Help with two new additions...

mvwise · 11-19-02, 10:29 AM

My family and I recently attended the Mississauga Herp Show and were followed home by two new baby leos.

We have them set up with a 15 gallon tank, two hide spots, an UTH, food dish and water dish. They spent some time on Suday exploring their new surroundings, hid in their hideouts and look very healthy. However, they have yet to eat anything (as of this morning) that we have put in their tank. We have offered them PH crickets and mealies, but have had no bites.

Is it normal for them to be a little stressed when changing homes and to not take food for a few days? How long is it typical to go on before we should begin to worry?

We bought some larger crickets yesterday and will offer them tonight - is it possible that the PH were too small?

silke · 11-19-02, 10:53 AM

i may be having yet another blond moment ... but what is PH?

not only will they be stressed from the show and the trip home, they may have been housed separatlely and be stressed by being together
are they similar in size? what are their sexes? if it's 2 males you will need to separatet hem as juveniles
the food items need to be sized appropriately - no longer than the leo's head is wide
do you know what they were eating before you got them? crix or mealies? sometimes if they have been brought up on mealies it takes time for them to adjust to crix

it is important to have the temps right; they need to be at optimal temp for them to eat - around 85
there should be a thermal gradient so that they can go from warm to cool when they want

it is not critical for them to not eat for the first week or so but don't handle them yet...let them settle in first

Good Luck !

Bryan Self · 11-19-02, 11:05 AM

The pin head's are too small. Newborns can eat 2 week old crickets. Also they need time to settle into their new home. Most of the time they will eat within a couple of days.
Good Luck

mvwise · 11-19-02, 12:27 PM

Thanks for the information.

They are roughly the same size, about 3 months old but the male is slightly larger than the female, which we were told is common.

I beleive they were fed a cricket and mealworm diet and were also housed seperately.

PH = Pinhead Crickets

They appear to be healthy in all other aspects and have ventured out to browse around their surroundings. They tend to sleep in seperate shelters, but don't seem to be bothered by one another. We figured they are a little stressed and that possibly the pinheads were too small, so we are giving them the time they need and have bought some larger crickets to see if it makes a difference.

jakejeff · 11-19-02, 12:40 PM

yup might wan't to think about getting another female ( don't forget to quarintine) to releave a bit stress on the female might not be a problem for a while they are still young. don't fret they will seem afraid of you until they realize you are not going to eat them!

Blazin · 11-19-02, 01:50 PM

I would be feeding those guys most likely 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch crickets. Another thing you can do is get a glass ashtray for the mealies. This usually prevents most of them from escaping and you can also place some calcium powder and bran inside for them to munch on. Mealies tend to dehydrate themselves fast so switch the ones that are not eaten out every other day. Then in your main mealworm container you can give them carrots or potatoes to allow themselves to rehydrate. Another thing when mealworms do become dehydrated the tend to become sluggish. When this happens alot of times they get ignored when it comes to feeding time because leopards love to see movement in their prey items. Feeding response is best triggered in my experience by a crawling mealworm or cricket. Give them a day or so and they will settle in and do just fine. Make sure your temps are right and try to refrain from holding the little ones for a while. Hope I helped you out. If you have any further questions feel free to email me.BlazinReptiles

mvwise · 11-19-02, 02:13 PM

Thanks again for all the replies!

We do have a food dish for the mealworms, and will take the advice on rehydrating them (we've been tossing them out because they look dead - but could be "sluggish).

Temperature should be okay - we have a UTH and a red light above which seems to be keeping the warm side in the mid to high 80's.

I can let them sit and adjust, but we have three boys who are chomping at the bit to take the little guys out for a spin - so we probably have two stressed leos and three stressed boys

Alicewave · 11-20-02, 09:00 AM

I agree with everything other's have said. It does take them some time to adjust and one male with one female can be stressful on the female eventually since the male will try to mate with her all the time.

You'll know a mealworm is dead when it's shell gets very hard and/or it turns black. If you really want to get the moving, refridgerate them for a few days and then take out the ones you want and put them near a light bulb for a few minutes and they'll get very wiggly.