Feeding Uroplatus Pinkie Mice:

[rhacoboy]

Hey Everyone,
I was wondering if any of you have fed the larger species of Uroplatus pinkie mice. IE Fimbriatus, Lineatus, Henkeli, Sikorae. I'm thinking of trying it out with my Sikorae, but I was wondering if you guys think that they would be able to handle them.
I'm also thinking that they would be great for recent WC animals because they're high in fat.
Let me know if you have any experience with this,
-Armen

 

[pakinjak]

I've tried, but with no success. I've tried on three different fimbs, no takers.

My mossies are 6" long, so I'm a little hesitant to try it with them, though they could probably take a small pinky if I tried.

 

[D.B.Johnson]

I give my fimbs pinkies from time to time. They love them. I have a wild caught male who wouldn't eat a pinkie (or superworm) for years. He always paid attention to them but would never eat one. He finally ate one when he was overly hungry and I was holding the pinkie up to his nose. As he was licking it, I sort of pushed it in mouth a tiny bit and he snapped it up. Now they don't survive for a minute in his cage. He pounds superworms now too. Once you get them to eat it once, they will go after them. I would only consider giving a mossy the absolute smallest pinkie I could find though, I think.

 

[EriksReptiles]

I do it all the time during breeding season for my females and sometimes for males. Works great. I only do it on the larger species; giganteus, fimbriatus, henkeli, & lineatus. I have tried with other medium species (sikorae, guentheri, pietschmanni) but they never really seem interested so I don't bother much anymore.

I did have one sikorae that seemed to love them. But be careful not to over feed pinkies. I only do it occasionally as to not make the animals fat, but I have seen it help with egg calcification and such.

Thanks Erik

 

[Jody Ettema]

I have successfully fed y fimbriatus with pinkies, no problem. No experience with other uroplatus species eating them.

 

[Viridovipera]

Were the pinkies live or frozen-thawed?

 

[pakinjak]

Mine were F/T.

 

[Harlequinsilver89]

Mine were F/T.

Perhaps the warmth of a live one would encourage them to eat it, and also of course the movement. They wiggle but never get too far before they're eaten, at least with Beardies I've found, although I would expect the same with the larger species of Uro's too.

 

[pakinjak]

I don't necessarily mind feeding live mice to an animal, but I'm not a big fan of dropping one in there and walking away, especially a pinky. If they're like any other baby animal, they're pretty much always hungry and three or four hours in a tank seems kinda cruel to me. I've not seen a great deal of feeding aggression in my large Uros anyway, so I don't want to buy live pinks and then them not get eaten. Plus, my fimbriatus LOVE adult male dubia, and there's probably not much difference in meat between a little pinky and one of them anyway.

 

[Madagascar Uroplatus]

I tried feeding my Fimbriatus pinky mice, live. When I got him I was told he ate one pinky mouse a week, between small meals of crickets. He ate the first pinky mouse, but only after I shoved it in his mouth. Second pinky mouse he bit, but never ate he kept spitting it out. Third pinky mouse he didn't want at all. I hated trying to feed live pinkies. I bought a few dubia roaches, put one in his feed bowl and he immediately scarfed it up! Every week since I have been feeding him a dubia roach. He LOVES them, can't resist. Even will hunt and eat them in the daylight, unlike with his crickets he waits for night.

I will vouch dubia roaches over pinky mice any day.