Relocation Stress *Edit: No Poops Yet. :(

[avianna]

Hi, I am brand new here. I'd like to say thanks for all of the really good information that I've been able to get here -- it's really helped us to avoid a lot of mistakes we would have otherwise made with putting together our set up for our BD.

However!

My boyfriend and I bought a 4 month old BD a couple of days ago from a private breeder. When we went to go pick him up, he seemed kind of shy, but looked extremely healthy and alert. Since we put him in the new tank, he has (for the most part) been absolutely still. We will put him in his tank and he might shift around a little bit, but he will sit for hours on end in the same position. If we step out of the house for a couple of hours, we might find him in a new or odd positions/places when we come back. We weren't sure if it was lethargy or if it was a matter of him feeling like he's being watched all the time -- this is his first time being kept in a glass tank, and although his body is very still, his head and eyes are very alert and follow us whenever we walk across the room or put food in his tank, etc. The thing that I'm worried about is that he isn't moving anywhere to regulate his temperature -- the basking spot is sitting at 107F right now and the cool end is at 79.5F with the ambient temperature sitting somewhere around 95F (All temps were measured using digital probe thermometers). The humidity in the tank is fine (around 35) and I'm going to be giving him a bath every other day. I've also been misting the BD itself once a day and misting the salad when I put it in his tank in the morning. Given all of that, would he be moving around much for thermoregulating anyway? Or would staying put (either in the warm or cool ends) for long periods be normal?

We bought a ReptiSun 10 strip light, although we do have a screen that has square openings about 1/8" long on one side on top of the tank to rest the basking light on. Right now he likes to stay on a rock that gets him within 12" of the light, but if there's a screen there, is that close enough? Could that be part of the reason why he's so still?

Also, he is so totally uninterested in eating. We aren't really worried about that yet, for now we are chalking it up to nervousness and stress, since he is showing really distinct stress patterns on his tummy. We have been offering him salads with varied things in it (collard greends/endive as staples with little bits of carrot, red pepper, grape and apple are things we've offered so far). The first night we had him we offered him a cricket, which he totally ignored. Yesterday we just let him be and tried to minimize going into his cage, so we didn't offer any live feeders yesterday, but I will try again with crickets later this afternoon. My question was whether it would be better to just keep offering him salads and minimizing contact (to ease with relocation stress) or if it would be better to try and hand feed him/place babyfood on his nose, etc. He hasn't pooed yet either, but again, I'm thinking that that might be caused by stress. Aside from bathing him (which I am minimizing to every other day to help him adjust better) and putting a bit of olive oil on his salad (which he isn't eating anyway), are there things that I can do to encourage him?

Sorry, that ended up being kind of long! I hope I provided enough information for you guys. Thanks again.

 

[Tigg]

Sounds like you and your boyfriend are doing everything right... your temps and set up also sound ok...

I would chalk this all up to relocation stress, and just leave him be for the most part, reduce handling, and contact for about 2 weeks and just let him settle in. when replacing his food and water, you can give him a little petting and then walk away.

For the most part it sounds like he just need's to get used to you, and realize that you are not a threat to him. Also if the breeder kept him in a plastic container like most others do... it could take him some time to get used to the fact that the world is not just 4 walls.

As for the feeding, it's very important that he's eating each day, even while stressed. you may want to try leaving crickets in for him to feed on as he please during the day but be sure to remove them before bed time as they will nibble on him throughout the night. this can be a bit of a pain in the neck but should be done until he is comfortable and eating normally.

Hand feeding is a great way to build trust with them at that age. they will soon realise you are his caregiver and not a threat.

Ease off on the olive oil, one or two very small drops is all it takes to "clean them out", and you do not want to do this often as they wont be able to digest properlly which may rob his body of the much needed nutrients.

Other than that, slowly begin introducing contact by picking him up just before bed time, after the lights go out as he will be sleepy, won't move around too much, and should quickly fall asleep on you.

Keep up with the baths, if anything increase them to every day... get him used to them young, and it will also help keep him hydrated, and with bowel movements.

 

[MelissaGray]

As for the tank issue, it might help if you cover 3 out of 4 walls of the tank, then maybe each week, take down one side. You could use construction paper or something on the outside. He may feel less vulnerable then. Just a thought anyway. Good luck!

 

[avianna]

So, things have improved a little bit:

On the 1st, Wally started eating. He ate a couple of crickets and a bit of the salad that I had put out for him. He's been eating a little bit every day since (usually about 4-5 crickets per day). Since the first day he ate, we haven't seen him eat the salad at all, although we're not sure if he's been taking bites out of it or not since we try to leave the apartment for stretches of time so that he can have some peace and quiet and not feel so overwhelmed. He seems to be more active, although today he has parked himself up on his favorite basking spot and hasn't moved a bit all day. We've also been bathing him every day, which he doesn't seem to mind. He doesn't swim or anything, although he did drink directly from his bathwater (it was clean) once and drinks little drops of water we put on his lips. We also noticed last night that his back legs and feet were starting to shed a little. For the most part, it seems like things are starting to get on track.

However, he hasn't pooped yet. He's a pretty small guy and for the first two days he looked so thin and tiny, but now that he's had a couple of days worth of crickets in him, he looks much bigger. I'm wondering when I should start worrying, given how old he is and his diet so far. We have tile down as the substrate, and like I said, we give him a bath and massage him every day in hopes of getting him to poo. How long is too long for a baby/juvie to be on a poop strike?