Fussy new blues

[Johelian]

Heya all,
I got my first blue tongues last weekend They are a lovely 1.1 pair of Northerns. Since I have had them they have been quite picky about what they will eat; I have tried them with locusts, morioworms, cooked minced turkey mixed with chopped fruit and veg, the same but with egg in it too, and canned cat food (it took me forever to find a catfood that wasnt made up from "animal derivatives" and didnt have any additives/colourings etc) but they just pick at it - eat a couple of bites and then leave it. They seem very interested in the food when it goes in - they just seem to eat very little. Any ideas as to what I can offer that might kick up their appetites? It has got a bit cold again here in the UK lately, so possibly they are feeling sluggish because of that?

Oh, also they are about 5 years old and have mated this year; another thing that worries me, as the female is quite huge and the fact that she isnt eating heaps scares me.

[mom22wins]

Is it possible they are trying to brumate? I've heard that some blueys don't necessarily go to sleep but they cut down on their food consumption.

Since they are already a few years old, maybe try feeding them on every third day and see if that helps.

[jasjmm27]

Hey Johelian, I would be pretty sure that it is still just brumation. Two of my northerns are out regularly now, but still not eating AT ALL for the past 3 weeks, even when offered what I am pretty sure is one of their "favorites". The other northern still isn't out regularly, I think she is still sleepy! I wouldn't worry about it, just keep offering on occasion, twice a week maybe, until they "bite".

[Johelian]

Hiya guys,
Thanks a lot for the advice, it is reassuring. I think the fact that they have already mated this year was the thing that concerned me, as I took that to mean that they had already exited brumation...they are still quite sleepy little guys for most of the day, so I think its probably safe to say that they are still coming around from their winter snooze.
Thanks a lot!
Jo

[jasjmm27]

Yeah...especially males may got weeks after "exiting brumation" without eating anything (I have heard/read 2-4 weeks). I would say that there is not a problem here, just normal brumation activities...if it is post-March with no eating...there might be something to think about?

[jasjmm27]

Oh oh oh...I have also read, I think on the caresheet, that feeding live pinkies might be a good way of "stimulating" blueys into feeding...if you don't mind doing that...I think I will be trying that if there is no eating towards the middle of March...it is already 70F+ during the day here!

[Johelian]

Hiya Jason,
I would prefer not to feed the live pinks if possible, as Im pretty sure its illegal to buy them with the intent of feeding them live here. Doesnt stop people from breeding their own and doing it of course (although theoretically it extends to that too), but I dont think I will be able to "obtain" any very easily. I will investigate that route some more if they still havent picked up.

Its still quite cold here during the day (it started warming up and then got very very cold again - lousy messed up weather systems) so I wouldnt be too surprised if that had an impact on these guys - my monkey tails felt it too, and became a bit lethargic for a few days. Its getting warmer again gradually - no frost the last couple of nights, hurray! - so with any luck they will start up again.

Thanks!

[Raven_Vivi]

yea, I've been having that problem with my new skinky~~ ;_;

He's active when I wake him up but he doesn't care for food.
It's starting to snow here so that might have something to do with it ^_^

[Leigh]

Hello Jo (do you mind the name shortening), My fella had a day or so oot n aboot,had a shed, and has now gone back to bed (brumating), I still stand by SNAILS as the best way to get the food instinct going,I wouldnt worry too much about them being slow at the moment, as long as they've got a fresh drink of water,eventually when they come out of brumation they'll eat, maybe not straight away , but they WILL NOT starve themselves to death,they can go months without food, and unless the tail is super skinky or the ribs show,I'd say they're fine, any chance of a few pictures mate?

[Blotch]

You should change your name to 'SnailsAreTheBestFood' Leigh.

I should start up a poll it, see what everyone else thinks.

[Johelian]

Hello Jo (do you mind the name shortening), My fella had a day or so oot n aboot,had a shed, and has now gone back to bed (brumating), I still stand by SNAILS as the best way to get the food instinct going,I wouldnt worry too much about them being slow at the moment, as long as they've got a fresh drink of water,eventually when they come out of brumation they'll eat, maybe not straight away , but they WILL NOT starve themselves to death,they can go months without food, and unless the tail is super skinky or the ribs show,I'd say they're fine, any chance of a few pictures mate?

