I noticed some weird behavior tonight in the behavior of one of my male ebenaui. He was biting at his feet. I know the female did shed but as far as I know he did not. I have never seen this before except when they were shedding. He might have when I didnt notice but has anyone else seen this before? thanks.
Feet biting
- Thread starter Saurian
- Start date
Phantasy
New member
I haven't been at this for more than a week, but I have seen this (if we're talking about the same behavior) with my phantasticus. My male had been exploring his new enclosure and spending some time on the substrate, and I believe what he was doing was trying to remove some particulate matter from the pads of his feet. I'm not sure if this could be what you were seeing, but it at least offers a potential explanation.
Cheers,
-Matt
Cheers,
-Matt
miguel camacho!
New member
Does it seem to be a gentle bite, or more of a violent/spastic bite? Gentle bites, from what I remember observing in my former collection seemed to be more of a grooming sort of thing, while the violent/spastic biting was likely related to nutritional deficiency.
gekkoterra
New member
I have only noticed this when the substrate was too moist for days. I had over watered the vivarium of a group I was testing on an actual soil-based mixture (haven't used soil since '04). I speculated it was a minor fungal infection like "athlete's foot," in humans. The top of the substrate should dry out for at least a couple of hours before hydrating it again with these guys.
Ashton
Vivarium Essentials
Ashton
Vivarium Essentials
miguel camacho!
New member
I did not have a necropsy performed, it happened in two different CB offspring. After describing it to a friend who is a herp curator, and another Uroplatus hobbyist, both independently came to the conclusion that it was a calcium or vitamin deficiency.
Phantasy
New member
Just for reference (not that Ashton's comment was directed at me, lol), my substrate isn't over-saturated, so I'm not sure if it's always a result of over-saturation. I have the vivarium set up for two short misting periods to simulate morning and night dew, and I try to let the very top layer of soil dry out during the day. Either way, if it doesn't persist I wouldn't worry about it too much; it sounds like it might have been a grooming thing.
Cheers,
-Matt
Cheers,
-Matt