shedding....AGAIN! Eating/housing questions...

[NyxsMomma]

We have only had Nyx for less then two months (keep in mind she is an adult at over a year old) and in this almost two months she is now on her THIRD full shed. I'm concerned because we don't see her eat much. I mean, she has to be eating something because she still has a plump tail, her eyes look clear and nice, her belly is full looking, but not swollen (like she has parasites or anything like that). We have that rock shaped worm dish with the lid on it so the worms can't get out from exo-terra... but I've only personally seen her eat ONE small mealie. She is using the bathroom with substantial poo's but shouldn't she be eating a lot more then one at a time?

How many worms do you go through a day with your adults? I want to get her some medium/large mealies (not the supers tho cause they freak me out, too many horror stories I've heard about them and reptile bellies).

I really want to see her eat more. I'm getting worried. I'm also confused at why she keeps shedding if I hardly ever see her eating. We are going to order some wax worms and mealies next week and hope she likes the bigger plumper foods. Crickets, not a fan at all.

This is a weird question, but would getting her a female tank mate help with her eating habits? Maybe having "competition" with her she will want to eat more? I also think she would benefit from the company too as she is very social and docile. When we go to the NY expo we plan on buying a female from hopefully someone in this forum's booth...might as well help eachother out right? Is this a bad idea though to get her a "friend" since she is already over a year old? She lives in a well decorated 30 gallon breeder, here is a recent photo taken last night after her full tank clean down:
BEFORE:

AFTER:

You can see the worm feeder dish in the back on the left. She can get them out of there no problem, but how do you feel about them? Everything else I have used they were able to escape.

And here is a pic of her recently not only sleeping like the silly thing she is, but it shows the opening to her favorite log/branch that she sleeps in all the time. You can see in the AFTER photo where it is on the left side of the tank.

What do you think? Enough places for each of them to seperate if they need to?

Thanks for your help!

 

[jmeg]

I like the picture of her sleeping.

Did that scare the bejeezus out of you the first time you saw it? My first leo got me good with that one. Walked by the tank and he's flat on his belly doing his best to imitate lizard roadkill.

I know crickets stink and are a pain in the neck but one of mine (again, old Edgar) won't touch anything else. Pretty much the only thing I use my basement for these days is to keep crickets in because he refuses to have anything to do with worms. You might just give her a try with a couple - maybe she's more of a hunter than a gatherer.

Have you tried holding the mealies in front of her? I find that they twitch around a lot in my fingers and maybe that will liven things up for her.

I can't speak to whether or not a companion would make her eat better but I am of the opinion that you can't have too many lizards.

Good luck.

 

[RepBex]

omg i wish i could get my tank like that its fantastic

 

[NyxsMomma]

I like the picture of her sleeping.

Did that scare the bejeezus out of you the first time you saw it? My first leo got me good with that one. Walked by the tank and he's flat on his belly doing his best to imitate lizard roadkill.

It totally did. I even tapped on the glass and she was out! Sleeping soundly as can be. I have never seen a leo sleep like that before so I was like....OMG OMG OMG my baby girl is dead. What the hell happened? What the f**k did I do! Then I go to reach in and she picks her head up with a little "stink eye" and stretches her legs and falls RIGHT BACK TO SLEEP! Little b**ch! Ugh, I was pissed but soooo happy. Ha. She stresses me out all the time. All my pets do. I'm just over protective I guess. LOL.:main_rolleyes:

 

[gage]

lol ya my geckos do that sometimes to

 

[jmeg]

What the hell happened? What the f**k did I do!

That was my reaction almost verbatim.

Frankly, I'm kind of jealous. How cool would it be to just be able to drop in the middle of what you're doing for a little nap.

In fact, I may try that around the office.

'Hey, did you tend to blah-blah-blah?'

'Znnnxxxx.'

 

[Euphoric]

Well I have had my full grown adult for less then you have and she has shed 4 times.
I was told it was normal and she seems fine.
The belly thing is a myth btw it doesn't happen.
Basically you need to feed a balanced diet which does consist of crickets. And maybe some dubias and I have heard of moths too.
Waxworms should not be fed everyday, but I do feed mine every week, esp my pet store bought ones because they are always skinny when I first get them.

Competition will not do anything I don't think. If you want to add a female you can however. A 30 gallon is as long as a 20 gallon long and if its a breeder there is enough space.
However, I would add one more hide just in case.