Of course not, its fine They are quite sleepy still, and emerge for a bit to bask and then pretty much just go back to bed. They will have a couple of gulps of food and thats about it. I think it is still the effects of brumation as you say - I think that because they are so new to me I was paranoid that I had done something terribly wrong. Both have a good body weight and physically look quite plump so Im not hugely worried right now - just a bit concerned.

Its funny you should mention that, we have plans to start up a colony of snails for them and our tegu. We tried it once before last year but unfortunately they all perished. What kinds would you recommend? We were thinking of golden apple snails as they are so prolific, but would appreciate any more advice.

[Leigh]

My aquarium is full of the little tiny ones (about 6mm across)these are readily chomped,like sweets,with regards to the ones in the garden ALL are fair tucker,I've shown these photo's before but it'll make it easier than explaining or looking up scientific names(where's John when you need him)
pesticide free from the garden

Humbugs(my name for 'em)these are brilliant as the shell isnt as thick.

from the fish tank,easy this many a week if not more.


Go and have a nosey under the shed , I got rakes of 'em hidding out there!!!

[Lisa]

Garden snails are helix aspersa. They're very easy to raise and grow extremely fast. I bred some this year. Caught them in November, they mated in December, hatched in January, and some are now close to full grown.

Newborn (early January):


Two weeks old:


Four weeks old:


Today, about 7 weeks old:


RIP the one at the top of my hand above above

[Blotch]

Lisa - I still can't breed my snails! What am I doing wrong???

Also, The blueys will eat. Just maintain what you are feeding them - they will get hungry enough and they will eat - however - you need to maintain heat if your female is gravid. if it's close to dropping - she may go off food - but maintain the heat.

[Lisa]

Lisa - I still can't breed my snails! What am I doing wrong???

Also, The blueys will eat. Just maintain what you are feeding them - they will get hungry enough and they will eat - however - you need to maintain heat if your female is gravid. if it's close to dropping - she may go off food - but maintain the heat.

Dunno. In the wild they mate in spring and early summer so maybe you've missed the boat this year. Although, in captivity, because you can provide an artificial environment, they apparently can be bred all year round. I stopped breeding mine after I got I think 6 clutches because I didn't need that many snails! I ended up keeping and raising 300 inside, the rest I let go in the garden. Because they've grown much faster than I thought they would, I'm already feeding them out and instead of thinking I'd need to keep 100s of them hibernating over winter, the plan now is to feed them out till I get down to no more than 10 and will try and keep just them over winter to breed again next year.

I thought the mortality rate would be high but I only had one die, and one I accidentally squashed. Oh, and I get to keep one as a pet

[Blotch]

you have to take pics of your setup for me - I'm stupid - I can't even breed snails - imagine how I'm gonna go when i wanna have kids?

[Lisa]

you have to take pics of your setup for me - I'm stupid - I can't even breed snails - imagine how I'm gonna go when i wanna have kids?

This is how I bred them:
http://bluetongueskinks.net/forum/viewt ... highlight=

I used to dust their food with rep-cal but that got too expensive so I now put cuttlefish in instead



The only advice I can give you when it comes to making human babies is that it's the actual breeding bit that's the fun part so take as long as you need to get it right.

[Blotch]

lots of practice you say?

[Celeste]

Question about the snails: is it safe to feed our animals snails from the garden (or their descendants)? Mightn't they have parasites, etc.?

-- C

[Blotch]

decendants - doubtful, however one thing I've noticed with the snails I've got is that in the container they are in - I've seen tiny white wormlike creatures on the sides of the walls and the glad wrap stuff over the top. I've searched all over the net and haven't seen anything like them - but maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

I first thoguht they could be tiny babies - but they are way too small and have no shell - so i discounted that one straight away.

It could however be tiny creatures that live in the potting mix i used. I've only fed my snails cabbage, Lettuce, pumpkin, and cucumber plus I've washed all snails thouroughly before putting them in the container. Oh I also baked the dirt to kill anything in it. So I'm at a loss as to what they are and where they came from.