Help with Weight of my Leo please?

JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
Yeah I forgot that he doesn't like bright lights, when Ziggy see's my phone he turns into a camera ham, doing all kinds of poses and stuff. It's just amazing how their personalities differ so much, Ziggy winks at me like "Hey girl, how you doin?"

Maybe when you get him out for some play time you could try to sneak a picture when he's somewhat still.
 
Zux

Zux

New member
Hey guys,

I had a theory about the onset of brumation having read a lot of you guys' posts over the past few weeks about it.

First though a question for you who are possibly experiencing behavior abnormalities, has the temperature either air or ground changed in recent weeks?

For example those of you in warmer climates who may not use a CHE most of the year, has the air temperature within the warm side (or the viv in general) dropped and stayed lower?


- Shane
 
amsdadtodd

amsdadtodd

New member
Shane,
only my females showing significant signs of slowing down. The most interesting part is that Berry, my super snow female, was actually actively trying to cool her body temperature down just before the weather really started to cool off. She was spending significant amounts of time on the cool side to where her body temperature dropped to about 77 degrees! The females cages are on the bottom of my rack, about 3 inches above the cellar floor, so they're in the coolest part of the room. I haven't measured a significant temperature difference in their tanks, but I wonder if the occasional draft does stir up the air closest to the floor and create a cool breeze for them.

My boa's who are on the opposite side of the room from the leo's, are also slowing down, and some of the plants that I keep in the room are also behaving differently, such as flowering and color changes on their leaves. So, clearly, there is an environmental shift going on, even if I can't measure it.

Todd
 
Zux

Zux

New member
Thanks for that Todd.

Id like to know whether it is based on something like the following

  • Purely instinctual - Their body clocks just know its time.
  • Environmental - Change in temperature or other conditions give them the cue.
  • A combination - Both factors play a part.

The Environmental one especially 'ambient air' (read room) temperature drops are what occurs to me as being the most likely catalyst for this behavior but that's conjecture really.

The way my Leo is setup for example - there hasn't been an environmental cue because her temperature's are constant from day to day, no fluctuation at all, she hasn't shown any slowdown or decrease in appetite / activity either. Sadly because she is my only Leo I don't have the numbers to judge if this may be why or not.

Anyways, all very interesting.


- Shane
 
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JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
I haven't noticed it with mine either and here lately, I haven't been running heat or AC, love this time of the year. But Cory and Todd live a little further north than I do. When it starts getting colder outside, I'll start paying attention.
 
amsdadtodd

amsdadtodd

New member
I sort of have to lean on instinct playing a part, since Berry was deliberately trying to cool herself off, and still is to some degree. When I turned the lights on this morning she was on the cool side, and her temp was 82 degrees. With that said, she came over for a cricket, hunted it down and ate it, and laid down on a warm tile on the hot side. She is generally only eating one cricket at a time now, at lights on and again at lights out. If I offer her more, she's not interested. My other female is back off crickets, she has no interest in them at all. She is attracted to medium size turkestan roaches, but her primary diet at the moment is mealworms, and only three or four at a time. I'll be picking up some hornworms a little later today, just to try and keep her interested in eating, but I'm not too worried if she isn't, as she's also slowed down and is not losing weight.

Todd
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
Zux said:
Hey guys,

I had a theory about the onset of brumation having read a lot of you guys' posts over the past few weeks about it.

First though a question for you who are possibly experiencing behavior abnormalities, has the temperature either air or ground changed in recent weeks?

For example those of you in warmer climates who may not use a CHE most of the year, has the air temperature within the warm side (or the viv in general) dropped and stayed lower?


- Shane
Click to expand...

Shane:
For Apollo, no temperature changes occurred inside his enclosure, aside from the usual cool down of a degree or two in the evening. I keep a close eye on his temperatures because I am still the paranoid new parent.
I am starting to wonder if his inactive period was due to some level of boredom. His activity did pick up again after i moved his water dish. Which could have piqued his curiosity of his environment again. My main skepticism with that is the outdoor temperature actually warmed up around the same time for a week or two also.
I am leaning more towards your 3rd option of a combination of ambiance and instinct. While a degree or two may not really seem like much to us, we do not rely on each degree to keep us going like our various Herps do. However, I have nothing concrete to really go by since my BRB Pandora is quite an active girl. Except after she eats and that is her normal 2-3 day digestion period.

