food question..

[Manitoban Herps]

Hey there, I have a juvi red foot and I feed him a mixture of fruit and veggies everyday, should I make the food items into bit size peices or into large peices so he has to rip it apart with his front feet while he is eating?

Every morning he always has his eyes shut and the only way he will open them is if I soak him, is that normal, does anyone else have to do this? How do I stop this?

Thanks

[JVG]

You dont have to bother cutting it up too small, no one does that for them in the wild. Also, your humidity may be off if he wont open his eyes unless soaked. Youalso don't really have to feed him every day, maybe a couple of times a week. You should be spraying him every day though, pretty much soaking his enclosure, not just a light mist.

[kpugh]

I have been doing lots of reading above red foots - as I just got a hatchling myself.

I had understood that the little guys have fairly quick metabolisms, and that it is probably best to feed them small meals daily, or every second day at the most. Sorry - I just saw that you said juvi - how big is it? I guess that would make a difference with how often you feed...

If you're having problems with low humidity (which you likely are in MB - I'm in SK, so I have the same problem!) - I found a nifty little gadget for raising the humidity in a small area of the tank.

http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/micro.htm

I'm setting mine up tonight - but I used a 2L pop bottle with two holes in the lid instead of a flask or mason jar - I like the larger capacity. Something like this seems good to me because then they still have the humidity, but the air is fresh, and you aren't misting them all the time. This should also set up a bit of a humidity gradient so they can dry off a bit if they want.

BTW - what kind of substrate do you have in enclosure? That'll affect the humidity too...

Just my thoughts - correct me if I've said anything stupid, 'cause like I said I'm just learning all of this myself!

Kaley

[Manitoban Herps]

I have paper towel as my substrate, I have tried that method before, but i hate the air thing, it vibrates to much..i will have to try a different method.....

[kpugh]

You could try plain potting soil (no vermiculite or perlite of course!) or sphagnum moss. Just out of curiosity, why have you choosen to have him on paper towel? Like I said, I'm still learning about these guys, and like to know why people do the things they do

[C.ADAMANTEUS]

try wrapping the air pump in a dish towel. Thats what i did when i used to keep fish. it wasnt even noticeable after that.
Rick

[Manitoban Herps]

I am using paper towel b/c i was told that bark mulch and peat moss is too dusty.

[kpugh]

Have you thought about soil? It retains moisture well...and lack of proper humidity is the leading cause of pyramiding, as I understand it...

[Manitoban Herps]

Alright I put him in a new cage. It is a large rubbermaid, with moss as a substrate, a soaking sish, a hidebox, a 24 inch 5.0 UV florescent and a 60 watt basking bulb over top.

How does it sound? The humidity is in the high 80's.

[kpugh]

Sounds great to me! I'm sure the eye problem will get better with the new set up!