Critique my enclosure plans

Yeah, I see what you mean.

And a cute video of Gallifrey exploring. https://www.youtube.com/user/kafkabeatle?feature=mhee

haha very cute, gotta love em at that age.

Its odd how he is exploring the empty corner though

Haha, I know! The backstory is that empty corner was where his hot hide should have been. I took it out for a second to adjust the thermometer probe, lol.

Random question: How long does your average mealworm take to cocoon at room temperature (which is around 76 right now)?

I got a container of 50 and I was wondering if I should put them in the fridge or just leave 'em out. Since I'm doing frequent feedings for now it would be easier to leave them out, but if they won't last about a week I'll need to refrigerate them.

Your average adult mealworm takes about 3 weeks to pupate into what I affectionately call aliens. They don't really grow a cocoon or shell.they stay pretty soft kinda like a firm waxworm. I use to feed them to eros all the time. They actually squirm if you hold them with tweezers.

Ok, awesome. That should be plenty of time for me to use up this batch.

Ok, so I've only been able to get him to eat around 4 meal worms a day. I try to get him to eat them from the tongs, but he always sort of backs away from them. So I've been trying this a couple times a day and then put the worms in the bowl when I finally give up. Anyway, does this sound like enough for now? I know Jolene, you suggested 4 worms 4 times a day, but that isn't even close to happening right now. I know they sell worms in different sizes, but I'm not sure what size mine are because the place I got them at kept them in the back and didn't give me a choice. I'll be going to a different place from now on where you get them out of the refrigerator yourself. But for now, does 4 worms a day sound like a starvation diet??

Well he could still be settling really, so hopefully his appetite will pick up.

He could do with eating more, but its not a drastic diet for his size.

I agree with jordan altho when I first got eros and he was on mealies he ate 10 within his first 3 says in 1 sitting. When you tying feed try dropping the feeder in front of him rather than expecting him to take from tongs/tweezers. Eros has only ever taken food directly from tweezers twice since I've had him. didn't work too well. He likes it tho when worms fall from the sky

By "striping the feeders" do you just mean to drop them? When I had done this (accidentally, LOL) they have always crawled into his hiding spot, probably because it is dark. I assume he eats them when they go in there, but I was kind of worried they might bother him if he was sleeping or bite at him if he wasn't interested in eating them right then.

I suppose this is an unfounded concern and I *should* let them crawl into his hiding spot?

That was a typo... stupid android phone... it is dropping them into his tank in front of him. When I hand feed Eros, and mind you tho he is kinda conditioned now to know when certain lights in a room go on it's feeding time so he will pop his head out, IF he pops his head out of his hide I usually just remove his water bowl so that the worms have more floor space to move about... I don't let them crawl into his hide as I don't want them getting lost under a rock or a branch, that would be a bear to tear down to find. If they head towards his hide I tweeze them up and move them back out onto open floor space. Usually this having to move them will stimulate Eros to come check out what's going on and he will usually eat them after moving them back once. If he doesn't poke his head out of his hide I take the top off it and wake him to be fed... not that he is ever actually sleeping at 2 am when I feed him he just felt like being waited on and his dinner brought to him

Eros won't eat out of a dish despite always having one in his tub while with his breeder for 6 months, and I too worry about any escapee worms that don't get eaten harrassing him as I feed very large superworms.. they could do some damage, this is why I personally think the safest way to feed, IF you use a potentially hostile prey creature such as supers and crix, you should hand feed so that no live feeders are left remainign in the tank. Not only does thishelp condition your leo to a feeding schedule, but it also builds a bond between you two as he is now co-dependant upon you for life sustaining food and he knows it. Honestly for a person that only has 1-3 leos I really can't think of a good reason not to hand feed, Throwing feeders in a bowl and walking away kinda takes all the fun outta owning a herp... watching them hunt and eat is half the fun

Well, the problem that I'm having is he won't really come out at all if anyone's around in the room. He'll come out to get a drink of water and to relieve himself if I'm sitting on the bed, but he'll go right back into his hide if I make an movements. If my hand is in the tank, well then there's no way he's coming out. I've been trying to just give him some space, but I'm thinking about just picking up his hide during feeding time so he can't just go in there and ignore me. But I feel like that might be too stressful...

How long have you had him again? Sometimes there's a time for a little tough love. He may be a lil scared or nervous at first because it's unknown to him but the minute he sees that "threat" is bringing him nom noms I think you'll see a lot more accepting lil leo. It's just establishing that pattern of trust. Eros is a shy boy and I think that if we could establish that pattern that y'all can too. Eros is likely thee most skeptical leo... he even goes in his hides if my white boxer walks into the room where his tank is and he'll barely stick his nose outta the hide. He's a very private leo. He knows the routine tho and it only took him about a month to get into it.

I've only had him since Friday. So 3 days.

Ah I see... well even at that I had Eros 3 days before my first feeding attempt and I just kinda ploughed right in there... I wasn't hostile or threatening, just direct... took his hide apart, had the worms all ready... he didn't try to make a break for it or anything to another hide... he was just like "what the... " then as soon as he saw the worm he was like oooh cool... If I remember correctly he must have eaten close to 10 mealies that first feeding maybe 12, put the hide back together after we were done (and he lets me know we're done by walking away casually to his cool side hide) and that was that.

Alright, I'll try that this evening once he wakes up. I hope it works. I'll probably not give him quite that many at once though. I don't want him puking it right back up. So maybe I'll split it into a few feedings throughout the late afternoon-evening.

Well, I just tried it and he did the "what the..." thing you were talking about. But the worms just did not appeal him. One even crawled on his foot and he moved away from it. Eventually he ran over to his other hide.

I'm really worried about him eating since he might not have eaten for a week before I got him when he wasn't getting any live food. I put his worms in a shallower dish for now and put it right up close to his hide. Hopefully now that I've closed the door and it will be quiet for a while, he'll decide to eat some...

he'll be a little freaked out the first few times you do that but he'll get the point. Not sure i'd offer food in a dish even if he hasn't eaten in a week. Having him a little hungry will only work in your favor. Leos can go quite some time without food with out ill effect as long as he has water.

Ok, I'll keep at it.

Ok, he might have diarrhea. Although I'm not sure. The first time he pooped on the first day it was dark colored and very small. Now it is lighter colored and I can see what appear to be "shells" from meal worms in it. It's somewhat liquidy. He isn't using the litter box, but instead the entire cool side of the tank. He even pooped on the top of his moist hide. I'm not too concerned with where he's going for now, though.

Does this sound like cause for concern? Maybe a parasite and that could also explain why he's so thin? Should I take a stool sample to the vet?

I'm going to try to find some smaller meal worms or crickets tonight in an attempt to get him to eat. I'm freaked out now because I looked up some videos on youtube and all the leos that were as young and thin as mine ended up dying if you read the comments.

Suzanne could you please start a new thread in the health section regarding this issue? Please be sure to fill out the care questionnaire so we have all the info we will need to help.