Levis concerns

Nocturnalnature

New member
I recently purchased a 1.1 pair of Levis and seem to be having some difficulty.
The female settled right in and has been eating since the second day. Thermoregulates appropriately, seals the opening to the hide each morning. The typical Levis behavior.
The male, on the other hand, just started eating after over a week without food. In addition, he refuses to use the moist hide and always retreats to the heated dry side during the day.
Despite his beginning to eat I am seriously concerned that he might get dehydrated due to consistently using the dry side.
This pair is supposedly 1 1/2 years old and just out of brumation. The male came to me weighing ONLY 7 grams, and his tail has no fat reserves at all, which the seller says is due to the cool down period. He finally started taking two crickets each evening for the past 3 days, but I wonder if he is too far gone for a full recovery. I know that him eating is a positive sign, and the fact that he has now begun to pass normal stools is encouraging, but his failure to utilize what I would consider the appropriate normal hide for the daylight hours leads me to believe something else is wrong.
Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

Setup:
Each animal housed separately in 15 quart Sterilite containers.
Jurassic sand substrate - 1 inch on warm side sloping up to 3 inches on the cool side.
Inverted plant saucer for hide on both ends.
Cool end is 74-75 degrees and the warm end is 88-89 degrees.
Cool end is misted lightly twice a week, just enough for sand to clump when squeezed in hand.

Perhaps I am being a little too concerned, however out of all my Nephrurus, this little guy seems to be worrying me to death.
Photo of the poor little guy right after unboxing
85e557ac0f45b246b96d8f3f40f628f8_zpsfa23f92b.jpg
 
Last edited:

Douceboyz

New member
I'm thinking the male had a bad brumation and as long as he's eating and pooping should recover. I feed my male 3 crickets every other day and also spray his moist side every other day as well.
 

Nocturnalnature

New member
Thanks for the reply!
Hopefully you're right and he starts packing on the grams.
After I talked to the seller about my concerns he did say that he went into the cool down fat and happy. I've never seen a Knobbie lose that much weight during the cooling period, so perhaps it wasn't cool enough and he metabolized much of his stored fat.
 

G's Geckos

New member
As long as he is starting to eat he will recover. If he was too far gone he wouldnt have the strength to eat. My female levis is normal but my male is like yours, only utilizes the hot side and can careless for the moist end. But he has water in his stool (the white stool), otherwise i have never seen him drink or under his hide on the moist section. If it wasnt for his stool i would be concerned for dehydration as well. But as long as he eats with healthy poo you should be A OK!! :)
 

Nocturnalnature

New member
Thanks for taking the time to chime in!
He definitely doesn't have a problem with his stool. Since he started eating several days ago he has passed some plump little logs that would make my Amyae envious LOL. Nice urate ball attached as normal, so I guess the kidneys are plugging right along.
 

mummabear

New member
Feed him every day and maybe spray every day too. I would be happy that he is on the heat hopefully increase his appetite. He look very undernourished and a bit dehydrated too.
 

gnuisance

New member
Out of curiosity did the seller disclose all of this to you before you received the animal? Would you feel comfortable saying who it was?
 

Nocturnalnature

New member
The seller did not disclose this before purchase.
He said they were 1 1/2 years old and ready to breed. The female was 17grams upon arrival (although a good weight for her size), and as mentioned, the male was a mere 7 grams. The seller also mentioned that they were aggressive feeders. The female is indeed aggressive and eats 4-5 prey items every few day. The male on the other hand took about a week to start eating. Normally I wouldn't worry too much about that since the stress of shipping can do funny things to a Nephrurus's appetite, however his extremely low weight and non existent fat stores had me questioning whether or not he was going to pull through.
I am feeling a bot more optimistic since he is eating regularly. His little body is filling out, so I am hopeful he will build up some fat stores in his tail during the coming weeks/months.
I had bought them with the hopes of pairing them up this year based on the sellers input, which is obviously out, and I am seriously considering not even cooling them at the end of this year. Since they are virgin animals hopefully they won't need a cooling (my Amyae produce without cooling for their first season), but I'd rather miss another breeding season than jeopardize their health.
At this point I feel that revealing the seller is less than prudent in case the little guy takes a turn for the worse, since communications have been steady. By mentioning names I believe it may lessen my chances of reimbursement should the male not pull through.
On a bright note, he took a few Dubia nymphs last night so hopefully his weight gain will really start to take off due to eating more calorie dense meals.
 

mummabear

New member
Nephrurus do not need to be cooled for reproductive success. Do not cool this animal. I have never had any issue with them after shipping, they eat straight away. What temps do you have? It's sounds like you are on the right track though. If he doesn't eat for a couple of days i would hand feed him. He can't afford to not be getting calories into him.
 

Nocturnalnature

New member
Just an update.
The little guy is feeding well and quite active now after a rough start. He is taking one appropriately sized Dubia and one cricket each night, and has filled out nicely in the body. His tiny little tail appears to be getting a bit plumper, and with a little continued good luck, he will be at a healthy weight in a month or two.
Thanks for the replies, and I'll post up a pic in 4-6 weeks so we can see a comparison photo.
 

knobfan

New member
Just an update.
The little guy is feeding well and quite active now after a rough start. He is taking one appropriately sized Dubia and one cricket each night, and has filled out nicely in the body. His tiny little tail appears to be getting a bit plumper, and with a little continued good luck, he will be at a healthy weight in a month or two.
Thanks for the replies, and I'll post up a pic in 4-6 weeks so we can see a comparison photo.

Good to hear. Like mumma said make sure to keep hydrated, very crucial.
 
Top