New Tokay Keeper

Creep · #1 04-21-2011, 02:02 AM

Hey so I went to the pet store with my son to pick out a lizard for his birthday and got him a chinese water dragon and sported this awesome guy I had to have. Well I am pretty sure he is a male going by the gland thing. He is about 9 or so in long I think he is a little thin. I have been feeding him crickets that I dust in reptical with d3 about every 4th day and I have some vitamins i haven't had a chance to start him on yet. I had some meal worms but he wasn't interested in them at all. So I have a few questions.

I never see him drink water off the glass or from his water bowl. I know he probably want drink from the bowl so I have been misting his nose some because I did on accident one time and I noticed he was licking his lips. Is this OK? How do I get him to drink from the bowl?

I was also curious as to how many crickets he should be eating per feeding and how often should I feed him? As of right now I have been adding a few every other day or so and making sure there are 1or2 crickets in the tank in case he gets hungry because I don't feel he is eating enough.

norea · #2 04-21-2011, 05:23 AM

yes misting him for water intake is OK

As to how many crickets to feed, it depends. try to feed him in a timely manner daily so it is easier for u to monitor. try not to leave crickets or the uneaten crickets will wander around and it might bother your pet.

HerpInfection · #3 04-21-2011, 08:39 AM

My Tokay's eat about 20 crickets each per week. I feed them every other day. They are not real interested in Superworms either, but will eat them if I take them out of the tank and hand tong the worms in front of them

Creep · #4 04-21-2011, 09:42 AM

Yeah I don't think he is eating enough he only eats 1 to 3 crickets per feeding.
Not even 10 crickets a week. I am trying to keep the tank up as close to recommended conditions as possible. I may order some roaches and try those too. I tried to dongle a earthworm for him but it just made him mad. If I could get him to eat earthworms that would be great. It would be so easy to raise earthworms with no worries of infestation.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #5 04-21-2011, 10:13 AM

A healthy adult tokay living in proper conditions should be almost a bottomless pit when it comes to eating. Mine will eat pretty much as much as you will give them. Make sure heat/humidity are in the proper range. Also, make sure his stress levels are kept low by providing lots of hide spaces (especially vertical hides that are up off of the floor). Remember that these are very shy animals as well as being nocturnal. They prefer to hunt at night and when there's no people watching. You should probably also take him to the vet to have a fecal sample examined for internal parasites which are a very common issue with Tokay and certainly can/will affect appetite. One other thing to keep in mind is that it will take some time for this animal to become acclimated to it's new home and you. The ess stress, the better at this point. Although it can be tempting, avoid messing with him for anything other than feeding/watering for the first couple of weeks. He needs to settle in and get comfortable with his surroundings. Crickets and roaches make for fine feeders. Tropical roaches won't infest your house like common roach species will and tend to be very easy to raise.

Creep · #6 04-23-2011, 10:37 PM

Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know that my tokay Creep seems to be finally getting adjusted to his home I notice he is starting to turn a light blue color and now when I feed him he perks up and starts hunting. I think He is going to be just fine once he fattens up and gets a better appetite. So I think I will clean his cage tomorrow I have been needing to but didn't want to bother him but now the poop is starting to stack up. Also I have started a house gecko tank but can't figure out what I'm going feed them yet because the only local crickets I can find they are to large so I need to get find some small crickets or something fast. They are wild caught so for now I'm just going to feed them bugs from my porch light for now. So I guess my house has a gecko addiction now and that makes 1 red ear slider 1 tokay 2 house geckos and 2 tree frogs.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #7 04-23-2011, 11:51 PM

The gecko addiction can be a tough one to get rid of! You'll probably want to start breeding your own crickets or tropical roaches. Much easier and cheaper than messing with having to go to the pet store all the time. See the "Feeder" forum here on Geckos Unlimited for more info on how to go about doing that. Glad to hear that your tokay is starting to acclimate well.

Creep · #8 04-25-2011, 04:26 PM

OK, I have a few more questions

I noticed today my tokay is starting to shed does shedding usually alter there mood or appetite and what can I do to assist in his shedding?

His terrarium temp ranges from mid 90s in basking area and he has tree to get closer to light if he needs probably up around 100 or so at the top to about 80 on the cool side during the day and about a 10 deg drop at night. I do have a UVB tube light on during the day for the pothos and a 50w red heat lamp stays on 24 hours a day. I mist 2 to 4 times a day and try to keep the humidity above 50% average is around 66% with 90% humidity after misting.

The temp in my house has a 10 to 15 deg drop at night it also affects the temp in the tank if if anyone was wondering how I keep the heat lamp on all the time and still get a temp drop.

I have a water bowl which I stated before he will not drink out of. and I have plenty of hides for him but he still only seems to be eating one cricket a day. I am hoping this is mostly because of the shedding.

HerpInfection · #9 04-25-2011, 05:24 PM

My Tokays seem to get a little more aggressive while mid shed- and will bite before barking sometimes.

I have been keeping Tokays for 15+ years and have only seen them drink a handful of times. They are secretive little animals and are drinking the water, you just are not there to see it

I hope you are giving your little fellow some alone time to acclimate and not disturbing his sleep during the day too much.

Creep · #10 04-25-2011, 05:45 PM

I try to leave him alone as much as possible besides misting a few times a day and now I have started feeding before I go to bed at night. I do have children though that are rather loud. But they don't bother the gecko at all unless just the noise irritates him.