My son (12) and I have been caring for our 17" CK for 2 monthjs. I've got to go out of town for several weeks and have generated the care sheet below. If anybody sees items that need to be added, modified we would sincerly appreciate it.
Feeding:
· Try and give him a fuzzy that is about the same size as the thickness of his body, it can be a little bigger but not too much. When buying more fuzzies, squeeze the package and feel for the smaller ones.
· Feed him every 4-5 days. If something happens that makes you miss a scheduled feeding it’s no big deal, he’ll be fine. It is best for him to be on the schedule or as close to it as possible as it helps his metabolism.
· Do not touch the fuzzy with your fingers, ever! Use the tongs to move him from bag to bag and into his cage.
· There’s no reason to feed him in the other container any longer. When placing the fuzzy into his cage put it on the top flat part of his hide. Putting it there will decrease the chance of him fouling the strike with bedding material
· Soak the fuzzy in a glass of hot water (in a zip-lock) for about 10 minutes. You can change the water out with warmer water once if you need to.
· When taking the thawed fuzzy out of the baggie (using tongs) put him on a paper towel, fold the towel over it and press all over the mouse to ensure that it is dry…it must be DRY. You’ll want to reposition the mouse to a dry part of the towel and repeat the drying procedure at least once. Don’t wait too long to give him the meal as it will start cooling down pretty quickly.
· I don’t think you need to “brain them anymore” but if you want to; when drying him with the paper towel just give some pressure on his nose/front of head area. It doesn’t take much to give it a little nosebleed, which increases the mouse’s scent.
· I also don’t think that he needs to be shown (teased) with the fuzzy being held and shaken right in front of his face anymore. Plus (as you’ve seen) he gets ultra aggressive when striking at it. I think if you wait until he is positioned in his cage were you can wave the mouse close to him to allow him to get a whiff then place it on the flat rock everybody will be fine. Give him time to find it!
· After you place the mouse make sure you watch him eat the whole thing. If he takes it into his hide then comes out without the lump in his belly you’ll know he didn’t eat it…. yet! Wait an hour or so to give him a chance to eat it. If he doesn’t go into his cage and get the mouse out of there. If it’s trashed then throw it away, if it looks ok then seal it in a zip-lock and put it in the refrigerator, then try and feed him it the next day. If you threw that one away try and feed him a fresh one the next day.
· Remember that when he goes into shed cycle he may not want to eat, which is ok. If he refuses to eat during shed cycle then wait until he finishes shedding to feed him. Once he eats start the 4-5 day cycle again.
· After he does eat he will warm up then burrow and sleep for 2-4 days, this is normal and ok. Don’t disturb him!! And don’t handle him!!
· After he eats, wait about 2 hours then check his cage with the flashlight to see if he regurgitated the meal. If so clean it and all surrounding substrate material up. If he does ever regurgitate it will likely be caused by him being stressed out, but MAY be a sign something else is wrong…let me know if/when this happens.
· Remember he likes to eat at night and likes it relatively dark…WITHOUT 5 people staring at him from 2 feet away. It’s fine to watch (actually needed) but use common sense.
· Anytime between 2-6 days after him eating he will take a dump. If possible take a real close look at it to see if anything looks odd (things moving in it, blood). Use a magnifying glass.This is something you need to get in the practice of doing as his poop may give you first signs of an illness. Clean the poop as soon as you can. If it’s against the glass try to get it up before it dries as it will stick to the glass and will need scraping to get off once it dries. Remove all adjoining substrate with the poop.
Cage Maintenance:
· It is a good and easy practice to change his water every time you go into his cage. At a minimum change it every 3 days. Make sure you wash the bowl out with hot water and rinse it real well, then fill with room temperature water. Make sure you place the dish where it is level and has little chance of him knocking it over. If you ever see that he has knocked it over you will need to remove ALL the soaked substrate and replace with clean dry stuff immediately. Make sure you get the cage as dry as possible.
· I’m confident that we have his temperatures (hot/cold sides) dialed in. You need to put your hand under the tank at least everyday to ensure that the UTH is working. If not look at the electrical plug connections. I doubt anything will go wrong with it but if it does contact me immediately.
· If we lose power don’t worry, he’ll be fine. If the power is off for more than 24 hours let me know and we can come up with a plan. After the power comes back on give the UTH a little while to warm up and check to ensure it is working.
· Once a week you need to tidy up the cage. Have Mom hold him during this or put him in the feeding tub (with lid closed tight!). Take all the hides, water dish, jar, stick, and plants out. Look at them all closely looking for poop or anything that looks dirty.
· If needed you can wash the items off with hot water, rinse well and let them dry. If they aren’t dry when you want to put them back it’s no biggy at all, the moisture will just increase the cages humidity for a while. Just don’t put them back in if they are drenched and dripping…again use common sense.
· Before putting everything back in look at all of the substrate for poop and dirt, remove as required. Take your hand and fluff up all the substrate. You’ll feel where some of it has compressed. While fluffing look for poop and dirt. Pay attention to how thick the substrate is before you start fluffing, this thickness is working well for his temperatures and burrowing.
· I like to rearrange his tank every week, not sure if he really cares but I’ve got to believe things being different in that small tank have got to help him. When you put the hides back in you’ll need to push the substrate down/or aside to create a little shallow spot for the middle of the hide. This gives him room to coil up and be comfortable. Do not add anything from outside to the tank!!!!!
· When it gets colder than normal in the house (most of the winter lol) put the sheet of blue insulation foam on top of the screen top. Make sure you push it all the way against the refrigerator; this will allow a 1.5-2.0 inch gap on the cool side.
· If you turn on the reading lamp next to his cage at night to watch him; make sure it isn’t too close. You’ll know if it’s too close when the glass gets hot. Keep it at least 2 inches away and don’t leave it on too long.
Shed Cycle:
· You know how he looks when he is getting ready to shed…scales/skin look rough and he starts to get “white” between the scales and his eyes turn cloudy (opaque). When his eyes clear back up or start to then you know his shed is coming soon.
· Once you notice he is starting the cycle rearrange his cage and remove the jar (if it’s still in there) to make more room. Put the shed box into the cage and if you want to save room put the water dish on top of it (make sure it’s level).
· Make sure you put the shed box in the middle right of the cage, more towards the cool side but not all the way on the cool side. Make sure you place the shed box in a position to allow him easy access to the entrance.
· Make sure the moss in the shed box is moist, NOT WET and check it everyday remoistening as needed.
· If you have him out of the cage and want to LET him take a swim/soak in a bowl of water…make sure the water is not too cold, but not too warm either. A LITTLE bit over room temperature is fine. If he does soak make sure you get him back to his cage to warm up soon.
· After he sheds you can remove the shed box and return his cage to normal.
