll have to watch the temps very closely if you try the halogen.

Some pet stores do carry butters. Did you mean that some days he won't eat 20 crickets or that you don't have time to wait for him to eat them?

 

[AndyT]

The dome has a dimmer, so I can adjust it until the temps are good. I'll ask next time I go to petsmart (I don't like going to petsmart, I get the crix at the local store) about butters. I mean some days I can't get to the pet store for the crickets. I'm sure he would eat 20 crickets daily, and it only takes a few minutes for him to gobble them up. That's why I'm getting the worms, so he can have food available every day.

Andy

 

[diamc]

That sounds like a good idea with the dimmer.
I know what you mean about Petsmart but I did get some butters from one of them around here. Actually, sometimes they can eat close to 100 a day. Mine at that age/size would eat about 80 each day, I used to feed them 2 to 3 times a day. If you offered him all he wanted each time, how many do you think he'd eat?

 

[AndyT]

Well I'm not sure. Some days I give him 20 plus, and he'll stop eating and go bask. Other days, he'll be looking at me for more. I think that on average he would probably eat 30 or more a day, if he could. I would order wholesale online, but my mother doesn't want 1000 crickets in the house. That's also why I'm working on a roach colony, so I'm hoping that in a few month, I'll be able to give him all the Dubias he wants. What about wax worms? I think my petsmart has them, at least. I'm doing the very best I can with my no job, no income budget; he seems happy enough with what he gets, and he's perfectly healthy. (as far as I know)

Andy

 

[diamc]

Andy, I hope I didn't say anything wrong, I didn't mean to. He does look good and very happy, he really is a very handsome guy. You certainly could pick up some wax worms and leave a few of them in his tank for him to chomp on during the day. Would probably be better to offer the crickets first because the waxies are so yummy to them (like a candy bar to us) that sometimes they won't want to eat crickets. Good that you have a roach colony going, once it gets established, you'll have LOTS. Perhaps your mom would be ok with like 250 crickets in a cricket keeper? You can get that amount online and since he's not eating the large size yet, they won't be chirpers. Something to think about. :wink:

 

[AndyT]

No, you didn't say anything wrong. I know that my feeding is a little off, and I've been working at it. Yep, waxworms are fatty and addictive, lol. When i got him, the people at the store had just given them waxworms as treats, so he's already had them at least. I'll look into maybe getting a few hundred crickets, maybe after the Phoenix's run out. I really hope he likes them, they're supposed to be great. Thanks!

Andy

 

[diamc]

I'm sure he'll like the phoenix worms. They are quite small so if you haven't ordered them already, you might want to think about the medium size ones. They are very good for them, very high in calcium.

 

[AndyT]

Yeah I would like large, but they are out of stock, so I'm going medium. (I'm in luck, the medium ones are all that are available! somehow?)

Andy

 

[diamc]

Great, just what you want. The large actually turn black and die quicker, the smalls are real small, so the mediums are the best bet.

 

[AndyT]

Great! I just ordered them now. (If I wait until tomorrow, it won't get done until late, so I figured I'd get it out of the way) I can't wait!

I just realized I put in the wrong credit card name. Visa instead of Discover! :shock: I hope they get back to me and we can sort it out. I'm an *****!

 

[diamc]

Gee Andy, I'm sorry that happened, hopefully they'll get back to you soon.

 

[AndyT]

Yep, they got back to me. It turns out that the system fixed it automatically. I'm glad that it worked out so quick and easy! His head began to shed today, and finished today. I wanted to post pics, but I couldn't get good ones. Every time i looked t him he looked more ridiculous with skin all over his face. Lol! Now his tail has to finish(I could swear that he just shed his whole tail a few days ago). Next comes his arms and legs... and phoenix worms...

 

[diamc]

That's great that it's all straightened out now, you must be relieved.

Isn't it amazing how fast they can start a shed and finish in the same day when so young? My adults would love to be able to do that again. I'll bet he was quite the sight. :mrgreen: Just think of how his colors will be popping when he's all done. You'll definitely have to post pictures of him then. Hope he really likes the phoenix worms. If you run them under cool water while in a strainer, it makes them wiggle around more but be careful because they wiggle a lot then and they'll climb right out of the strainer.

 

[AndyT]

Yep, I was just :shock: at first.

Yeah they're so energetic that they can just rub at it non stop until its off. Haha I bet they would. Its so cute when they just sit there, basking happily, and all the sudden just swipe their face against the ground lol! He was running around and scratching non stop! Yeah I'll take pics when he's all done and when they worms get here. Good advice with the strainer. I'll try it out. Thanks!

Andy

 

[AndyT]

Haven't updated in a while. Just been normal around here. Feed him, handle him, bathe him, ohh and ahh at his cuteness, the usual. Today I had him out for a while on the window sill. He likes to climb the screen to get some sun... and not come off. They can cling pretty tight with those claws, and I didn't want to rip his fingers off, so it was pretty tough to get him off. He also had waxworms for the first time today(since I've had him) and he loves them! I wasn't sure how much to feed him, and he is a growing baby, so I figured a few wouldn't make him too fat. Lol. The phoenix worms still haven't arrived, I didn't expect them until tomorrow or Thursday, but the USPS tracking still doesn't say that they have been shipped or moved at all ,so we'll see how that goes. And I'm fairly certain that he's a boy! I was holding him and decided to lift him up and take a peek, and I'm pretty sure that I saw two bumps! Now to naming him......

Well, that's it for now. I have pics, but they're a hassle to upload and I've been busy, so I'll get around to it eventually.

Andy