Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys. my little girl is still a wee little thing, and im going to be out of town early friday morning until tuesday night. i imagine it would be quite harmful for her (as well as my leopard gecko) to go that long without her crickets. she's not willing to eat greens yet either. im going to ask my roommate to feed them, but he's not a big fan so i dont expect that he will.

how can i keep my babies healthy while im gone? perhaps a dish of mealworms instead of crickets? just leave a lot of extra crickets in there as long as they have soemthing other than my dragon and gecko to eat? help por favor!
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

you cant leave a baby alone for that long, an adult so long as someone is bringing them their salad be fine, although its kinda long to be without any buggies at all, but she needs to be fed several times a day still and if you leave a bowl of mealies she will probably just eat them all at once and that could be harmful to her. Is there someone that can come check in on her, feed her, and make sure her lights are coming on/going off? sometimes timers fail.. ya just never know

the lights are on timers, so thats fine. im just not sure that my roommate will be real big on dealing with the crickets. and unfortunately, i absolutely have to be away...if only i could take her with me!
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

n/p

i didnt read the part about your roommate... sure he coudlnt just throw in a few crickets 2 times a day? cant leave them in there, and feeding mealies that long wont be good for her... hrmm...

ill have to beg him. he's not gonna be much happier finding out that ive got a box of crickets coming in during the next couple adys (hopefully itll show up tomorrow while im still here). maybe if i offer to cook dinner every day for a week...
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

Hmm... maybe if he is unwilling to touch the crickets, you could make it so that he doesn't toucch the crickets. Maybe put enough crickets for your beardie to eat into a container, and twice a day he can put the beardie in it to eat. Other thing I have done, is to throw little bathroom cups in the cricket bin. The crickets will go in it. Hold hand over while going to the cage, then dump them into the tank.

i was thinking id maybe get one of those 'cricket coral' thigns at petsmart. its kinda of a rip off, but its basically a little plastic bucket with a tube with one end closed. less risk of losing the crickets compared to the way i do now - toilet paper roll in kritter keeper, shake into dragon cage
the dixie cup thing might work well thoguh
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

will you little beardie possibly eat pellets, that would solve the crickets issue there, also I would go ahead and make up a tupperware of salad because if your roomate is against crickets he probably wouldn't be against that. when beardies get hungry they will eat anything and that would give you a chance to get your little beardie started on veggies. I only suggest do not leave your little beardie in with crickets over night they can make a meal really quickly outta a baby beardie, so I also side with the idea having a container full of crickets so he can put the beardie in and take it out.

i havent tried pellets yet because ive heard that the babies loooove the chase, definetely a possibility
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

Hi, I don't know if this will be helpful for you or not, but just recently we went out of town for a few days. We bought several of those disposable gladware containers and poked several holes in the lids and a few on the sides. We then put enough crickets in each one for each meal. All my neighbor had to do was come in, open the container and empty it into the tanks for each feeding time. This way they don't really have to handle the crickets. We did the same thing with their salad. It really helped us out. Hope this is some help to you.

Amity
amhope@satx.rr.com

LOL was just going to suggest this

I had a clutch of babies hatch like 2 days before my trip to hawaii.One of my friends ,who I thought was responsable, didn't take care of them. He only came over my house twice in two weeks. And when he feed the babies he gave them the wrong size crickets. I lost the entire clutch. Not to mention he left the lid of one of my snake cages open and it got out. Didnt fill my reef tank so I lost like $300 in corals. And he never feed my monitor so that died too, along with some crested geckos and day geckos. my advice ,hmm defintly get a sitter thats dependable. I thought he was but I learned the hard way. Or I would take him with you. They do need to be feed a couple times a day. And if you just leave a bowl of mealworms in there he could eat untill he regurgs, and thats defintly not good for him. If you put too many crickets in there they will start munching on your dragon! Anyway good luck.

peace,
nathan

eek! well if my roommate kills my babies he doesnt get his rent money at least my snakes ate today so theyll be fine until i get back. im getting a lot of good suggestions here; ill talk to him tonight and see what he's willing to deal with.
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

Could always offer him $20 or so, with more if you come back and all your reptiles are healthy. Maybe a nice gift from Costa Rico

take the lil one with you? i hauled my dragons to reno with me from san diego for thanksgiving last winter, it was a lot of fun, just brought rubbermaid tubs, their lights and a basking log and off we went they rode in those animal carriers that are like gym bags, they slept the whole way..i donnt like leaving my animals alone, my birds go to an avian boarding facility, although they are terrified everytime i bring my cockatoo there, they breed big birds but that big bird is a challenge to them still..

i would loooove to take her with me, and maybe if i was driving i could. but im thinkin baby beardie on place=disaster. unless i can carry her around in my pocket
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

well, my roommate is a lot cooler about it than i expected (he's just happy he doesnt have to kill any mice!) so my baby will be fed (probably not as often as she's sposed to, but hey, better than starving). but all your suggestions are still going to come in handy so i can make it as painless as possible for him. thanks!
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa
0.1.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (on the way!)

Just a reminder..Baby beardies should not eat mealworms at all, let alone a bunch of them. As was said..Crickets will chew holes in your dragon if left in the tank.
The seperate gladware containers suggestion is an excellent idea. I'd even go a bit further and suggest that your dragon be fed in a seperate container so there is no chance of leaving any crickets in the tank.
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TheClassyLizard

Put enough crickets in a ten gallon aquarium for the entire time you will be away and then have your roommate put your dragon in with them 2 times a day for about 5-10 mintues each time and then take her out. I used to feed my dragon that way.