Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hiya All,
I had my first chuckwalla egg hatch yesterday, and was really just after some advice on feeding. I have left a small quantity of very finely chopped greens and a little squash for colour and stimulation; I have also bought a box of pinhead crickets.

The baby hasnt yet eaten anything, although I presume that that isnt too much of an issue at just over a day old. Really, I was just wondering if what I was offering was sufficient. Is there something better to offer?

adult. Drop some in the cage with the little guys. You can crumble it up a little. I think you will find they will prefer this over the greens for the first few days. Then leave it in there about 30 days. You will see them muching on it quite frequently. This is done to build healthy gut flora to aid in digestion. Tom

Thank you Tgreb. I have tried placing some feces in the cage with the baby, but it doesnt seem very interested - it just hides under the papers in the cage pretty much all of the time, although it is very active when disturbed. Any thoughts on this?

How long has it been since hatched? This is pretty much normal. Just leave him alone. MAKE SURE YOU MIST HIM DAILY maybe twice daily. He will drink heavily. Baby chucks have a tendency to dehydrate easily.

He hatched out on Wednesday morning (Im on UK time). Thank you for letting me know about the spraying. Is there some kind of literature that I can read about this? I cant seem to find anything specific and it feels like Im going in blind on this one.

I got some feces from my chuck cage, but they were already quite dry. I know it sounds silly, but is there any strategy to this at all? I have been watching my adult cage like a hawk today and they havent done a single poo (that I have seen) between them, so Im starting to get a bit agitated. Obviously during the week by the time I get home any poos are baked by the heat. Any advice?

I would not stress over how fresh it is, just as long as the little one has some to munch on. I have had good luck with them eating dandelion flowers right from the start as well as chuck poo. Just give it a variety chopped fine and as long as it is misted everday it should start eating when it is hungry.

Hiya,
Thanks for your input. Im getting really frustrated as its not eating anything. I have put several fresh feces in there over several days and it hasnt eaten them; as far as I can tell it hasnt eaten any veg either. I dont have any more dandelion flowers as the weather here has been too bad...I just am at my wits end.

What do you keep your hatchlings in? We have a very small viv that he is in, but I wonder if there is something better to keep him in...
JO

My hatchlings reside in a 29g long. I have a heat source on 24/7 and the lighting for about 10 hours per day. These are both over a rock pile so they can auto thermal regulate. Does yours drink when you mist it? I would not worry unless it is loosing weight. You can tell that by observing the girth at the base of the tail. You can try grated carrots or mashed corn or similiar veggies. Sometimes they are picky eaters at first!

Hiya, thanks for the reply!
He doesnt drink when I mist him (I say "he", obviously I dont know lol! ); he doesnt appear interested in the water, though I mist him daily. He is still quite tubby in appearance so Im not hugely concerned; he is also very active. I have never seen him eat and his food looks untouched at the end of the day. I got some flowers for him which I chopped up and left in the cage - later that day they had been moved about, but I cant tell if they have been eaten. Arrgh! I have also offered grated squash which has been ignored...havent tried corn, I will give that a shot.
Jo