keennneeth":2e4rcngg 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
kingofnobbys":1xhhym2p said: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).
keennneeth":1qm2a3op said:kingofnobbys":1qm2a3op said:keennneeth":1qm2a3op 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).
i have actually never weighed him, so i'm not sure if he's gotten fatter or just stayed the same. i just bought him a better log tht allows him to get 6 inches from the uvb and the basking bulb so hopefully he starts growing. and by uva is that the basking bulb??
and he is pooing regularly and no there is not a mesh lid between him and the uvb i have it half opened so that the basking bulb and night light can sit on one half of the tank while the uvb tube just lays perfectly across the other half.
i am using a digital thermometer to measure his temps
feeding schedule -
Mon-Fri - i wake up at 6am and turn on all the lights then offer him food at 6:30am , 3:40 pm , then 7-8pm and i turn off the lights at 10pm
sat-sunday - turn on his lights at 10am then offer him food at 11am , 4pm, and 7pm then turn off the lights at 10pm. <<< my lights and heat come on at 6am , I fed my babies (Peppa and Toothless as hatchlings) their 1st live bug meal each day about 10am, they were nice and warm , up basking and really hungry by then.
A daycycle of 12hrs of way too short, I recommend bumping it up to 15 - 16hrs and allowing him a couple of hours to wake up, warm up and get hungry before his first bug meal of the day.
i'm confused on how to feed the fella, i offer him crickets each day sprinkled in calcium dust 3 times a day, or should i do crix for only 1 feeding a day ? then worms for the other 2. he got tired of phoenix worms quick i still have 2 cans of live phoenix worms which he will not touch! then he never eats his greens so i'm not offering it often but i will once he gets bigger. <<< I think it's perfectly OK to feed crickets for his brekky, don't stress if he don't all the last few offered, then offer either more crickets for his lunch or a combination of BSF maggots , then either crickets again at diner time or more BSF maggots (really it's up to you), I'd hold off on the salad until he's had at least on GOOD live insect meal, else he is likely if he likes his greens to fill up on them and have no interest in his IMPORTANT live insect protein..
Very good way to track growth is regular (weekly) weighins.
When the silkworms show up (hope you ordered worms about 1.5 - 2 inches long max), you could do a feed of crickets in the am, BSF maggots in at lunch, and silkworms for dinner.
i am thinking about switching the substrate to tile but i'm not sure which one, i can't find slate at my local home depot and lowes and marble is too expensive, are there any other alternatives? <<< I just had old recycled ceramic floor tiles on Rex and Puff's floors in their old DIYS tanks (now mothballed), and will use the same tiles in Peppa and Toothless' new forever double story tank when I built it. Slate and sandstone pavers at fine too. A bricky or stone mason can turn a paver into 2 or 3 thin "tiles" pretty easily for you by using a diamond saw.
If you check around the "house demolishers/recyclers" , you'll likely find the tiles you need , very cheap.
and i just ordered him some silk worms so hopefully he starts eating them, he loves his wax worms but i don't really give him it since i know it's bad for them, i give him a mix of meal worms (2 at the most) phoenix worms (10 of them) and 3 wax worms but he always eats the wax worms and leaves the rest so i'm assuming he is tired of his meals . i really don't want him to die and just want the fella to get bigger hopefully he starts acting "normal" soon.!
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