Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just received a fantastic hatchling leatherback on Friday, and her coloration has turned really dark since I received her. She also has been eating very sparingly, only 3-4 small crickets taken from tongs.

Are these just signs of stress? Or could they indicate poor temps or some other husbandry issue? I'm guessing that she just needs to get settled into her new environment but wanted to check before she crashes.

Some quick notes on my setup:
- 36 x 16 x 16
- Reptisun 10.0
- 107* hotspot (measured with a Tempgun)
- 80* ambient on cool side
- paper towel substrate
- small crickets and collard greens offered daily

Thanks!
Bruce

Hi Bruce...shipping in itself is stressful,and all dragons react differently to their new surroundings. Some eat immediately and some won't for a few days. What is the length of the baby? Dragons under 6" are much more frail and unable to take extremes of temps. [ like during shipping] than one that is 6" and up. Do you know what the temps. were[if it was shipped] from the departure to arrival? Another thing,the cage is very large and a baby is more secure in a smaller tank.It may need time simply to adjust. Don't handle it until it feels secure in it's new environment,also covering 3 sides of the aquarium [ if it is in a glass tank] or half of the front of it's cage may help it feel less frightened...especially if there are other animals around.

Thanks for your note! I received the animal face to face, so it was not shipped. My cage is melamine, so three sides are covered. I will go ahead and cover the front as well for the next week or two. I do not have any other animals, and the dragon is located in a quiet home office. I have only handled her to get her into the cage and will refrain from changing her setup or handling her until she is fully acclimated.

Thanks again,
Bruce

You're welcome...I'm sure someone else will chime in with something that I haven't thought of. BTW,collards are pretty tough[ although very nutritious] and should be VERY finely chopped. Mustard and turnip greens are other nutritious staples,and not as tough.Even though you are handling at a minimum,you can put it in a small plastic container with warm but NOT hot water up to it's shoulders[ stay with it] to see if it wants to drink...it may need hydrating. You can also squirt a small stream of water from a spray bottle gently on it's head to get it to drink.

Every dragon is different. But, dark coloration is also used to absorb heat. I would try raising the basking spot to the 110-115 range. If a dragon stays in the hottest part most of the time the basking spot is too cool. If the basking spot is too hot the dragon will not use it. I wouldn't feed collards either. I do well with mustard greens for baby dragons. One of the best parts about them is that they are not flat so they make a nice 3 dimensional salad, maybe add some dandelion or romaine for diversity. Put a bottomful of water in the salad bowl and the the salad will stay fresh all day. I use an eyedropper to drip water on their noses to get them to drink. For a baby I'd do it at least once a day. I really think stress is overrated so I would fool with some other possible causes.

I wouldn't feed crickets with tongs either. I would put the crickets in the enclosure and let them walk around to entice him. Maybe posting a picture of your setup would be helpful.

Thanks for your advice. I increased the temps to a peak basking temp of 115* with a nice gradation, and this seems to have perked up the little girl a bit. She is still too skittish to chase crickets, though, so I have continued to feed using tongs (which she readily accepts). Should I stop doing that and just figure that she will start chasing crickets on her own when she gets hungry enough?

Thanks again for your help!

I don't really have an answer because I've never fed a BD with tongs. I guess I'd continue to do what you're doing but leave a couple walking around the cage all day too. Just take them out at night.

Just put the crickets in a bowl. This way she can eat them herself and won't end up running around loose in the cage. The movement of the crickets may be more encouraging for her to eat more than just a few from tongs, especially if she's still skittish.
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PHLdyPayne