I have seen plenty of signs that I have three baby Argus in an enclosure, but rarely see the individuals. Even the most brash individual typically flees when I open the cage. When I do see them, I have been able to recognize two of them, but have not been able to see the third. When I saw all three of them out tonight, the one I don't see very often actually appeared to be "thicker" than the other two. I imagine it eats and thermoregulates most often under cover. Justin, I've resisted my constant temptation to dig them out. I don't feel like moving that much dirt nor do I feel like chasing them around the cage. Thanks for sending me those pictures, it has made it much easier to identify them.
I did dig out a corner near the door this afternoon to investigate the soil moisture. There was a considerable gradient in the two feet of dirt/sand mix I have in the enclosure. It appears that there is more clay than I expected in the mix I created as the top layer is very hard in some sections. The mix at the bottom of the cage, more than two feet down in some sections, has a lot of moisture. It would be very interesting to obtain a cross-section of the burrows and the range of soil moistures/ temperatures the Argus use. I imagine that would be a very difficult task. I know that they have some deep burrows that connect with some other ones.
They have a network of burrows and hides and quickly retreat into them when I start messing around in the cage. I think they have also figured out my schedule and have adjusted their schedules accordingly. As I am presently using 24/7 lighting/ heating, the night cycle has become their day cycle.
I'm pretty sure they have put on some more weight and have grown a bit the past few weeks. It is hard to tell, but I know the pinkies, crickets, and roaches have had to go somewhere. They are not shy about food and I do sometimes see them zip from hole to hole as they chase crickets.
I guess the fun part, at times, is just knowing you have them.
I'm still working on finishing the exterior shell. The inside of the cage, including the door, is completely finished with FRP and the door frame has been painted multiple times.
I'm going to be adding some wood lattice this weekend and some plastic irrigation/ sewage pipe tubes.
