Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I haven't been here in a long long time. Wowee.

Anywho. I just finished cleaning Tobias' and Novia's tank. Nice and clean. Perfect temp and humidity. I finally have their setup perfect, thanks to a lot of you all helping me.

Remember when I got Novia, she was terribly skinny? Well, during Huricane Frances, she lost what little weight she gained. They had to go four days without crickets, until we left town. They had a pet shop there. So, I have a question. Tobias seems to be getting skinny too. They eat well, and are both shedding. They drink, play, bask, and sleep good also. But are they sick? This lack of weight gain concerns me.

Okay, last paragraph and question. ^_^ I know I can get rather annoying. In the middle of cleaning their tank, Novia's toes got caught in one of the furnishings (it's been removed now) and they were all twisted. While I was trying to free her mangled-looking toes, she chomped down on my thumb. OW! Bled a little, mostly just skin got torn loose. Sooo... my question. Is there any chance her bite could have been dangerous to herself, or me? Bacteria and all... it worries me. Oh, and her toes are fine. No bruising, and she can walk fine.

I talked up a storm... now it's your turn!
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-Amanda

well it is nice to know that you surrived the hurricane. i know how annoying they can be. i remember you got the girl lizard and she was really skinny. did you get her checked for parasites? and the boy too? that could be a big problem with their lack of weight. also do you gut load your crickets before you give them to your lizards? if the crickets are full of food that goes to the lizards too. have you tried feeding them wax worms? they are the little white ones like kinda look like a maggot. i was told once that a skinny lizard could benefit greatly from them but healthy ones should not eat them too much, because they are too fattening. i guess that is true, does anyone else know?
as for the bite, i think if you take care of the wound just like you would from any other bite then you should be fine. i have only been bitten twice and they never broke skin, but i have never heard anything about collared being a major cause in human deaths
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vonnie
***Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet. Mae West ***

In my opinion the absolute best weight gaining feeder is currently the silkworm, they are cheaper than crickets and collareds love 'em. This is what I would try after you get them checked for parasites if you haven't already done so.
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infinitescales.com

No, I haven't gotten the chance to take them to a vet. It isn't in the budget. I will talk to my mom about it though and see if we can't start saving for a vet trip. I know it is only 24 dollars for a vet visit for ANY amount of animals, but the exam and medicine is more.

As for gutloading, yes! Haha, those crickets get nice and fat. They're also coated with the calcium and vitamin powder every other feeding. I haven't tried any other worm but the mealworm. Where can I get silkworms? And waxworms? I don't think Petsmart carries them, I will have to check. Maybe a bait shop? Lol, that's where we've been getting crickets... it's much cheaper, and they're healthier than the ones at the pet store!

I just checked on them, all the crickets are gone (there were at least 7) and I had just fed them about 5 more the day before yesterday. So they're eating great, they're drinking water with a solution that eases stress and has electrolytes... So, it must be parasites, then. :|
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-Amanda

Glad your back, on the run but talk again !
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Eve / PHEve

nm
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-Amanda

My parents wouldn't help me take a lizard to a vet, if there even was a qualified vet in town. I really think that deep down, they're hoping lizards are a phase. My little male, Chico, and my green anole both seem to have parasites, so I ordered parazap online. Everybody says it works great, and its my only resource, so I'm hoping it works.

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0.1 Veiled Chameleon
0.1.1 Green Anoles 4 eggs
1.1 Easten Collared Lizards

"War and violence will continue, no matter how hard we try to stop it, until everybody realizes out that we are all stuck on this little planet."

"If we destroy everything that makes this world beautiful, we might as well have nuked ourselves fifty years ago"
- Scott

Let there be Lizardz
- Scott

Here is the URL of the place I got this stuff from:

http://www.parazap.com/about parazap.htm

Hope it works! I hate to see a sick lizard.
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0.1 Veiled Chameleon
0.1.1 Green Anoles 4 eggs
1.1 Easten Collared Lizards

"War and violence will continue, no matter how hard we try to stop it, until everybody realizes out that we are all stuck on this little planet."

"If we destroy everything that makes this world beautiful, we might as well have nuked ourselves fifty years ago"
- Scott

Let there be Lizardz
- Scott

the waxworms are available at bait shops as for the silkworms they can be obtained online at mulberryfarms.com the mass of a large one is that of ten crickets!
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infinitescales.com