keldaahh
New Member
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- Handling - Before upgrading her enclosure, it seemed she wanted to be handled more. I updated her enclosure two days ago, and she doesn’t seem to be as interested in coming out. I did open the door to add some sticks and she crawled onto me today, and seemed interested in what I was doing, and repeated this a few times.
- Feeding - I am feeding crickets right now, as she is not interested in dubias. I feed her about 5 crickets around 10am and leave about 10 in there for her to graze on. I am not gut-loading at the moment, I’m still figuring out how to store my crickets, which I’d like some feedback on!
- Supplements - I’m giving her Repti Calcium every other day, and I plan on giving Reptivite with D3 twice a month.
- Watering - I have a milk-jug dripper in place, dripping onto leaves below. She has taken an interest in the dripping water, but sometimes tries to drink it from afar, extending her tongue as if catching food. In the old enclosure, she mostly drank off of the glass, so I did add a small piece of plastic on the side of the enclosure if she’s more interested in something like that. I mist for 3-4 minutes about 30 minutes before lights off, and periodically through the evening as needed.
- Fecal Description - I am unaware if she was ever tested for parasites. She has had normal (from my comparison to photos here) droppings, 1-2 per day.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - XL Reptibreeze, I have a plastic sheet on the back always, and halfway on the left is open during the day, and at night I put it up fully (back and left side) to maintain humidity.
- Lighting - I have the 24” Reptisun T5 HO, set up 4” above the top of the enclosure. The bulb in the heat lamp is a 60W Daytime Heat Lamp from Exo-Terra, sitting directly on the enclosure.
- Temperature - I have a hygrometer/ thermometer at about the center of her enclosure. During the day, temps are from 70°-75°. Her basking spot from what I’ve actually measured is about 80°, and I have felt it with the back of my hand to make sure it is not too hot. I am planning on getting a heat gun in the near future for more accurate readings. At night, in her old enclosure, temps had been 55°-60°. I am having a hard time getting below 65° at night with the new enclosure, but have noticed that misting with ice water has helped lower temps, not enough, though.
- Humidity - during the day, humidity is between 50-60%. Half hour before lights out I will mist for about 2-3 minutes, following up throughout the evening as needed. I would like to avoid buying a fogger, but I think I may need one, since the humidity drops pretty quickly. Unless I could add plastic to the front and right side at night, but then I’m worried about airflow.
- Plants - I am using all live plants, and I’ve seen her munching on a few of them. I have multiple pothos, ZZ Plants, a philodendron brasil, creeping fig, polka dot plant, croton, philodendron lickety split, and Schleffera. I mixed up my own potting mix using coconut coir and chips, mixed with sand.
- Placement - The enclosure is sitting on a stand in the corner of our living room, next to a south-facing window. The top of the enclosure is about 7ft off the floor.
- Location - Agricultural zone 6B
Overall, I am confident that my enclosure is up to standard, but I am a new keeper so I am accepting of all constructive criticism! These are my main questions:
- How old does she look?
- How do you all store crickets? I hate having them lol, but it’s what she likes most. I can’t stand the smell in the bags, and the store always gives me WAY too many. I was thinking of using a deep cardboard box and putting a mesh lid over top.
- Any recommendations on a drip system? I want something fairly easy to control. Same with a fogger, especially budget-friendly or even DIY recommendations!
- She used to drink mostly off of the glass in the old enclosure….will she adapt to drinking from solely leaves now?
- I’m having a hard time getting the enclosure to cool down at night. Even though my current method cools it off, it’s only a few degrees it seems. Any recommendations for this?
- I have a sand pit for egg laying when that time comes, I will attach a picture. Anything I should do differently?