Went to the vet today!

[thedigi1]

Hey everyone I took my BP into the vet just to get to know her. The vet was pretty cool and I learned of few things today. My Thor is a boy
so now I feel good knowing that I have named him appropriately.
He weighs 163 grams.
And all is well with him.

She had mentioned something to me that kinda puzzled me

She told me to use a UVB light instead of a UVA.
Does ne1 else use this type of light? cause I'm using a UVA basking light during the day and a regular night light at night.

And also now that you guys know how much he weighs is an adult mouse good enough?
and if so how many times? once every 5 days or once every 7?

[ThyTempest]

I think adult mice are usually around 25 grams, but not that sure. If that is true, it is pretty big for Thor, usually you want to feed ~10% of their weight. If adult mice are pretty much your only option, I would probably extend to at least every 7 days. As far as I know, no lighting is even necesarry, though keeping a day/night cycle is preferable, but requires no special bulbs. Hope this helps;

[giaach]

Yeah, since they are a nocturnal creature they don't need any specific uv lighting.

[missi182]

Odd that your vet would say that - some vets take a *crash* course in reptiles and don't know as much about caring for them as treating them unfortunetly. UVA or UVB lighting is not needed - a little sunlight during the day or a day lamp is more than enough to let your bp know its sleepy time.

At that weight, I was feeding LD 20 gram hoppers, at 200 grams he was bumped up to 30 gram rat pups - hes gettin nice and fat. If you can pick up a kitchen scale for $20, its well worth it so you can weigh f/t before you buy.

[starmom]

Odd that your vet would say that - some vets take a *crash* course in reptiles and don't know as much about caring for them as treating them unfortunetly. UVA or UVB lighting is not needed - a little sunlight during the day or a day lamp is more than enough to let your bp know its sleepy time.

At that weight, I was feeding LD 20 gram hoppers, at 200 grams he was bumped up to 30 gram rat pups - hes gettin nice and fat. If you can pick up a kitchen scale for $20, its well worth it so you can weigh f/t before you buy.

Totally agree with Missi and I also bump up the prey to above the 10% of body weight. I feed them every 5 days until they reach 200g, then I feed every 7 days.
You might want to start looking for another vet, a herp vet, that you can take Thor to if he ever has a real problem

[Bundu Boy]

You might want to start looking for another vet, a herp vet, that you can take Thor to if he ever has a real problem

Agreed. My stepfather is a vet here in South Africa and he tells me that they do a general course on reptiles. Goes without saying that the majority of animal that get taken to vets are of the furry variety. Best to locate a vet that has a focus on herps.

[Beardedragon]

They they said before, they take a crash course in reptiles. Your vet more than likely said that because she remembers hearing that most reptiles( lizards) need uvb. I got the same info from one vet and needless to say I do not use him anymore