Help, very skinny male not really eating!!

So I picked up a group of AFT's last week. I thought I was getting a great deal on them but I soon learned that it was more a rescue! The man that owned them refused to give crickets (cause he doesn't like crickets) and only offered super worms. He also bred all of them so they were all very underweight when we got them home. I have been able to get all the others to start making up for lost time and they are eating like pigs and averaging 1g a day!! One of the girls is gravid (the poor thing looks so young) so she is pretty tiny too but she is eating about 4-5 crickets a day. The boy is my biggest concern, he was only 24g when we got him home, he has eaten the occassional crickets but he seems to be a really bad hunter. His tail is so skinny, he was actually introduced to my as being the most recent girl to lay eggs!! I have been feeding him on a daily basis but some days he'll eat one or two crickets but other days not a thing. I think he gets frustrated with missing them all the time. I have had them for about a week and the boy has lost 1g and is now only 23g! Any advice on feeding? Should I make a mush and try hand feeding? I am thinking maybe mushed crickets, calcium, some multi vit, and softened with some pedialite...does that sound okay?? I don't want this little boy to not make it cause some idiot refused to feed him so please help!!!



Vanessa

Dirst off, good for you for picking these aft's up, you likely saved their lives.

As far as getting the male to eat better... I would be removing the jumper legs from the crickets to make them easier to catch. Making sure the crickets are an appropriate size. Cooling your crickets in the fridge for a half hour before feeding them also slows them down. Make sure the crickets are well gutloaded with fresh veggies so that the ones he is getting are packed with nutrients. you could hold the cricket right by the back end of it's body on the thorax (guess you could call it it's butt) with a hemostat and offer it to the aft from those, just release as soon as he grabs so he doesn't get frustraited.

I wouldn't fuss too much over him because just the extra attention is going to stress him (consider what he's been thru the last few days... he's likely at max stress), so just be happy he is eating something . I would also be checking his eyes really well to make sure there's no possibility of stuck shed that could be impeading his vision, or other damage or abrasions... hint, sometimes using a black light makes it easier to see corneal abrasions. Make sure he is in a quiet area with a simple sanitary quarantine set up and many hides to help him feel more secure, and housed alone.

That's what I would try if I were in your position. I think resorting to a paste should be more of a he hasn't eaten in months and is on the verge of dieing, but if after a week he isn't eating better then you might consider adding a dish at night before you go to bed, then offering live as well with tongs just to make sure there is consistantly food available.

Okay thanks for the help. I aggree that the "force" feeding of mush will only stress him out more then he is. How do I tell if he has shed on his eyes?? Those are some great tips for the crickets, never thought about putting them in the fridge!!

Thanks so much for the fast reply!

Vanessa

You're welcome To check for shed take a 7 watt night light bulb (anything brighter could really hurt his eyes and you shouldn't need too much brighter than 7 watt to see what you're looking for) and hold it up close to his eye, with in inches, look at the surface of the cornea carefully... is it opaque, kind of cloudy or yellowish? Does it look anything less than brilliant shiny and clear?... it's likely a shed... it could be part of the surface or all of the surface of the eye affected & their hard to see sometimes. Also using the black light can show you the edges of the shed if theres any bits stuck, or any othe corneal abrasions and some debris.

something else to help your frustraited eater... get a ceramic soap dish, oval shaped but higher sides, take off the jumper legs on about 5 crickets and put them in the dish for your aft (crickets will live if you carefully remove the jumper legs) maybe fold a paper towel to make it easier for him to stand up to it with out fear of falling in (hint if you fold paper towels, squeeze out most of the water and dry on a rectangular tupperware lid, they get VERY stiff and can be stacked to make steps, plus it's easy to cut and shape around bowls, warning tho if they get wet they will get soft again but will harden up as soon as they dry), and having more crickets in a confined space increases his chances of a sucessful strike.

Okay good news, he ate 3 "chilled" crickets! I took a good look at his eyes and they seem somewhat speckled so I am not really sure what to do now to help if it is stuck shed.

You can start a regimen of eye flushes with plain saline solution, every day for about 5 minutes each flush, give it about a week then check again. Hopefully you'll see something in the first few flushes to let you know if its shed or just the eye color.

Yay for eating chilled crickets... that's great and 3 is a pretty decent meal

Just a little update....

My AFT's that I recently adopted are doing okay! All the girls are eating like champs, two of the three have gone from 25g to almost 40g since Sept 20!! The smallest girl that is gravid is also eating well but seems to have gone off food for the last couple days so I wonder if it is almost time for her to lay. Now the skinny little boy is still so tiny, he has only gone up to about 26g from 23g but he is eating pretty good. He is still a lousy hunter so the crickets are pretty "chilled" for him but he is averaging 7-8 large crickets everyother day and 0-4 crickets the next. They are all having daily BM's and they all seem to love their new humid boxes that consist of vermiculite with a small layer of moist terrarium moss. A few of the AFT's are rather defensive so I don't think they were ever even handles....just around to produce eggs I guess. I hope the little girl passes her eggs okay and then they can have a season to rest with no breeding.

Anyways thanks for reading and the help and I just wanted to give a little update on my babies.

Thanks so much Vanessa for the update. It is always nice to hear how things are going. I almost wonder about the one that is small because I have a male that went a time without eating and now no matter how much he eats he does not seem to grow very quickly. It is almost like something kind of shut down for him. Well, anyhow, it seems you have done a great job with them

What are daily BM's exactly? Sorry but I have an inquiring mind.

I would presume that's daily bowl movements... poop

Here is another update on the group of 4. All my girls are weighing in at about 40g and eating like champs!! They all have nice humid hides and shed on a regular basis. The little boy that was my biggest concern is now starting to hunt his own crickets again, and they are not chilled or with legs removed!! He is steadily gaining weight, he is now 30g and his tail is starting to look "healthy". It is not a plump tail by any means but considering his little testies (if thats what they are) were protruding out the sides before and now it just looks slightly slender then I am very happy with that. He is a very dull caramel colour at the moment but I am not too concerned because I have seen him eat, drink, collect heat, go in the humid chamber. I am very thrilled and I am finally starting to think he is going to make it!!