Vacation, opinions...

[SukiLove]

Hello all,

I was hoping for reassurance for when I go out of the country in June, I will be gone for one week and I have to leave Nero in the care of someone else.

My Mom always cares for my reptiles when I go away, but this is the first time I will not be just a few hours away if something happens. So I wanted to get opinions and maybe suggestions on things to do differently from those who have experience.

First, my Mom is okay with feeding Nero the "pill bugs" (it helps her if I don't call them roaches :lol but she will NOT sort them. So before I go I'm going to get a separate tub and put all of the appropriate size dubia in there so all she has to do is scoop them out. My issue is that she will not dust them, it's hard enough for her to handle them as it is. So will he be okay if he misses a week of dusting from the calcium and vitamins? I thought that I would use the Fluker's Cricket Quencher and Cricket Diet in the dubia tub, maybe that could help make up for it? She also won't be taking care of the dubia like I would, everyday I put the "left overs" in for the dubia to gut-load and she WILL NOT remove the old food if there are dubia on it. So I'm going to avoid the possibility of rotting food/mold and leave out the fresh food while I am gone.

She also will not have anything to do with the worms, so they're out for a substitute. She has no problem with crickets, but I am really trying to avoid having anything to do with those as a staple but I will have some on hand for the Leo's since she won't touch the worms. I will have all the salad stuff prepped ahead of time, at least the stuff that is a pain to chop up like the squash, and she is great about giving that everyday.

He will also be missing his baths, because he is still a bit jumpy when being held and I don't want to receive a phone call when I'm over 8 hours away saying that he got loose and she can't find him! Right now he was getting a 10 minute soak at least every other day because he is shedding, and it is how he gets his hydration. So I'm going to start spritzing his head a bit to get him used to when she has to do it.

I am also going to leave replacement bulbs in case any go out. Is there anything else I may be missing? Or thoughts or ideas? :?:

Thanks!

 

[waltersgirl]

My husband is horrible at caring for my babies for me. When I leave, I gut load the bugs with fresh greens that he can throw in the cricket and roach cages to keep them fed well so they provide the best nutrition for my babies. He doesn't dust either, but I am only gone three or four days. I personally would have her sprinkle a little calcium powder on the fresh veggies she gives (much easier than dusting the bugs for those who are afraid of them or whatever). Do you have the long tongs? Maybe she could scare away a couple bugs with them to change out fresh veggies. Make sure she sprays your baby daily and maybe have her keep a small dish of water in the cage in your absence. That way if your little one is really thirsty, water is there. I hate leaving my babies in anyone else's care so I understand. I also leave individual tubs (I save all the small tubs from worms and stuff) of bugs I want my husband to feed each cage. That way he only has to open the tub and dump it in the bowl. Just a few ideas. Beardies are resilient...try not to worry too much and have everything as easy as possible for your mom before you leave. Make sure lights are on timers, etc. so she doesn't have to think about any of that part. I am sure others may have some better ideas but hopefully this will help some. Enjoy your trip.

 

[SukiLove]

I have smaller tongs that I use for feeding my male Leo, since he has a shark mouth and has to dive bomb on his food and misses a lot. :lol:

She won't "shoo" the roaches off even with tongs, so fresh food is out for that week, it is not worth the risk of mold. I'm lucky she is able to scoop them out and drop them into his dish! I'm the only one in my family who doesn't have a problem with the roaches (although I did at first!). As long as she doesn't have to touch them she is okay, which is all that I can ask for.

I thought about dividing meals into different containers, but by the end of the week if they survived they are pretty nutritionally deficient aren't they?

As for dusting the greens, he barely picks at them so I'm not sure that will help as much. I also thought about pre-dusting as I sorted and just hoping enough stayed on them. :lol:

I will leave a water dish for him, but she should be okay spraying him once I show her how. My next problem is going to be that he would not have been handled in a week, so I hope he doesn't get too jumpy. I'm going to make sure she pets him each time she goes into his cage, she thinks he's adorable so that part will be easy for her.