When to cut back on female veiled's food

[vgaines]

I hope I am posting this in the correct forum. I have read that in order to reduce,or prevent all together, females from laying you can cut back their feedings and keep basking at around 80*. I am not sure how old Penelope is but I am thinking she is close to 5 months. She still eats like a little pig and I am worried about cutting back on her feedings too soon. She is very active and she will eat crickets (MD), Dubia's, and mini meal worms. As soon as weather and budget permit I will be ordering silkworms. I am trying to get a breeding colony of dubia's going so I can stop feeding crickets but its going slow because I am having trouble keeping temps in the 90's. My male Rebel is full grown and was probably close to a year old when I got him so I am brand new to owning a baby or a female. I just want to make sure I am doing what I need to do to keep her healthy. Any advice would be great. I have read links on keeping females but I do not recall at what age to reduce feeding.
Thank you,
Virginia

 

[jannb]

If she's five months and of good size then I would cut back now. Please post a photo of her. I'd recommend keeping her basking temps in the low 80's.

 

[vgaines]

If she's five months and of good size then I would cut back now. Please post a photo of her. I'd recommend keeping her basking temps in the low 80's.

Thanks so much Jann. I will try and get a good picture of Penelope tomorrow when I get home from work. Is cutting back to every other day OK or does it need to be every third day? Right now her basking spot ranges from 80-83*. I try to keep it at 80* but it depends on the weather and if I have my AC on or not. Thanks for the quick reply. In your experience what do they like best for a lay bin? 100% play sand or a mixture? Sorry I have so many questions. I am a little freaked out about having a girl and I want to make sure I am doing things right. Another quick question, she HATES to be misted so would it be ok to just set up a dripper or would it be better to do both?
Thanks again,
Virginia

 

[jannb]

Thanks so much Jann. I will try and get a good picture of Penelope tomorrow when I get home from work. Is cutting back to every other day OK or does it need to be every third day? Right now her basking spot ranges from 80-83*. I try to keep it at 80* but it depends on the weather and if I have my AC on or not. Thanks for the quick reply. In your experience what do they like best for a lay bin? 100% play sand or a mixture? Sorry I have so many questions. I am a little freaked out about having a girl and I want to make sure I am doing things right. Another quick question, she HATES to be misted so would it be ok to just set up a dripper or would it be better to do both?
Thanks again,
Virginia

At first go to every other day and then in a few more months you can go to 3 times a week as long as she's not shinny. I use sand in the lay bin but a mixture would be fine. I recommend a mist and drip. I think the mist helps to keep up the humidity and aids with shedding. I understand about the temps but 80 is a bit low. Try to keep it around 82 or 83 if you can.

 

[jajeanpierre]

At first go to every other day and then in a few more months you can go to 3 times a week as long as she's not shinny. I use sand in the lay bin but a mixture would be fine. I recommend a mist and drip. I think the mist helps to keep up the humidity and aids with shedding. I understand about the temps but 80 is a bit low. Try to keep it around 82 or 83 if you can.

Jnnb, Do you just give the young females all they can eat in a given period of time, and then leave a couple in the cage? How much time do you give them to eat? Thanks.

 

[vgaines]

If she's five months and of good size then I would cut back now. Please post a photo of her. I'd recommend keeping her basking temps in the low 80's.

Jann, sorry it took me so long to post these pictures and that they are not the best. Penelope really hates me as well as my phone. lol She is a great eater and is very active. I tried my best to get a measurement. She is aprox. 4 inches from nose to vent.
Thanks,
Virginia

 

[vgaines]

Jann, sorry it took me so long to post these pictures and that they are not the best. Penelope really hates me as well as my phone. lol She is a great eater and is very active. I tried my best to get a measurement. She is aprox. 4 inches from nose to vent.
Thanks,
Virginia

Oops.. Forgot to attach pictures...sorry

 

[jannb]

What a little cutie!

She doesn't look that big but it would be ok to go ahead and start feeding her every other day.

 

[kwengkynator]

She is looking great! Reminds me of my female squeaky a few months ago. : )

On my end I usually just feed her around 2 or 3 superworms or dubias or mix 5x a week. She a great eater though! I like feeder her often so that she can spend some bonding time with me. I either leave the food on the bin and watch her or hand feed her. Its a good bonding experience that we can share often. Although I'm really thinking into only feeding her every other day. Ill adjust my feeding habits after her first clutch and see how much I have to go easy on.

Also for breeding the dubia roaches I recommend this heating mat

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...upplies_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TQ3ZK3MN7HRNHJATBCG

This has worked very well for me right now. In texas winter can be chilly definitely not the recommended breeding temperatures. What I did was I had an extra piece of glass lying around, so I adhered the mat to that and set on some clay saucers then put some plastic knobs (comes with the mat purchase) to elevate the plastic breeding bin up a bit (to avoid melting the plastic). I added some double sided tape about 2 layers just to get some more distance. Works very well for me!

Also on your pic, where did you get that piece of metal you hooked your heat lamp to? Looks useful and aesthetic. I bought some lights for my plants (sunlight replacement) and that thing would make a great hanging point!

THANKS!