Multiple Questions - Long

[nbelval]

Hello,

First let me say, I've read the caresheet, and done some searches, but did not really find what I was looking for (possibly because on top of a new bluey, I have a 4yr old and 6 mo old that don't let mommy play on the computer much!). So if anyone can help me out or point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

#1. I see that some people use baby food on occasion. Is this acceptable for long term feeding, or not? My thought is because my baby blue is so small, feeding a tiny amount of the baby food is much easier than mincing a small piece of squash. And since I already have baby food in the house...you get the idea?

#2. I see that figs are a good fruit, is this fresh fig or dried fig? Does it make a difference?

#3. I have a piece of tile for the basking area, I put it on the glass at the bottom of the tank so he couldn't burrow under it, but it ends up covered in shavings. If I elevate it onto the shavings, do you think he's apt to get squashed? It's a 12"x12" piece and it would be under about 3" of shavings. I'm thinking since he's so tiny, that there is no way it could injure him, since the shavings would still be holding the tile up, but want to be safe instead of sorry!

#4. About how big is an adults poo? Yes, I'm serious. The baby poops bigger than his thigh, which to me, seems painful. But having owned an iguana, plus having the snakes, I know they can poo pretty big. Just curious as to what I have to look forward too. And, yes, poo is a technical term!

#5. Not a question - I'm just happy because he eats while he's in my hand. So cute.

Thank you everyone!

[Zbiz]

LOL mine poops big too! I wonder how that thing comes out... my guess is that its normal. Hm... I have slate pieces on top of my bedding hes really not keen on diggin under it its too heavy for him to. I think your baby will be fine. Hm... I think fresh fruits would be better, dried might have preservatives or be too tough i think. I use squash baby food, it makes more sense to me. I dont want to waste a whole big squash when he just takes licks of the stuff. But make sure you get the good stuff read the label for ingredients the less wierd names the better! The one i use says water and squash as ingredients, so it cant be bad. Oh and a side note, mine LOVES the sweet potato baby food!

[Jenn]

Hello,

First let me say, I've read the caresheet, and done some searches, but did not really find what I was looking for (possibly because on top of a new bluey, I have a 4yr old and 6 mo old that don't let mommy play on the computer much!). So if anyone can help me out or point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

#1. I see that some people use baby food on occasion. Is this acceptable for long term feeding, or not? My thought is because my baby blue is so small, feeding a tiny amount of the baby food is much easier than mincing a small piece of squash. And since I already have baby food in the house...you get the idea?

The biggest problem I see with using baby food on a regular basis and once you know longer have it around the house and switch to real veggies your bluey won't eat the real ones. My best eaters are the skinks I got as little guys and feed veggies and greens to as babies. My picky ones are the ones that had mainly cat food diets as babies and weren't introduced to veggies/greens until they were adults. I have also found that a diet with foods that are too soft can cause dips in the sides of their mouths. I use baby food in order to intice a picky eater but then quickly try to get them off of it.

#2. I see that figs are a good fruit, is this fresh fig or dried fig? Does it make a difference?

I've only used fresh figs because I'm not sure what they put in the fried ones. The ones at my store all ways has other stuff on the label.

#3. I have a piece of tile for the basking area, I put it on the glass at the bottom of the tank so he couldn't burrow under it, but it ends up covered in shavings. If I elevate it onto the shavings, do you think he's apt to get squashed? It's a 12"x12" piece and it would be under about 3" of shavings. I'm thinking since he's so tiny, that there is no way it could injure him, since the shavings would still be holding the tile up, but want to be safe instead of sorry!

I use bricks to hold up my piece of tile. That way they have a basking spot and a hide underneath.


#4. About how big is an adults poo? Yes, I'm serious. The baby poops bigger than his thigh, which to me, seems painful. But having owned an iguana, plus having the snakes, I know they can poo pretty big. Just curious as to what I have to look forward too. And, yes, poo is a technical term!

Skinks poo can be big but I feel like it's more in poportion with their bodies. Baby skinks like human babies seem to poo alot!

#5. Not a question - I'm just happy because he eats while he's in my hand. So cute.

Thank you everyone!

[KyleWeiss]

Great responses, Jenn. As usual.

I think feeding any high-quality fig, dried or not, shouldn't be a problem. I don't discount a food because of a preservative or two; there's more hoopla about preservatives than truth running around out there. When most fruits, when dried, have the same chemical used to preserve them already naturally, they simply add more to stabilize the product in an air-tight environment.

KW

[nbelval]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have noticed that he actually seems to prefer veggies at the moment picking them out of the cat food. He does eat the cat food too, but he definately targets in on the bright colors of the veggies.

Thanks again!

[Drew]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have noticed that he actually seems to prefer veggies at the moment picking them out of the cat food. He does eat the cat food too, but he definately targets in on the bright colors of the veggies.

Thanks again!

good for you! some BTS wouldnt touch any veggies!
congrats! pics soon!

[Tigergenesis]

Don't dried fruits have more sugar than fresh or am I remembering wrong?

[Zbiz]

Ichabod likes his veggies too? wow babys from andrew know how to eat! Babe chows down on his greens aswell.

[KyleWeiss]

Don't dried fruits have more sugar than fresh or am I remembering wrong?

Technically, no, but because a fresh fruit has more water volume it tends to concentrate the sugars from, say, a whole grape into something a fraction of the size. Same sugar, smaller package, basically. It depends on how much water the fresh fruit originally contained. I find mangoes and papaya aren't much sweeter (so long as they are not artifically sugared) than the real thing.

