welcome home, Wavvy

[tttaylorrr]

It might have. But then again, Smeagol doesn't eat every day either, and from what I've heard, many Cresties don't.

when i set him up and finally took a step back, i actually realized the food dish i was given with him was full of molded food; i couldn't tell until i picked it up and inspected it. idk how long it had been since he had fresh food. he probably saw the fresh food and gorged himself.

While I think its important to leave stress to a lower level, I also think that leaving them completely be and then doing a bunch of stuff a couple weeks later is also not the best. In my own experience, as short as it is, it helped that Smeagol got used to seeing me every day. Doing spot cleaning every day, talking to him, looking at him. Its become a routine for him. I find that what seemed to stress him the most was doing the complete do - overs in the cage, when I had to remove him and put him into another container while cleaning. Actually, that is the reason why I finally just put him into the larger enclosure. Now I can spot clean around him without having to take everything out (incl. him)

i've read it's best to handle them frequently and regularly, and that the "grace period" before handling new reptiles doesn't really apply to these guys.

he's in my bathroom so he sees and hears me every day, and i make a point when i get home after work to check on him and talk to him and just observe him. i'm going to start handling every other day or so.

I really liked having paper towel, it helps keep things clean and you can see if they eat and poop. But in order to clean I had to remove the entire paper and redo it. I couldn't do that without taking most stuff out. The coco coir made this much easier, I could spot clean without removing stuff. But..he didn't seem to like walking on it. While I don't feed bugs in the enclosure and he never tried to "taste" the stuff, it is small enough to be eaten should they decide to do so. (I think they mostly get it in their mouth when they think they see a bug). In the wild they don't walk on fluffy soft coir either, so maybe thats why he didn't like it?

So far the leaves work great. They are to big/stiff to eat. He loves walking on them. And they make spot cleaning easy, I just remove the leaf that the mess is on and add more as needed.

Long story short, they really do seem to like their routine and their stuff. Smeagol picked his sleeping area on day one and has never budged. That's where he likes to be. So for now I try not to change to much stuff.

I will eventually change the substrate, though. I will remove the coco coir under the leaves and put in bioactive soil. I like the way it looks and smells, esp. the leaves. I'm not ready to go full on bio active, because this enclosure is to small and I don't want the bright lights on him, so the plants stay plastic/silk for now. Plus he loves his home and I don't want to change that part.

i'm going to keep him on paper towel until i get a better idea of when he poops and pees, so i know how often to check and clean. until i'm more comfortable with my knowledge of care for these guys, i'll keep the substrate as simple as i can. i'd love to go bioactive eventually.

that's a good point about not changing things in the enclosure for a bit, so they can pick where they want to be and get comfy.

Wavvy is still SO new. He will be alright. He actually seemed to settle in quite well already. Like I said, they don't always eat every day, and he still has his flower. He will find / choose his "spot" and stick with it.

pun intended?

Just leave the familiar in with him, he will be just fine. He is looking great and at a great weight. Try not to stress him overly, but also don't completely baby him by leaving him 99% be. Because he will get used to that and possibly stress more once there is more activity. Let him see you and observe you often, keep doing your spot cleaning and maintenance and change food every other day. Just do now what you plan on doing in the future. He will get used to it.

Smeagol hardly moved the first 3 weeks. Now he is such a clown and I have live entertainment every night. Smeagol has lost all his fear and he loves coming to the door and jumping on my hands.

Just set your enclosure up the way you like it and the way it works for you. Wavvy will be ok. Just look at all the changes he has went through recently and he is still such a chill guy and so sweet and he already ate for you. He is a lot tougher then he looks, LOL.

And he certainly is drop dead gorgeous. You really won the Crestie lottery with him

thank you so much for all of your input and advice; it's nice to have someone to talk and learn with.

i can't wait to see my guy relaxed and jumping like Smeagol. i hope i can get him to trust me to jump to my hands!!!