how to get a baby to eat?

[serenaj25]

hi guys, I have a baby ambilobe and I keep trying to feed him pinhead crickets, tiny super worms and fruit flies but he just won't eat it. I mist him a lot and I see him drinking the water but never eating. how are you supposed to feed these guys without the crickets getting lost in the cage? I tried putting some in a Tupperware and then putting the cham in it but all he did was try to get out. as a side note, is he a male or female?

 

[Tattersb]

My baby quad is in a large ReptiBreeze and I just throw 5-10 pinheads in with him. I've seen him successfully hunt them as they climb up the sides and around the top. I also put a small feeder cup in his enclosure for dubia. It took him several days to stop staring at it suspiciously and actually eat from it, but he goes to it daily now.

 

[LawrenceCritters]

Try a little cup. Put the feeders in there so they can't get away and let the critter go down on it's own.

 

[Andee]

Is he pooping?

 

[jpowell86]

How old is this little one?

The best way to create an area for fruit flies is by attaching a piece of fruit(I like using a slice of orange) to a stick. The fruit flies will congregate to the fruit and make an easy and accessible place for your little one to snag some food. Raising one baby in a large cage is not the easiest task in the world. I use the small 12x12x12 exo terras to raise my babies. I recently bought some of the new NanoBreeze and they are nice too.

Remember, with babies, you can't just throw the amount you think they need in the cage. They will not get enough to eat and that can be detrimental. If I have 5 babies in one cage, I throw in enough food for ten babies. It can take quite a bit sometimes to trigger their eating. Some individuals are finicky.

 

[serenaj25]

Is he pooping?

i just got him today so not from what i've seen. i'm thinking he may still be adjusting to his new home

 

[Andee]

Well if you just got him today it's not surprising he's not eating. Depending on how old he is and how much reserves he has he could go several days to even a couple weeks.

 

[Andee]

I would say for him though 4 days would be the maximum until I would start worrying about serious illness.

 

[jajeanpierre]

My baby quad is in a large ReptiBreeze and I just throw 5-10 pinheads in with him. I've seen him successfully hunt them as they climb up the sides and around the top. I also put a small feeder cup in his enclosure for dubia. It took him several days to stop staring at it suspiciously and actually eat from it, but he goes to it daily now.

Pinheads? Quads hatch big enough to eat a lot bigger crickets than pinheads.

 

[jajeanpierre]

How old is this little one?

The best way to create an area for fruit flies is by attaching a piece of fruit(I like using a slice of orange) to a stick. The fruit flies will congregate to the fruit and make an easy and accessible place for your little one to snag some food. Raising one baby in a large cage is not the easiest task in the world. I use the small 12x12x12 exo terras to raise my babies. I recently bought some of the new NanoBreeze and they are nice too.

Remember, with babies, you can't just throw the amount you think they need in the cage. They will not get enough to eat and that can be detrimental. If I have 5 babies in one cage, I throw in enough food for ten babies. It can take quite a bit sometimes to trigger their eating. Some individuals are finicky.

Joel's cheap. If I have five babies, I throw in enough for 30 babies.

@serenaj25 when feeding babies, it really isn't how many feeders the baby will eat, but the density of prey items for the size of the enclosure.

Look for little stool--that will tell you if they are eating. I almost never see my babies eat. Maybe because there is always too much food in the cage so they are never hungry when I am looking. I would be panicking if a new baby wasn't eating on the first or second day. Make sure the baby is kept humid enough. If they are dehydrated they won't eat.

How much does your baby weigh? Small babies are really fragile. They dehydrate really easily if you aren't prepared or experienced with them.

 

[jpowell86]

Joel's cheap. If I have five babies, I throw in enough for 30 babies.

@serenaj25 when feeding babies, it really isn't how many feeders the baby will eat, but the density of prey items for the size of the enclosure.

Look for little stool--that will tell you if they are eating. I almost never see my babies eat. Maybe because there is always too much food in the cage so they are never hungry when I am looking. I would be panicking if a new baby wasn't eating on the first or second day. Make sure the baby is kept humid enough. If they are dehydrated they won't eat.

