We got our daughter (9yo) a blue tongue lizard for her birthday this week. We picked it up on Tuesday afternoon (it’s now Saturday morning, here in Australia). The store says it’s about 6 months old.
We also bought a really nice enclosure for it, with all the bits and pieces: 4’ wood enclosure with glass sliding doors; twin 75W ceramic heat emitters; thermostat (located around the mid-zone); UVB light (on 12hrs per day, from 7:30am); good substrate, a basking log, a hide-out, and some fake grasses and leaves to hide under.
I’m not convinced the thermostat is particularly good, but I’ve kept a digital thermometer at the basking end, and the heat seems to consistently sit at around 30°-35°C (~86°-95°F) there, which at least tells me that zone is OK. I’m not sure the cool zone isn’t too cool. I plan on buying another thermometer for that end.
The problem is, it’s not eating much. It tends to find a hiding spot near the cool end, and bury itself under the substrate. We gave it some diced strawberries on Wednesday. I ended up putting it right near the food, and it eventually ate about a strawberry’s worth.
The past couple of days we’ve tried some diced apple (freshly cut each day), but it hasn’t gone near the food at all. Most of those two days, it stayed hidden and/or buried under the substrate. Per the store’s instructions, we’re taking the food away again around mid-afternoon - 3pm-ish.
Today, we put some beef pet food out and moved the lizard next to the food bowl. It had a tiny, little munch, but didn’t really eat what you might consider a meal.
The store says it could take a week or so for it to settle into its new home, and I understand that. We’re being disciplined and resisting the urge to take it out and hold it, to try and keep stress levels down.
But, I’m a touch concerned at all the staying hidden/buried, and lack of eating, as we’ve been told juveniles should be fed daily. My daughter’s starting to get really worried, and I’ve tried explaining that cold-blooded animals metabolise way slower than warm-blooded, so it’s not like he’s starving or anything. At least, I don’t think he is.
Should we be concerned at all? At which point should I start to seek professional assistance?
Just looking for some reassurance that anything we’re doing/not doing isn’t causing any problems. Thanks.
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You’re good. No need to stress. They can go a long time without eating - multiple weeks+.
It took mine a week or so when I first brought it home. Don’t worry, don’t stress. If it goes 1.5 week+, I’d start to get concerned.
Time and patience. Soon it won’t stop eating
Thanks for that. Good to know. We just want it to be a happy and satisfied part of the family. Appreciate the reassurance.
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.
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.
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.
I’m using my home automation for the UVB light. 12 hours a day of UV light.
The shop said to leave the heat emitters on 24x7 until the end of winter next year.
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 home automation for those too.
Did it start eating?
Hey, yeah it has. So far, we’ve figured out it likes strawberries, beef dog food, and bananas.
Cucumber, cos lettuce and apple not so much.
But, it’s also being pretty reclusive and cranky, hissing if you put your hand near it. I suspect it’s about to start shedding - I think I can see some dullness in places on its skin.
I’m not a professional, but your care looks fine. To me, it sounds like the stress of a new environment may have triggered a brumation.
However, I would take them to the vet asap. It’s been long enough to be concerned. Reptiles are very hardy, but that often means they can suffer for a long time before signs show. If they are sick, they probably have been for some time and it may be dire. I wouldn’t count on it, but the vet should be your next step.
I would give it a bit before transporting it again, a trip to the vet will only cause more stress. Maybe find someone to come in to take a look at it if the concern is that high, moving stress + lack of appetite has absolutely been my experience with new reptiles. Give it a while to feel safe in its home, don’t let food stay too long.
Yes, don’t stress it with another trip yet
