Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my Australian since mid March. Everything seems to be going fine. He's grown from 9 1/2 inches to almost 14 inches in that time. A month ago I put him in a new set up. He's been in a 10 gallon tank then into a reptarium (outdoors in Phoenix with a misting system nearby) and from that into a 3 x 2 x 4 wood and glass tank. I added a few large rocks under his basking light where it reaches 95 degrees at the highest point, and some sturdy branches that traverse the basking light the length of the cage at varying heights. The substrate is a soil/coconut husk/peat mix that holds moisture and is light but compacts down enought to not make a mess in the water trough and can be dug into and make burrows.

After the first few days in the new set up he dissapeared under the pile of rocks, not in the spaces between them like he had done but dug under them and stayed there. I'm not talking for a few days, he's stayed there!

I never see him eating, basking, not even soaking. He does get into the water sometimes - I see debris floating. And I see new areas he's dug into. But I never see him. EVER!

Before the new tank he'd hang out in branches and hide under his water bowl from time to time but never the whole day and definitely not for days at a time. He ate everyday, and left "presents" in the water that showed he was eating well. Now I find no feces in his water. I see a few worms less in his food bowl but they could just as easily be climbing out as being eaten.

So.... Since it has gone on for at least 4 weeks, he doesn't seem to be getting thinner, he looks alert, bright eyed and runs like the dickens around the cage before I can catch him, do I need to be worried?

I thought it might be a little warm in the cage but he actulally feels cool to the touch when I get him out from under the rocks, not cold but not as warm as I am.

Second question. I can see pores on his thighs. I've read that locale can influence this but I don't know if that means some males are hard to see or if some females have them. If I see pores at 14 inches does it mean anything? I've read that real dimorphism starts to be visible around 20 inches.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Let me know what you think.
John

Large noticeable pores are good indicator of sex, but it's not written in stone. It's like saying Hair on the chest indicates a male when looking at humans, and in some populations, as we all know, that just isn't enough to be sure. It's common for them to react this way with a new environment just give him some time to adjust. If he was healthy and strong before moving him into the new cage, he probably can go for several weeks without eating before you would notice any weight loss. More then likely he's apetite will resume after he has adjusted to the new territory.

I didn't know about the pores thing, very helpful. It would seem like 4 weeks is long enough to acclimate, but like you said if he still looks good, hopefully he'll come out of it when he gets a little hungrier. He's grown 1/4 inch since I put him in so either he's getting nutrition or the energy he had stored is doing work still.

John