KW

[aggiegirl]

I have a large river stone for my adult bluey to bask on. He loves this and hasn't yet managed to bury it in his aspen. I know you have a tile and I wanted to suggest something from the caresheet. (I have 3 kids of my own and I know time is a precious commodity!) If you will put PVC legs on the bottom of the platform, your basking area can double as a hide and you won't worry about him getting squashed. As suggested, you can use bricks instead but I find the PVC easier to disinfect (and it is lighter weight.)
If you haven't purchased a mini-chopper, go get one today! You can throw everything into it and hit a button. I keep my leftovers from the day I make it in the little reservoir and I stick it in the fridge for the next day. This is the best time saver and it costs about $10. I occasionally give my bluey a little baby food if I am running low on fruits or veggies. I would be hesitant to feed that consistancy on a regular basis. Lucky you that he is a good veggie eater!
Good luck with the balancing act! Lucky for you that blueys are low maintenance and can be easily handled by kids. (I'm sure you know about Salmonella and good handwashing, right? PM me if not.)

[aggiegirl]

I am aquiring my second bluey very soon so I am beginning to collect plans for building multi unit bluey enclosures. Both blueys will have adequate tanks for the next year but I want to plan for something better by the time the baby is one. This will not be a weekend activity (like it might be for some of you) so I am beginning to plan in advance. I have no carpentry skills whatsoever so I need a really easy plan . I will have to wrangle my father or husband into helping me so whatever I do needs to be relatively simple and quick to complete. I wish I could do something like Zach/Renee have done but unless my fairy godmother comes to visit, that will be very unlikely.
I found a neat two story model on one of the snake forums. If you want to critique it, I would really appreciate any feedback. The link is http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44019 or you can try http://www.blueappleherps.com/page9/page5/page5.html for pictures and instructions. It doesn't go over how to do bulbs, etc. and so I'll have to research that later if I decide to use those plans.
Does anyone else have any plans? I have searched previous threads and found a few designs I liked. I even like the shelving unit one from the Bluey Bible. However, with my complete lack of carpentry skills , I would like a step by step series of explanations. A couple of blueprints just won't do the trick for a "challenged" builder such as myself. Any leads are welcome. If I find anything that I like, I will post the plans here. I keep checking our local herp site for cages but I really would like to have one that will be well-suited for my blueys----not snakes, beardies, etc. I know someone out there has a great plan just waiting. Please share it with this carpentry impaired bluey owner! Thanks in advance!

[nbelval]

I have a large river stone for my adult bluey to bask on. He loves this and hasn't yet managed to bury it in his aspen. I know you have a tile and I wanted to suggest something from the caresheet. (I have 3 kids of my own and I know time is a precious commodity!) If you will put PVC legs on the bottom of the platform, your basking area can double as a hide and you won't worry about him getting squashed. As suggested, you can use bricks instead but I find the PVC easier to disinfect (and it is lighter weight.)
If you haven't purchased a mini-chopper, go get one today! You can throw everything into it and hit a button. I keep my leftovers from the day I make it in the little reservoir and I stick it in the fridge for the next day. This is the best time saver and it costs about $10. I occasionally give my bluey a little baby food if I am running low on fruits or veggies. I would be hesitant to feed that consistancy on a regular basis. Lucky you that he is a good veggie eater!
Good luck with the balancing act! Lucky for you that blueys are low maintenance and can be easily handled by kids. (I'm sure you know about Salmonella and good handwashing, right? PM me if not.)

I like the PVC pipe idea. I'll go back over the caresheet to see what they suggest to use to affix it to the tile (don't want anything toxic). Thanks for jogging my memory! I DO remember seeing that and thinking it was a good idea!

It's not the prep of the veggies that bother me, it's the fact that I have to buy an entire squash for such a tiny little guy and that it would get wasted. As he gets older and eats more veggies then it won't be quite so bad, but he only eats about 2 tsp of food total (if that), right now so you can imagine the veggie portion is VERY tiny. I mean, a raspberry lasts him 4 days! LOL! (Yes, I know a raspberry is a fruit and not a veggie, just using that as a size reference!)

Yup, I have snakes too, so I know about safe handwashing practices. Right now my four year old is only allowed to pet him (he's too tiny for her to handle safely), and she immediately scrubs up after. I DO have to remind her not to kiss him though!

Thanks again for the info!

[Jenn]

The solution for not wasting veggies is to buy more blueys!!!!!

[nbelval]

Ichabod likes his veggies too? wow babys from andrew know how to eat! Babe chows down on his greens aswell.

Yup, he zeros right in on the greens, squash and raspberry. Of course the cat food gets swallowed right up too, but I figured he'd be more picky.
Glad Babe like it too! Did you ever get pics put up?

Ichabod is shedding at the moment. He was pretty much finishing up a shed when he arrived, and now he's started another. I can see a size difference in him already. It's amazing how quickly he's changing. I just adore him!

[Jenn]

I have that blueys learn to be picky. If they are given veggies/greens right from the get go, the gobble them up. It's the skinks that only eat catfood as a diet as babies that then don't want to eat their veggies/greens as adults. My blueys that I have had from babies will eat just veggies/greens by themselves.

[KyleWeiss]

The solution for not wasting veggies is to buy more blueys!!!!!

Such a pusher.

KW

[Jenn]

It's true though!