Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I got a pair? of them at the end of the september..... They arn't eating much, have been trying a variety of foods. The only thing they are eating alittle of is banana, maybe some tomato... Humidity is ok as i have many fish tanks in their room....... temp.. seems just slightly cool in non basking spots... cage is 2x2x5 rept. cage...
My question......... how much should they move? Mine dont move for hours... i can go to work, come home and they are in same place... I understand they are more nocturnal..... but...... what should i expect...... I have been reading u folks post for a long time...... some are helpful.... some are just......
any way..... id be happy for any ideas, I do want mine to live..........
thanks

I am not offering advice...as I don't have much experience with MTS...just the ONE that I own.
So, I'll just tell you my observations of Dill.
Dill loves to eat cantaloupe melon, sweet potato baby food...pea baby food and frozen mixed veggies that have been thawed in warm water, and pureed.
Those are her absolute faves. So, chop up her greens to the consistancy of chopped parsley, and then mix them up in one of her favourite foods. She never eats just greens (unless it's mulberry leaves or pothos) on their own...they always have to have something else with them.
Dill will not eat banana, apple, OR tomato...which is opposite of your pair. I guess just like us humans, PTS have different preferences in what they eat as well.
I recently have had some difficulty coaxing Dill to eat...it doesn't seem to matter what it is...she just isn't interested.
It's frustrating...that's for sure.

As far as your PTS not being very active...
I too have noticed that with Dill. Some days I swear she doesn't budge an inch. She will be in the same spot she was when I left for work, or when I went to bed. I don't know if that is temperature related, humidity related, or just mood related. Some days (like tonight) she will cruise all over her enclosure...other days, she's like a sloth, and moves maybe a couple inches. She can be like this for a couple days in a row...and it still worries me every single time she does it.

Anyway, as I said...no advice...just wanted to let you know that I observe some of the same behaviours with my PTS.
Whether that makes it normal or not...I couldn't say.
But, maybe it'll help in some way anyway.
-----
Kim

Thanks,

Just trying to figure out whats is more "normal".... Still got to try different foods...... Has anyone used a 4" plastic drain pipe for a hide box?.... seems to be a big enough opening..

We use cardboard tubes that are close to that size. Hope this helps

Angie

First i think your cage is tooo small for a pair.Second MTS need some time to get acclimated(sp?lol!).Third i dont think they can eat tomato!
MTS are full of surprises concerning his routine.Sometimes they get active at 3AM! Sometimes at 7AM, sometimes at 11PM!I never know when my Leonardo is going to have a burst of energy and wants to explore the house!You have to be patient! I have had my Leonardo for a few months already and only now he is eating well (squash and melon plus POTHOS plant!)and becoming fat!
I think you should move them to a bigger cage, fill the cage with POTHOS plant (thats what they eat in the wild)vases, put the cage close to a window,(that makes reptiles more happy)where they have a view (of trees if possible)and wait.
MTS make great pets! They can become very docile and sweet and they are really funny to observe.But they dont have a 7AM to 7PM routine like iguanas !

clp, you said a reptile cage, do you mean one made of netting because they are not very good for MTS, if that is what you have them in you might want to consider building a cage or having one built for you. They really are not that hard to build!! Humidity should be about 65% or higher and it is very tough to maintain assuming you are using the netting sort of cage. A friend of mine has some veiled and jacksons cham's living in cages that are made of netting that are the same dimensions that you have mentioned that is why I was asking. They may also be dehydrated which imports often are ( again assuming on my part), one thing which has worked for me with three imports I recently acquired is to (JUST FOR NOW, NOT LONG-TERM) is to offer them romaine lettuce and blanced carrot sliced thin soaked with water. When you offer them this spray them heaviliy with water ( I used a garden sprayer on fine mist) They started tongue licking, then I sprayed it in direction of the food bowl and all three in seperate sessions went over and immediately started eating. Romaine does not have a high nutritional value but mostly water that is why I say do not use it long-term, carrots are good all the time. After about a week of good eating I switched them over to collard greens, kale, golden pothos and dandolien leaves a staple I feed my other groups of MTS. I also use squash ( Blanched and diced thin), apple, sweet potato ( Blanched & diced thin), mango, ocassional baby spinach, tomato, kiwi, green beans and carrots ( Blanched & diced thin), and several other items that come on the market now and then. See if the romaine lettuce works, if not I might have a few other Ideas for you. I hope this helps. Good Luck and keep us updated!!!!!!!!! One other thing I forgot to mention is to have a fecal exam done for each skink by a vet, parasites sometimes contribute to hunger strikes!!!!!

Thanks for all the info.

Yes, I have my MTS in a screen cage, but I have about 800 gallons of fish tanks in the room/ space..... Low Humidity is not an issue........ One skink is shedding now. I am glad to see it go from a dull dull brown to a more greenish .....

