Helping Falkor settle....

[alalsip]

So, we've had Falkor for three days now and it's slow going. I'm trying to not get in his cage to much. I've been trying to feed him, but that hasn't been successful at all. We did do a short soak yesterday just because I'm a little worried about dehydration (with how little he is I imagine dehydration could happen faster). I've been spraying him a couple of times a day, he seems to like it. He's finally found some warmer hiding spots after I put him in one after his bath yesterday. Anything else I can do to help him get used to his new home? He's just so little :-(

He's in a 100g tank, I know it's a bit big, but someday he will be too! Warm side is 96 on the side of the tank, actual basking temps reach 105-110. Cool side is 72. 36 inch ubv is getting changed today to the reptisun 10.0 t5 bulb, the reptisun 5.0 t5 is in right now. Basking bulb is a reptiglow 120w I believe. Tile substrate. Meal worms always available, but only one was eaten yesterday. Baby crickets, he ate 8 the first night, nothing since then. Dandelion greens or basil always available, some sort of fruit (apples and strawberries so far) and sometimes a little carrot. Other then switching to a smaller tank, (we don't want to stress him out anymore though!) what can we do?

Oh, both ends are covered in paper, the back is against a wall so we didn't think it was necessary to cover it? Thanks for your help all! I can't wait until Falkor is a little bigger and I can rest easier!

- warm side

- cool side

- he found a comfy hiding spot!

 

[PatsyB]

Oh wow, he's tiny! He could be just adjusting. Sometimes they are fine when you first get them and then they realize they aren't leaving and they get a little stressed until they settle in. It could be the UVB bulb too. I have the t5 HO bulbs and I love them. I had the 5.0 in and Luci was just kinda so so, I changed it to the 10.0 and he went back to normal. You should also give him a hide or something on the cool side of the tank.

 

[alalsip]

Hide on the cool side done Uvb to the 10.0 also. I'm hoping to see a little bit more perky in the next couple of days. He doesn't seem to mind being held, but we still don't hold him much. I'm planning on giving him another bath tonight. He's 5 inches, so I'm really thinking he's not 3 months. More like 4-6 weeks :-(

 

[PatsyB]

Dexter was 5 inches when we got her. I don't have proof but we just figured that she as 4 weeks when we got her. She grew real fast and now 2 years later, she's a healthy 487 grams and 18.5 inches!

 

[alalsip]

I think I'm going to get some dubia roaches either today or tomorrow. Smallest ones I can cause crickets are a pain and he's not eating them anyway. There's greens always offered and meal worms too, but Falkor just isn't eating. I'm spraying him a few times a day with water just to ward off dehydrating.

 

[PatsyB]

Mealworms aren't the best nutrition wise and they have a real hard shell that can be hard to digest if your dragon isn't well hydrated. Misting him is good, just make sure the humidity in the tank doesn't get too high. When you give him a bath, drip a bit of water on the tip of his nose to encourage him to lick it. Another thing you can do is run your fingers through the bath water, sometimes they see the movement and drink the water on their own. Good to offer greens all the time even if he isn't eating them at the moment. Little ones don't always take to greens right away so don't get discouraged if he doesn't eat them.

 

[alalsip]

I can't wait to get away from meal worms! I just have them in there "just in case" for while we are gone during the day. We are starting a dubia colony this week, so that will help a lot once it's established! Now I'm off to work. I hate leaving him! Lol

 

[alalsip]

Dexter was 5 inches when we got her. I don't have proof but we just figured that she as 4 weeks when we got her. She grew real fast and now 2 years later, she's a healthy 487 grams and 18.5 inches!

One more question... If Falkor is only 4 weeks or so, how many crickets a feeding? I know by 3 months he should be doing 40 or so a day, right? But at this little, there's no way! He ate 5 or 6 this morning, got a spritz, and sat on my hand for a minute. He had his eyes closed and was so relaxed on my thumb he almost fell over! Lol Thank you so much for your help!

 

[PatsyB]

One more question... If Falkor is only 4 weeks or so, how many crickets a feeding? I know by 3 months he should be doing 40 or so a day, right? But at this little, there's no way! He ate 5 or 6 this morning, got a spritz, and sat on my hand for a minute. He had his eyes closed and was so relaxed on my thumb he almost fell over! Lol Thank you so much for your help!

You want to feed him as much as he will eat in a 15 min time span, 3 times a day if possible. When Dexter was small she ate 3x a day like clockwork and would eat 20 crickets a sitting. Luci would eat 2x a day and eat about 20 a sitting. The crickets were small too, nothing bigger than the space between their eyes.

I hear what you say about leaving them. I had a hard time this morning. Luci was being real lazy and wouldn't get up and I was trying to coax him to get moving. I've been worried about him since he got spooked Saturday. He tried climbing up into my recliner and I caught him, I've been worried that I maybe squeezed him a bit too much. He also ate about 6 lobster roaches yesterday and he's never had them before, and now he's in like a food coma!

 

[alalsip]

Guess they are resilient little guys! And we just upgraded to roaches. I got Falkor to eat 6 crickets today in 15 minutes. I had to break off their back legs! He's not really coordinated enough to be able to catch them when they fully jump. I tried the roaches tonight, but he wasn't having any of it. Tomorrow morning he will get a bath. I didn't have time tonight, then I will try the roaches again. Hopefully it'll go better! On a plus note, the leopard gecko loves the roaches! Lol

 

[PatsyB]

I hate roaches! I just picked up a couple dozen for variety. I watched the guy feed their dragons lobster roaches and they were a good size. He told me the were "clumsy climbers" to me that means they can't climb good. WELL I came home and tried to tong feed Luci and the roach got off the tongs and ran up the side of the glass and almost ran out of the tank! Luckily Luci is quick and he got it. I'm keeping them in the basement where it's cool and they will slow down and won't breed LOL!

 

[alalsip]

The Dubia roaches cannot climb glass thank God! Lol I'll be staying away from the lobster roaches for sure.

 

[Badwolf]

I know what you mean about the roaches, I can't stand them. I make my husband feed them to them. Your little guy is most likely just settling in. I would add some color background to the tank. Something for him to look at.
I don't know what pet store s you have by you but Pet Co sometimes sells very small wax worms and small super worms. I would try those before the mealworms. Just don't let him get dependent on the wax worms or you'll have to get hi on Jenny Craig. try to find small supers.
And don't let yourself get too overwhelmed, your little guy will be fine I'm sure. You sound like a loving owner, and that's what they need! Cheers!

 

[alalsip]

Awe! Thanks! He's doing so much better today. He was just settling in, I think it's his size that scares me! I've got to get a few more things, so I'll add a background to that list. I realize I need just plain calcium. I've got calcium with d3 only! Oops. I've been searching for small supers, but they are all the size of large meal worms. Yikes! I'll keep looking though. And I've seen the wax worms, but I don't think Falkor is ready for Jenny Craig Maybe I'll grab a few on Friday

 

[Badwolf]

Good evening, I thought I would look into your super worm issue and found a place that has the Micro superworms. Go to mulberryfarms.com and they sell em starting at 7.95$ for 500 of them. It seems like a lot but you would be surprised how long they would last. I hope this helps!
Cheers!

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Good evening, I thought I would look into your super worm issue and found a place that has the Micro superworms. Go to mulberryfarms.com and they sell em starting at 7.95$ for 500 of them. It seems like a lot but you would be surprised how long they would last. I hope this helps!
Cheers!

I purchased from them and they shipped fast.They do last awhile.