Comment on Question from a first-time lizard owner
Aviandelight@mander.xyz 1 year ago
It sounds like the little guy is stressed from the move. You can try covering the enclosure with a sheet for a little bit when you feed it (with the lights off). Also I would nix the beef pet food and try mealworms instead. I’ve also never had a lizard refuse raspberries. Another thing to try is switching the day lamp out with a red light heat lamp for the time being. The red light lamp is usually for nighttime but running constantly might help the little guy feel more hidden for now. Your enclosure sounds great and your little guy should calm down soon enough.
DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com 1 year ago
Thanks for this advice - I might pop out and grab some red heat lamps to have as an option. The good news is, later in the day, he (daughter’s decided he’s a he) wolfed down all the beef pet food and stayed out in the open for a bit. And, this morning, he’s behind the grass, but has his head out, and seems quite alert.
We’ll see how he goes with some more fruit today - he seemed to enjoy the strawberries earlier in the week, so we’ll try those. But I feel a lot better for some of the advice here, that the behaviour isn’t really abnormal, for what he’s been through.
Aviandelight@mander.xyz 1 year ago
That’s great to hear that he’s doing better! It’s always kind of a grab bag as to whether or not a reptile gets stressed. I had one ball python that would only eat if you placed him and the food in a paper bag because of stress. (He lived a very long happy life.) You just have to go with each one’s individual needs sometimes. One more tip is get yourself some plug-in timers for your lights if you can. One for your day lamp and one for your night lamp. It will make your life easier.
DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com 1 year ago
The shop said to leave the heat emitters on 24x7 until the end of winter next year.
I’m using my home automation for the UVB light. 12 hours a day of UV light.
The thermostat is controlling the heat emitters currently, but I don’t have a lot of trust in it, so am going to build a server with temp sensors, and use my automation for those too.
Aviandelight@mander.xyz 1 year ago
That’s a pretty impressive setup. I keep forgetting how far home automation has come. I never trusted those thermostats either so I don’t blame you there. My husband and I had one of those under tank heat mats melt the veneer off of a cheap bookcase.