Odd Behaviour..

I finally switched little dude to a 15 gallon tank, 24 inches long, 12 inches high/wide. When I switched him over, it had been about 36 hours since he last ate, so I put him right under the warm hide and figured he would stay there. The setup is almost the same as his previous tank with exception to the difference in size, so I know he will need to adjust and will not be bothered until he has fed in the new enclosure a few times.

But here is what bugs me, he was exploring the tank of course, getting to know his new home and he started rubbing his nose furiously on EVERYTHING. He is not in shed, he had a full shed on march 13th, no dry pieces or missed shed that I could see from examining him and the shed. And then he stretched his mouth open, 3 times within a few minutes! He had also been drinking quite a bit previous to his mouth opening. His husbandry is spot on, 55-60% humidity, mite free, clean enclosure, 90 degree hot hide and 85 degrees everywhere else. I also have all 4 sides covered for the time being.

He did have a case of mouth rot that had been cleared up with antibiotics about 1.5 months ago and I see no signs of it returning. Whats up with his behavior? Sorry for the very long post but hopefully I have answered many questions in advance. I will take him to the vet for a checkup if he keeps the behavior up but should I be worried?

This is his new enclosure, without the front covered, the ambient temps are low because I had the lid off for a while, and his warmer UTH hadn't reached 90 yet.
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/m...t=DSCF0059.jpg

No matter what I will worry, but encouraging words are also welcome, not just advice:tears:

id check wit the vet hes prolly fine but ya never noe

He's just stressed and needs to settle in. Give him a week, no handling and keep everything quiet so he can feel comfortable. He'll be ok :) Wait at least a week and a half or so to feed him though.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

He's just stressed and needs to settle in. Give him a week, no handling and keep everything quiet so he can feel comfortable. He'll be ok :) Wait at least a week and a half or so to feed him though.

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Thanx for the support. I switched him shortly after feed in hopes of not throwing his routine off much by not bugging him or feeding for a week. It was just so weird that he was squishing his face against everything, I was afraid he might hurt himself, but since theres nothing sharp in his enclosure he should be fine.

Just so he has two small, dark, heavy hides, he should be ok. Adding a good bit of fake foliage will help too, or loosely balled newspaper. As long as he feeds and does well, he should do fine. All of my babies that size are still in 6-15qt tubs.

He was in a bigger enclosure that I felt he may hurt himself in so I switched him to the 15 gallon. He is 200grams and has plenty of foliage which you can see in the picture of his new setup. Some of it is on the outside to help make the tank more secure without me having to take it out every time I clean. He conveniently pooped, peed and gave me a plesant mess to clean within 10 minutes of being in his nice clean enclosure..lol

Why not switch to tubs?

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Originally Posted by NickP

Why not switch to tubs?

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Because I like seeing him:) But every time I walk by the tubs in wal-mart I am tempted to buy one. He has a tub I use for him when his tank is being cleaned, but until my collection grows, I like the tank:) I do know the tubs can be quite clear, but I enjoy his current set-up:)

I dont blame ya with the tanks. =) i hope oyur little dude is doing better keep us updated!

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Originally Posted by nathaniel

I dont blame ya with the tanks. =) i hope oyur little dude is doing better keep us updated!

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Thanx, will do:)

Untill he settles it might be a good idea to throw a towel or a table cloth or something over his tank to help him feel more secure.

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Originally Posted by kurgan

Untill he settles it might be a good idea to throw a towel or a table cloth or something over his tank to help him feel more secure.

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As I mentioned in the original post, all 4 sides are covered;) thanx anyway though:)

It's hard to say sometimes when their teeth are growing they rub like that and also to align their jaws.Just keep an eye on him for a few days and see.

Well, little dude seems all settled in so far and is using both hides:) he has also efficiently knocked over both plants (fake plants) surrounding his two hides and given himself more privacy in front of the hides, I just let him keep it that way;) I'm going to wait and watch his behavior to see if he is interested in his weekly meal on tues. Thanks for your help guys, the gaping scared me a little, I thought something might be wrong, but he has been exploring at night, and sleeping all day so I think everything is fine:)