Many questions

[Piggy]

I've had my guy for a month now and every now and then I stumble onto new questions that I really should be writing down...

Firstly, he's developed a habit of pressing himself against the door of his cage so I let him out. I really can't ever turn away, so he goes off sliding around my room for 1-6 hours (depending on how busy I am) every day. He usually finds a blanket or bag to sleep in. The temperature of my room is around 77F, but the floors and his hiding places are pretty cool. Is leaving him unheated for so long harmful in anyway? I always try to keep him inside after he eats (by the way, how long does it take to digest usually?) but I mean other than needing heat for eating.

This is debatable as many will tell you he needs more heat, and others will state that in the wild it's not baking all day long. 6 hours is a little much for my taste. But a few hours each day is no problem -- outside time in the sun is best!

I've noticed when he's eating, after a good portion of food he'll pause and kind of 'force' the food down. Almost the way a snake eats, using his body. Am I feeding too much, or the pieces are too big, or is he just eating too fast? Is it healthier to feed in smaller amounts so this doesn't happen?

Well, exactly how big are your chunks, and what are they? This is pretty much normal; mine do the same thing. They're just working it down.

I've also noticed he has the 'ear plugs', but he doesn't scratch at them. Should I still remove them, will it interfere with his next shedding? By the way, how often do adults shed? Around his eyes, he also has little bits that look like old shed. Again, this doesn't bother him, but should I remove that.

BTS almost always have a clear or iridescent "film" down in their ears -- this should never be removed or messed with. Ear bags almost always come out on their own. Can you show pictures?

Another thing I've noticed is that some of his belly scales and a few on his back are flakey. There's nothing visibley different about them, nor do they feel different. I do hear that rustley vibrations from the lifted scales when he's climbing backwards or something. There's no mite symptoms, so I suppose it's low humidity. I don't have a hydrometer, but I don't think it's that dry. I placed the water bowl closer to the lamp and decreased the lamp's distance from the cage just a tad. So this isn't really a question, just a concern.

I don't see a problem!

Yet another thing is the apparent dents in the scales around his mouth, particularily on the bottom jaw. I've never seen or heard of this. I think it could be caused from a hard snail, but does anyone know about this?

Not a hard snail, but food hardening around the lips that didn't get wiped off! Just keep an eye on it when feeding and try to be sure the food is all off the mouth.

I have also been a bit worried about the sleep he's getting. His light on/off time is 11, but I tend to stay awake as late as 2am. I've noticed sound bothering him, so I try to keep it down, still he has irregular sleeping patterns (today, he was up in the morning, but is buried now). Could this be a problem?

Not a big deal, but while he's sleeping, I would certainly try not to disturb him....(during regular sleeping hours that is....)

There, that should be most of them... Any help is appriciated.

By the way again, I tried posting pics, with the img code, but the show up as just the code, not a picture...

Just be sure your " Disable BBCode in this post" is NOT checked!

Sorry, but I accidently hit edit instead of quote so my answers are IN your post! My apologies.

[mewzic-7123]

uuuh answer for question 2:depends on how old he is, if hes still small I suggest finely chopped, still its always nice to be safe.

[Lisa]

Try the 'upload picture' link when posting a message. You just browse your PC for the pic and press upload. Resize first if it's really big.

In answer to some of your questions:

I too let mine free roam a room. Backs of cupboards and the like are blocked off so they don't go behind there, I have a basking area set up (just a rock on the floor with a lamp above it), they have blankies in cupboards & drawers etc as well. I only do it if I'm home, or not far from home (I don't leave them in there while I'm at work), if they've eaten prior to going in then I'll leave their lights on once they go back into their tank for a couple of hours, and I only ever let one in there at a time. Not sure what 77 is in our temps, but the room temp in the daytime is usually in the low 20C. On hot nights they have been known to have a 'sleepover' in there too! They usually cruise for a bit, checking out what's new or changed in there, and end up asleep in a cupboard.

Digesting, well I generally feed mine at night, around 6-7pm, and their lights will stay on until about 10.30pm. But I do have small heat mats under my tanks under their hides.

Yes, mine occasionally look like they're forcing a mouthful down. I think it's just a way to get it down their throat if they took a big bite or something. You will notice when they drink, that they then hold their heads up while the water slides down.

Old shed should not be left to build up. Having said that, they can take up to a week or more to get all bits off. Regarding the earplugs, I really wouldn't have a go at pulling them out unless you have a very steady hand! Adults shed about every 2 months roughly, but their whole shed cycle is longer than babies. Babies go from normal to milky to back to normal to shedding sometimes in less than a week, whereas that process may take 2-3 for an adult.

The belly scales, you say there is not anything visibly different, but that they are flakey. Do you mean they are just a bit rougher than the other scales? That can be normal as they spend their all time on their bellies. My eastern gets a little rough on his tummy sometimes, but I prefer to keep mine a little on the dry side rather than on the humid side, and although he is sometimes a little dry it has never caused a medical problem.

Dents on his mouth. Can you see how the lower jaw towards the back they look dented?


That's normal, they just change as they age. Kind of like our equivalent of getting wrinkles! (wow, I just noticed how Jubby looks really freckly in that pic!) Provided there are no open wounds or softness in the flesh, then it's normal. But the mouth area is one to check regularly for abnormalities as that's generally the area that infection will first show, so it was good of you to question it.

In regards to sleep cycles. Blueys aren't like us in that they get up in the morning and go to sleep at night. Some days they stay asleep all day and some evenings they may wander. The trick is it to at least try and mimic the natural hours of the day. So generally in summer when you have around 12 hours of daylight, then your bluey should too and in winter when there's less, then you decrease it. Whether you make that cycle at night or during the day, just try and give him what he would be getting if he were in the wild. Since some days the sun doesn't come out, then if you miss a day here or there with your lights then I think that's ok too.

Hope some of that helps! Took me ages to write!

[Zach]

Yeah, if that's what you're talking about, it's totally normal!

Hi, Jub!

[Piggy]

Thank you sooo much!

He does the gulping thing even when eating small things like worms, and I cut vegetables small enough.

The film in the ears is normal? Is it not the same as the plug? I'll try to get a picture.

The dents aren't quite as pronounced. They're more like an impaction of very small, sharp pieces. That's why I said snails, because it looks to me like he was cracking a shell open, and the sharp ends managed to dent his scales as he was chewing. There are several separate dents of irregular patterns, so it isn't naturally caused. And it's outside of his mouth with nothign actually punctured, so no mouth rot or anything serious. I was just wondering since I haven't heard anyone mention it.

[Leigh]

Hey Lisa, you clever lady you, I'm going to nick that superb idea of yours about setting up a lamp and rock out in the room,