Dinner Time!

As I'm sure you all know, Smudge has of late been very finicky with her food, so I thought and I know this is covered in the care sheet, I would just go over all the foods available (that we know of) and what Smudge who this blog is about likes!

So at the moment she is really into her locusts, which is great as nutritionally they are far superior to mealworms and crickets but unfortunately also more expensive, we get ours from Reptiles Plus they charge about £2.50ish for a box of locusts and the same price usually for all the other live foods I think, but the difference being that in a box of crickets you'd get between 20-30 (4th or 5ths, smaller sizes you'd get loads in a box) but with locusts i'm thinking 10+ medium size ones and if your gecko eats alot then it can become expensive.

Mealworms! Yum! Smudge used to adore these she would just eat loads of them, which was great for us as you can store em in the fridge and they last for ages! Of course we would try to make sure we got them out prior to feeding to allow them time to get gutloaded, and would always make sure they had food whilst in the fridge, but as Smudge has matured and her tastes refined she seems to have gone of them now.

Wax worms! yuck! I didn't like the look of them and i think smudge felt the same, we've tried her a few times with these but she just wont eat them.  They are good though for bulking skinny and pregnant geckos up as they are high in fat content but I don't think they are meant to be eaten on a regular basis, I know flick gets them once a week as a treat.

Crickets, The most abundantly available live feed around, not saying the others aren't but you can always guarantee not just rep shops but normal pet shops (well pets at home) will do them! They are great, nutritionally a lot better for your gecko than mealworms and nice and lively so they at least exercise when hunting, Smudge would just stand by her bowl and wait for us to put worms in when she was eating those!

Pinkies, I dont really have much experience with these, but i do know that they can be fed to expectant mothers to help keep them upto weight.

Will put some more pictures up soon!

So, Back to it

So...

Smudge is still not really eating as much as I would like, perhaps eating just one 'hopper every three days, which doesn't seem like enough to me....

However she is still looking healthy and plump and still seems very active, so perhaps I should put off worrying for a while. 

Back to the Smudge Saga, last time we had realised what a giant chicken-up we had made of the background, and having hacksawed off around a third of the background in order for it to fit, Smudge seemed quite happy with it, climbing all over, and attempting to get behind or over the background. As close fitting as the background was, there was still some gaps which meant that worms could crawl behind it, and the size of the background meant it was even trickier to remove in order to clean the viv.

 Smudge asleep behind the original background provided with the glass tank.

In the end, we decided to abandon the glass viv and the background, partially because of the reasons above, but mainly because the temperature was too difficult to maintain. We had the heat mat on 24/7 and the temperature really struggled to get into the high 20's (Celsius). 

The wood viv we replaced it with needs a lot less heating to maintain a decent temperature, and because we could cut holes in the wood we were able to mount the heat mat inside the viv, drill a hole for the cable, and cover it with a small section of vinyl flooring to spread the heat evenly. 

The Mother in law took the glass viv for Flick, and seemed to have more luck than we did, probably due to the fact that she has it positioned on a solid wood cabinet, where as we had it on a slatted shelf, and I'm sure a lot of the heat from the mat was escaping into the air. She also dumped the background and bought a little more furniture for the viv than we had, you can see a picture in a previous post.

So that pretty much brings us up to date, if there is any particular aspect of Leopard Gecko care you would like me to post more about, just let me know.  

Shedding Doubt

So Smudge, shy as she is, usually hides away when she is shedding (unlike Flick, who apparently is an exhibitionist and likes to sit in the middle of the vivarium, in full view, and devour his dead skin without a care!). This week, however, she was wandering around all over her viv, skin getting whiter and whiter, just like a king of pop, until it started falling off her in bits. 

These bits

Like I said, this is a little unusual for our pretty gecko, so we were a little concerned. 

yes its a tail. not a duck tale or a tall tale, but a leopard gecko tail. skin.

