Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I left a tray of food in the cage for a 2nd day, so they had one Fresh tray and one day old tray.... The food on the old tray was eaten ..... and new food tray was ignored....... both trays were off the floor ...

Will they take slightly older food over newer food?.....

Fresh food over several days?

CLp

With my PTS, I think it all depends on her mood. And whether or not I happen to be serving one of her favourites...or just something she's indifferent about. If there is cantaloupe melon, or papaya involved...there's no waiting involved...she'll start eating before I even set it down.
I have seen her eat other foods that have been in her cage overnight though too.

The other thing I've found is that she responds better to room temperature, or slightly warmer foods. I never give her anything COLD. It is always allowed to come to room temperature, and sometimes I will microwave it for 10-15 seconds.

I don't know if that increases the scent of the food, or if it makes it taste better...or if she's just a spoiled skink.

IF you decide to heat your PTS's food...be VERY VERY careful to make sure there are NO hotspots. I always stir it, to make sure that it is evenly heated, and then test it with my finger to be sure it's not too hot.
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Kim

I do wish my skinks showed more interest in food....... at this time they mostly show little interest in anything.......

I know what you mean! I have had my skink for almost 2 weeks and he never touches the food I put out for him. I've tried crickets and a fruit mix. Do you know how much food they actually need to survive?

Well, it depends. They do have their fav foods. Maybe the newer serving is something it really couldn't care less about.
Try this: 'Starve' it an extra day the next feeding. And then give it LESS food so that it finishes and you don't leave it overnight. By now you may already recognise what food it favors, so put only a little in it for encouragement. Good luck!

Hi again-
I don't know if you saw my long reply to your earlier post about feeding ect- but I still have the same questions- knowing more about your set-up and what has been done so far would help us PTS fans ALOT with helping you and your PTS.
Here's my questions again, plus some new ones!
Old ones:
1) What is the actual humidity in the cage? (do you have a guage)
2) What is the bask zone temperature? (do you have a thermometer)
3) Have they or their poop been seen by a vet?
New ones:
4) With all of the fish tanks in the room (that probably have light fixtures)- do your PTS have a normal light/dark cycle? The average PTS will not willingly come out if the room is not very dark (unless it is Flavia's Leonardo).
5) When do you put the food in? Try to get it in there before they wake up- I have found that if I get home late and don't get the food in until after they are up and about, it does not get eaten. I can't see why any vege eating animal would prefer wilted mushy old food over fresh food, so I would guess that the old food being eaten preferentially over the new food is due to something else- like the old food plate is closer to someplace to hide and your PTS are hungry but scared, the old plate happens to be closer to where the PTS was when it came out to eat, or the PTS preferred what was on the old plate better-despite it being old....
6) Are they pooping regulary yet? PTS don't eat the huge quantities that Iguanas and Tortoises eat, but they do generally eat small to moderate amounts a day- like a few tablespoons, and this does vary more to less depending on the temperature and activity, as well well repro status. They should be pooping daily or every other day if enough food is moving through and they are hydrated well.
cheers, Jess b

ok, printed out your questions so I can remeber them ( my memory is bad)

To any new MTS owners, weight your skink when you 1st get it so you can keep track if it is eating or not.....

1. Humidity is from 70% to 80%. I am using 2 guages, one is made by zoo med (?) and one is part of a temp guage bought from Home Depot. They both read within 5% of each other and sometimes the same.
2. My top basking zone is about 90-94 /- (maybe too high) , located about 4.5 feet up, the next site about 10 inches lower ( I got to check the temp )

3.Not taken poop to vet... I need to make time to do it.... Self employed makes it hard to find time ( excuses )

4. As far as I know, only a few tanks (2) are on lights. with all set to go off sometime around midnight or before.. I turn off the MTs by hand around 10-11 pm and on in the am before i go to work.

5. Food, goes in at night........ when I get time.... between 6 and 10.

6. Poop?...... doesnt seem like often.

I was suprised when the older food was gone and the newer food was untouched . the eaten food was on the lower shelf /- 2 feet from top of cage.... The upper shelf, had a plate of food newer and uneaten. Basically same types of food were on both plates .
Tomato, zuchini, mustard greens, banna, 2 types of mellon, carrot, baby food sweet potato. amount in each pile was about 1-2 tablespoons , small pile to fit on a standard plate. with food softened as needed....