How much does your baby weigh? Small babies are really fragile. They dehydrate really easily if you aren't prepared or experienced with them.

Joel is efficient, Janet is excessive!

 

[Tattersb]

Pinheads? Quads hatch big enough to eat a lot bigger crickets than pinheads.

I may be calling them by the wrong name. They're maybe 1/4"-1/2", about the length of his jaw, maybe a little more. They are the smallest my store has.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I may be calling them by the wrong name. They're maybe 1/4"-1/2", about the length of his jaw, maybe a little more. They are the smallest my store has.

Pinheads are tiny, maybe the size of melanogaster fruit flies.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Joel is efficient, Janet is excessive!

You are being too kind, Joel. I believe "wasteful" might have been a word that crossed your lips in reference to my feeding!

 

[jpowell86]

You are being too kind, Joel. I believe "wasteful" might have been a word that crossed your lips in reference to my feeding!

LOL. No I wasn't thinking wasteful....but I was envisioning your patented cricket hand fling!

 

[serenaj25]

Joel's cheap. If I have five babies, I throw in enough for 30 babies.

@serenaj25 when feeding babies, it really isn't how many feeders the baby will eat, but the density of prey items for the size of the enclosure.

Look for little stool--that will tell you if they are eating. I almost never see my babies eat. Maybe because there is always too much food in the cage so they are never hungry when I am looking. I would be panicking if a new baby wasn't eating on the first or second day. Make sure the baby is kept humid enough. If they are dehydrated they won't eat.

How much does your baby weigh? Small babies are really fragile. They dehydrate really easily if you aren't prepared or experienced with them.

my baby is 2 weeks old and he is eating now. he just had 3 pinheads yesterday that were coated with calcium and vitamins. the pinheads are gut loaded with collard greens also. I am a first time owner of a baby, but I am aware of how fragile they are and I make sure to take good care of him. I also did research before I got him.

 

[serenaj25]

Thank you to all who responded and gave me advice! I will keep you all updated if I come across any issues

 

[jajeanpierre]

my baby is 2 weeks old and he is eating now. he just had 3 pinheads yesterday that were coated with calcium and vitamins. the pinheads are gut loaded with collard greens also. I am a first time owner of a baby, but I am aware of how fragile they are and I make sure to take good care of him. I also did research before I got him.

Two weeks is really little! Three pinhead crickets is not much at all.

What do you have him housed in?

Do you have fruit flies? Bean beetles? Do you have a good source for pinhead crickets or fruit flies that you can get on a moments notice. If you aren't careful with tiny crickets, they all up and die on you. There is nothing worse than having a baby and no appropriate sized prey.

I'm not sure I would be feeding any powders on his food items right now, certainly not for the first few days with you. You want him eating, not struggling trying to swallow powdered prey. If his mother was well nourished, she gave a lot of nutrients in the egg yolk that will last him awhile.

I've found a fogger really helpful with tiny babies.

All the best.

 

[serenaj25]

Two weeks is really little! Three pinhead crickets is not much at all.

What do you have him housed in?

Do you have fruit flies? Bean beetles? Do you have a good source for pinhead crickets or fruit flies that you can get on a moments notice. If you aren't careful with tiny crickets, they all up and die on you. There is nothing worse than having a baby and no appropriate sized prey.

I'm not sure I would be feeding any powders on his food items right now, certainly not for the first few days with you. You want him eating, not struggling trying to swallow powdered prey. If his mother was well nourished, she gave a lot of nutrients in the egg yolk that will last him awhile.

I've found a fogger really helpful with tiny babies.

All the best.

I have him in a medium sized reptibreeze screen cage. Yesterday was his first time eating around me and he is currently eating more and more.

 

[Tattersb]

Pinheads are tiny, maybe the size of melanogaster fruit flies.

Ah, gotcha. I've never seen them that small at my stores. Thanks for the info!