However after a day of wandering around looking like she was wearing a white loose-fitting lizard skin dressing gown, she appeared the next morning with just a few pieces of shed left on her head and toes. 

Perhaps this is the way she will be shedding from now on, and this change of behavior signifies her maturity. 

All I know is the papery rustling sound she made while walking around the viv was very unnerving, like a tiny Mummy was wandering around in the dark.   

Eat prey, Love

So as promised, here is a video of our lovely leopard gecko chowing down on some of Englands finest crickets, this video was taken when Smudge had just begun eating again, and as you can see from the spartan interior of the viv, we had just cleaned it out and decided not to put back the hides and other furniture to give Smudge a better view of the crickets, and to give the crickets nowhere to hide. 

(BTW there is again some minor swearing at the end of the video, Wifey having spotted a cricket making a bid for freedom, so might be considered NSFW by some oppressive, nanny-state-regime-like boss)

The artful savagery, the swift death, the tiny crunching noises.

(BTW you can also see the fat tail and bulgy belly of our sweet cold blooded baby - looking back on this I wonder why we were ever concerned she might starve!)

Visiting Relatives

We're back, although you probably didn't know we were away, apart from the ever so slightly less regular posts. We have just spent the week in the Republic of Ireland, just as they were having their General election, so lots of people handing out leaflets (well three) and loads of posters on streetlights and telephone poles. 

But you guys aren't interested in Irish politics (or are you? let me know), so I will stick to the reptilian news. Smudge had to stay with grandma for the week, and I believe it was the first time Smudge and Flick were in the same room.

Grandmas reptile house, cattery and kennels

Smudge seemed fine when we got back, had apparently been eating every couple of days and had been pretty active, BIL let her loose in their conservatory after making sure it was lizard escape-proof, and she ran around quite happily.

BIL also mentioned that Flick could smell Smudge on his hands after handling her, but as he was under strict instructions to act as chaperone,  no canoodling or any other funny business took place (according to him anyway, I guess if Smudge starts requesting bacon flavoured icecream or huge quanties of chocolate we will know he failed in his task). 

 As it has been such a long time since I have given you any posts, pictures or videos, the next post after this one will be a hunting, catching and eating video right after this one. 

Panic Over

I thought I would let you guys (y'know the internet 'you guys') know that Smudge has eaten! 

After work today I went and bought some more crickets, bigger ones than the locuses and crickets we have been offering her for the last few days, and while I was on the computer I heard a light snap and looked in the viv to see Smudge chewing, and a solitary cricket leg sticking out the side of her mouth!  

I put four in, and I can't see any of them now, so I think she has eaten them all. I offered her some more but she didn't seem interested, so I reckon she has had her fill for now. 

Both wifey and I are very relieved that she has started to feed again. 

Next up, more videos!

A little compensation for lack of postings!

Yes, yes I know, no postings for more than a week!  I've now sorted out the job situation, and hopefully now I should be able to post more often.

As a little apology for the lack of posts over the last, well, since I started really, I have uploaded a video of a very young Smudge hunting crickets in her original tank, with some commentary (and minor swearing) by wifey and I. Note that we call her 'him' in this video as we were unsure of her gender for the first couple of weeks (okay, first couple of months)!!

A video of our leopard gecko pouncing on a few crickets (minor swearing)

NSFW if you work at any type of cricket sanctuary or for any Protection of Insect Societies! 

(BTW The 'worm' wifey refers to is a type of beetle that shops include in their live feed boxes as they clean up the waste that crickets and other insects leave behind)  

In other news, over the last few days we have been a little worried about Smudge, as she has been acting up, is off her food and constantly scrabbling at the glass doors at the front of the viv, trying to open them. 

After consulting with the wonderful community at reptile forums UK , we have come to the conclusion that as it coming up to the breeding season, Smudge is ...er... restless, and is looking for a mate. Hopefully this will pass in a few days. We have weighed her today and she is around 75g so she is still a good weight and not in any danger of starvation.

I will keep you updated as to her progress.