Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all, can someone that has had babies tell me how long would be normal for them not to eat? I have 2 babies that hatched 2 weeks ago and I dont think they are eating. They run thru the food so it is very hard to tell. Of course they are not eating in front of me. I have been trying to spy on them but it is really hard as they are very observant.

I am offering small greens (collard, mustard, turnip for the most part). Also have some Zeigler pellets in there that I am almost certain they have not touched. Also have tried soaked adult rep-cal pellets. Am now offering as an experiment soaked juvenile dragon pellets. At this point I feel like I would be happy if they ate ANYTHING.

Thanks for any advice.

Carole

PS We are up to 4 babies now.

as long as they look in good health. Sometimes it can take up to a month for them to really start eating well. Make sure water is available. Also I think you should offer adult feces to the young to start the growth of the gut fauna needed for digestion.
Tom

The babies have yolk(a temporary energy source)in their belly provided by nature that will nourish them for a short time after birth.

Just keep them warm with the usual direct sunlight or UV light and provide water for them to drink. You can also try to give them 1/4" to 1/2" crickets. Cycluras and Ctenosaura are big bug eaters when they are young and the movement of the bugs will stimulate thier instinct to eat.

My baby Cyclura Lewisi X Camenensis started eating in his third week after birth.

Hi Guys, thanks for the reassurance. I had read that it might be like 10 days. I didnt bother to feed them the first week as they were mad fat from the yolk. Well, a couple of times I threw in some greens but I knew they really had no intention of eating it.

Today I picked both of them up and offered some green beans baby food from a syringe. Both of them licked it a bit so they got something.

Does everyone think I should put in some feces from the sub-adult rescue I have here? She is not the parent but she had a clean fecal when she got here.

Thanks again,
Carole

My Cyclura babies started feeding between 10-20 days, they looked thin but the tailbase was always fat. Now (8 weeks) they are feeding greens like pigs and one time per week they get some insects but only for the first 6-8 month. I never offer my Cyclura hatchlings feces from adult or subadult iguanas and the babies are always starting well.
Dont worry, leave them alone for the first month, they are always very shy and afraid about everything that happens in front of their enclosure. I dont handle them for the first 2-3 month until they are feeding well and calm down a little bit.
It is only stress for them.
Good luck
SJ