sketchtone
Member
I always check but they're usually mushy. I wait a bit anyway just in case I missed one that is actually a fly. He LOVES silkworms and will eat the mid sized and smaller, so going smaller might get him to eat a bit more volume. He also loves wax worms, luckily not as much.That all sounds great!
Just FYSA, in case you're not aware (and if you are, ignore me) the BSFL LOOK dead while they're pupating. They turn almost black and don't move. No need to throw them away. If they're brown and squishy, they're dead. If they're hard and black, they'll be flies in a week or two. Often I feed my BSFL until I stop finding the moving ones, and let the rest pupate and see what comes out.
Hand feeding is perfectly fine - just no tweezers or tongs. I'd honestly not encourage any hunting other than flying insects because it's way harder to track what your cham is eating if they're free-ranging. For my guy, the flies are an extra treat (Though I"m certain he eats all of them lol!).
Make sure your updated gutload is utilizing the options on the picture chart above. Fruits are good but you mostly want greens like chard, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. Be careful because spinach is a no-go and I think kale is too - they both bind calcium and prevent the cham from being able to get it out of their bugs. Crazy biological science stuff!
All in all, we're super happy you're listening to this guidance and I think as you make your improvements, Reggie is going to thrive!
He has eaten crickets free range, and I always try the cup (it worked last time, so I'm hoping he'll use it again!) but they just die in it since they don't jump out for some reason. They usually line up at the basking light and he picks them off even if they're still. When he's up there, sometimes I tap the outside and get them to crawl a bit. That or I scrape them down to make them climb and jump.
He ADORES flying things though, however I've only had success with wax moths, and mine tend to be bad at flying. It's so cute when he's running around trying to ge them!
I will update my gut load, but I couldn't get out to get some fresh greens for it today, so I'll get it tomorrow during a pre scheduled outing.
I want to leave reginald alone as long as possible for now to see how he acts. He's already stopped screen climbing today!! (at least for today, that is.)
The vet was feeling his bones and noted that they felt soft. That was a bit of confirmation that it was just the UVB. (if she was even right about that. she just chalked it up to him growing still, even though he only gained one gram since then.)
I've got my fingers crossed that this helps him get better!! Thank you again (to everyone) for the help!!
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