I guess , maybe I am expecting too much activity from my MTS? some folks seem to imply that their MTS crawl all around inside and outside the cage, come at the sight of food etc...

Mine do move around..... not much, dont move to food..... I have had them since 9/11...... I know..... need to take them to vet for just a basic check......

Pvc drain pipe as a hide, Have strabed about 6-8 branches along the outside length fo olding on to outside, hide is just off the lower shelf, not yet been used. Mostly my skinks hang on side wall or on one of the interior frame members.....

I made my own frame support out of PVC 3/4" or 1/2"....... unglued so i can modify as needed..

Thanks to all that help......

I just wanted to let you know that for me, when I say Dill has "been active" I don't mean that she is climbing all over the place, and moving around throughout the day.
Ohhhhh No...when I say that Dill has been active...I mean that in an 8 hour period she's changed positions one or two times. Maybe climbed from one branch to another, or from inside her hide, to the outside.
If Dill DOES have a burst of energy, it usually consists of travelling down to the bottom of her cage, looking out the doors, maybe going to the bathroom, and back up to the top of her cage.
I find her quite sloth like...slow moving most of the time, and more often than not, she's stationary.

She does "ask" to come out. She will go to the bottom of her cage, and push with her face and front feet against the door. She does this every few days, and usually when she does it, we open the cage doors, and she comes out...and pees on the floor.

when she is out of the cage, she can move surprisingly quick...but still not FAST. She always heads toward the same places, either tries to get behind her cage (we don't allow her to go there), or up on top of the couch, once there, she again becomes a sloth.

As far as your PTS not using thier hides...I bought Dill a nice wooden hide. She won't use it. She prefers the upside down box top from a bulk size box of microwave popcorn. I cut the end out...and that's where she prefers to be. I even moved the wooden hide to a higher place in her cage, and put a second cardboard box in her cage...and she will now go in both cardboard boxes...but still virtually ignores the wooden hide. It's really not a bad thing, because it makes for super easy cleaning. I just toss out the cardboard hide when it gets dirty, and replace it with a new one.
So, with your PTS ignoring the PVC tube hides...it might just be something that doesn't seem quite right about it to them.

You will need to experiment with different things and different locations. Dill will NOT eat on the bottom of her cage...but then again, that's where she goes to the bathroom, and where she goes to let us know she wants out....I'm sure she doesn't associate her bathroom area with her dining area. She won't even eat the pothos that are on the bottom of her cage, but will plow through any that are in the higher region of her cage.

I don't know if any of this helps...but...I just wanted to share the observations I've made of my PTS.
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Kim

when I said in my other post about Dill diving in to her meal (if it's something she LOVES) before I set it down...
by that, I meant that I am putting it directly in front of her. Not putting it somewhere she has to travel to. If I put it somewhere, away from her, it will sit there for HOURS.
So, I will hold it in front of her, to show her that dinner is ready, and if it's any of her favourites, she will start eating right away.
If it's something that she only likes, as opposed to loves, she will taste it by flicking her tongue, and then goes back to being a blob, almost with an "okay...I see it, now put it over there, I'll get to it later" kind of attitude.

Then, sometimes she eats it, sometimes she doesn't.
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Kim

Hi again- the humidity sounds great- better than my 60ish % I can achieve here. The bask zone I think is ok, as long as they can get away from it if they want.
One suggestion for cage change would be get more hiding spots- not necessarily a standard wood half, but dark places they can feel secure. If they are hanging on the side of your enclosure, or out in the open on a branch- they probably do not have (in their minds) someplace safe/dark/warm to hang out in during the day. An easy solution that looks decent is go to your local craft shop and get bunch of plastic/silk plants and bunch them up in 2 or three places in your enclosure. By far my PTS favorite spot is on TOP of a wood half round, but under a pile of silk fern. The photo in a recent previous post of mine (how many PTS can you count) is after I pulled off their plant 'hide'. Think about how they live in the wild- up in trees, coming out at night to eat. They live in tree holes/cracks, ect surrounded by leaves. I think they feel secure when there is stuff around them.
And no, my PTS don't climb all over their cages- PTS watching requires patience. They are hidden 90% of the time. I put food in, they come out after I leave (though many are watching when I put it in). They move to the bottom after eating and are back hiding by morning, but everything is slow and methodical. Except for the male Chip who is more of an explorer, and Gertie when she is in baby mode and lunges at anything non-PTS.
cheers, Jess