Todd:
What level are Bo and Thai kept at? Closer to the ground like your female Leos or higher up like the males? The plants, for the most part, are purely instinct. Most of the trees up here started the color change well before the temperature dropped. Now that Shane has gotten this discussion rolling I am getting curious about getting more than just a working theory.
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
JessJohnson87 said:
Yeah I forgot that he doesn't like bright lights, when Ziggy see's my phone he turns into a camera ham, doing all kinds of poses and stuff. It's just amazing how their personalities differ so much, Ziggy winks at me like "Hey girl, how you doin?"

Maybe when you get him out for some play time you could try to sneak a picture when he's somewhat still.
Click to expand...

Apollo actually does seem more interested in my wife than me most of the time. She gets him to poke his head out or even approach the glass.
If he would ever stay still when he is out, that might be an option. His level of curiosity is great. Always seeing what/where he can get his sneaky butt into before we block him. I really do wish he could have more free roaming but the house is nowhere near small reptile friendly. In fact, even if she was full grown, I would be very cautious about letting Pandora wander about. Old buildings here in MA and most are far from properly sealed near heaters and floorboards.
As far as any pictures, I tried again this evening when I went to clean his tank. Picked him up and as soon as I had my phone out and focusing on his tail, the little turd decided it was time to turn around and look at me. I know many people (erroneously in my opinion) say Reptiles and other animals don't think or feel other than instinct, but this boy, I swear he likes being difficult for me lol
 
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JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
When I took the full body picture of Ziggy without showing his face, I just stuck my phone inside the top of his tank and snapped the picture with the flash on. But then again, he's a camera ham. I put Ziggy on the couch the other night and the dog decided to "play" with him and I flipped out but Ziggy just sat there on the pillow and let Apollo lick his face........I almost had a heart attack. I disagree with people when they say reptiles and other smaller critters besides a cat or dog don't have personalities. My guinea pig usually ignores me but goes nuts when my son or husband talk to her or make squeaky noises to her.

Try having her take a picture, maybe he thinks she's his girlfriend or something? :coverlaugh:
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
Oh I would have flipped out too! Though Dozer (Cat) is quite a hunter despite his being overweight. He loves this time of year because all the mice come in and he gets to catch and play with them. By play I mean he catches them, drops them, waits for movement and attacks again. That goes on for a good 20-60min unless we interfere.
Aaaand I am off topic again. That is a good idea Jess, the camera is hers anyway so she can take pictures of him instead of me getting the cold shoulder lol
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
I do like some rodents... Raccoons being the best. In fact if I could, I'd have one as a pet :) but I also like squirrels, chipmunks, porcupines, and beavers. It really is just the more domesticated ones. I don't mind them when they belong to someone else, I even go talk to the ones at pet shops... Saw a Guinea pig that I liked in fact, it was one of the ones whose hair looks like 100 cowlicks :coverlaugh:
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
I had 2 pet squirrels at one point, I love them they're so funny. Oh I love those guinea pigs, mine has no cowlicks, she's just fat.
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
Dozer (our cat) is fat too. One of these days I will add an album of photos of him to my profile page, like our other babies. In fact, Jess, you should share photos of yours :D My wife would especially like to see your Apollo.
I remember when I was just a lil tyke, my mom and I used to feed some neighborhood squirrels. Two kept coming around, first "wild" animal I hand fed in fact.
Guinea pigs are probably the least objectionable of my above listed rodents. Their noises are strangely cute.

Side note, still no photos of Apollo and his newly discovered orange striped butt/tail :(
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
I'll PM you a picture of my Apollo. I'll add an album of pictures at some point.

Darn him. At least he doesn't have vanity issues and feel the need to be photographed.
 
CWilson13

CWilson13

New member
Since it has been roughly a month since I last found any free time I wanted to check in. Between the end of work, and having 3 kids it has been a very busy and crazy month. Just a quick update on Apollo for now though.
He is fantastic! His weight has been steady at 60-65g and he is close to 9in long already. Once I get him out and can sneak some photos (still camera shy :coverlaugh: ) I will post them along with a more in depth update. I will also be posting some updates, about the same time, on Pandora in her dedicated thread for those interested :)
Hope everyone has been well and is enjoying the holiday season thus far :)
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Good to hear from you and Apollo and that life seems good!

I'm doing good. Just wish I could keep up. :/

Happy Geckolidays to you all.
 
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