How long should I leave food out?........ and how often should i present food

Hey clp, I prepare my skinks meals at about 9:00pm at night and leave it in their enclosure till about noon time the next day when I come home from work for lunch break. I feed them every other day and change their water everyday. Shedding can also contribute to lack of appetite, I usually help speed the shedding process up by soaking my MTS in luke warm water ( as an extra precaution, check each of their toes to make sure there is no retained shed, that is sometimes a problem area.) I guess with an 800 gallon fish tank in the room there would be a decent humidity level present and the screen enclosure could work. My statement should have been that I have not been successful with a screen cage and not that they do not work well for MTS (sorry).
Do you have multiple levels for them to climb on from the bottom to the top of the enclosure, If you maximize the space you have, I believe in your situation you could probably make the scren enclosure work. Good luck,If you need anything else, don't hesitate to post or email me directly.

I understand about the humidity issue, without those fish tanks humidity would be an issue, I use that screen mesh but built my own PVC frame system and have built in a way to modify when i want , I have set up 2 basking sites at different levels. A bunch of branch systems, plastic vines etc....

I have a 14" clay pot base that i am using for a soaking dish, it is on the bottom of cage... Should one be higher?

Also, does/ will a black plastic Pipe (10' for $2.00) work for a hide box?..I am using one now, but they dont go in it yet... I have cut it into about 2' length, used plastic ties to strap branches to the outside of pipe so they could crawl ontop of it without falling off as it is about at 4' up.

They may not like the plastic hide because it has no traction. If it turns out they won't use the PVC you might want to try cork rounds.

Also, feeding everyother day is fine for adults, but I prefer to feed juveniles daily.

-Z

I think the Black Pipe should be fine for hides, it seems that your skinks just need to get comfortable with their new environment. Are your new friends Adults, Juvies, or babies, are they captive bred or wild caught? If they are Juvies I think feeding every other day will be fine as long as you give them a good amount of food, babies I would offer food everyday and adults every other day will be fine too.

Hi! congrats on your new PTS-
some questions- I understand you have many fishtanks in the room, but still- what is the humidity? If you don't have a humidity gauge- it is a good investment, and they are cheap. Above 60% would be ideal. What is your bask zone temperature? These are tropical animals- bask zone should be 85-90, and there should be a hide in this area so they can be warm even if they do not want to be exposed. Do you have UV light? Even if they do not critically need it (like iguanas), regular UV light exposure is beneficial for normal eating and behavior. Cool zones shouldn't be colder than 70. They need to be able to thermoregulate, so have hides in both zones.
PTS/MTS are arboreal, so your enclosure should be vertically oriented with several levels, thick climbing branches, and several hides. You can use plastic plants to make things look more 'natural'. Plastic tubes (PVC) might work, but have no traction- so I wouldn't think they would like these much. I use cork rounds and tubes and wood half rounds.
They need a large soaking bowl or pan on the bottom, which they will probably use as a toilet.
They do not like to eat on the bottom of the enclosure, so feeding on a middle or upper shelf will make it MUCH more likely that they will eat regulary.
I feed daily- they will happily eat daily. I would definetely feed your PTS daily, since you are unsure of their health. Have they been seen by a vet yet/ If not- please go and bring a fecal sample to check for parasites. If these are wild caught/recent imports- almost quaranteed they are loaded with parasites.
Food suggestions: 75% dark leafy greens (kale, chard, carrot/radish/beet tops), mustard greens, dandelion greens, hibiscus leaves, mulberry tree leaves, pothos plant, parsley) 20% grated veggie- carrot, yam, squashes, zucchini, beets, brocolli. 10-15% fruit (apple, kiwi, grape, peach, melons, papaya, mango, strawberry, banana). Hibiscus and squash flowers are also eaten.
My PTS LOVE fresh mulberry, pothos, papaya and kiwi. I squeeze fruit juice on my greens mix to make it more palatable.
Too much fruit will cause diarrhea and maybe bloating from too much sugar. Banana is very high in some minerals such as phosphorous, which makes it NOT a good staple, but an ok treat.
Calcium/Vit D3 supplementing is a very good idea, at least a few times a week.
Cheers, Jess b
pix is of my two PTS enclosures.

Hey clp, any luck with your MTS eating yet. If not, just keep offering as many different types of food as you can. If they are not eating at all just keep putting food in every other day to try and stimulate a feeding response, I would keep trying but give them a day in between feeding with fresh water and a good misting. Good luck and let us know how things are going.

I keep playing with types of foods... they pick at the bannas, i still try a variety of foods, buying small amounts at the store.... I am trying to lay out on the plate in piles... so i can see what gets gone...... as everyone knows they drag their body thru making it hard to tell. I wish i had weighed them when i first got them in..... I got them on 9/11/03, just cant tell if they are weighing the same or less.... on the last plate of food i had about 8 different items......

Soaking? do you put them in a container that they cant get out of? do you hold them down?..... I do have a large plant base in their cage to soak in if they wish........

I also have a bowl for them to soak in if they wish in each of their enclosures. I usually only " Soak" them if they are in shed and I am assisting them. I fill my bath tub with about three to four inches of luke warm water and put them in one at a time, I also soak them if it appears one has not gone to the bathroom in a while (this usually clears them right out.) If you use your bath tub, make sure you clean it out with bleach before and after using it for your skink. One other suggesstion would be instead of using a plate use a lare bowl to feed them with, this usually cuts down on the mess for me at least.

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