Finally - 5 years late: An introduction to Cleo, Carra, and Kayla

[Hugsplox]

Cleo still isn't really enthused by most food items. She will eat hornworms, and sometimes wax worms, and less so mealworms. I try to offer the hornworms and waxworks as a treat, but I also want her to eat at least 1X a week something. She also doesn't want to eat too much in a sitting right now.

I understand this time of year LG's can go off feed, and that's fine, and I will report if she starts eating regularly again. In the meantime, she looks good and still has a plump tail and good body definition.

I did some research and although she doesn't like PhoenixWorms particularly, want to try spike worms. They are supposed to be similar to waxworms in look, smell, and presumably taste, but much more nutritious - more protein and less fat.

I'll see if she likes those. I am sure Carra and Ferry will .

Below is the site I got them from and some info on them.

https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/250-spikes-fly-larvae/

I hate that you’re still having some feeding issues dakski. My LG is off food right now as well and even though I know they go off this time of year, it doesn’t make it any less stressful.

I had a little luck with freshly shed mealworms but even then he only took one, so if spike worms work for you let me know!


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[dakski]

I hate that you’re still having some feeding issues dakski. My LG is off food right now as well and even though I know they go off this time of year, it doesn’t make it any less stressful.

I had a little luck with freshly shed mealworms but even then he only took one, so if spike worms work for you let me know!


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Will do. They arrive on Tuesday. Apparently, you can refrigerate and they will last 3-4 weeks. They encourage you to take them out a few minutes before you feed to warm up and get active.

Katie is not happy about "bugs" in her fridge, but is willing to make an exception for Cleo.

For what's worth, Cleo never turns down a hornworm, if you want to see if your guy will take something. Mostly water, but has some calcium and protein, so a little better than waxworms, I think. They are also pretty big.

Her second favorite is waxworms. She likes butterworms, but neither she, nor Carra (LG also), hold them down. I think they are too fatty. Same with superworms. I've tried and they just don't agree with them. Not saying all LG's cannot have Superworms, but mine don't tolerate them.

I wanted to order silkworms to try as well, but my sources were out of stock. They are supposed to have more protein than hornworms.

[Bogertophis]

...Katie is not happy about "bugs" in her fridge, but is willing to make an exception for Cleo...

Oh, the "sacrifices" we all make to keep our herps happy.

[dakski]

Oh, the "sacrifices" we all make to keep our herps happy.

Absolutely!

By the way, Hugsplox, if I didn't mention recently, Dubai Roaches were a staple for Cleo, but she seemed to lose taste and/or it was too much effort to hunt them down. Carra still adores them. So if you haven't tried them, those might be a hit too. They don't morph, don't smell, are great nutrition wise, and don't breed at room temperature. Anyway, you probably already know all that.

[Hugsplox]

Absolutely!

By the way, Hugsplox, if I didn't mention recently, Dubai Roaches were a staple for Cleo, but she seemed to lose taste and/or it was too much effort to hunt them down. Carra still adores them. So if you haven't tried them, those might be a hit too. They don't morph, don't smell, are great nutrition wise, and don't breed at room temperature. Anyway, you probably already know all that.

Oh I know Spitfire, my LG, did really well on them but I think had a harder time grabbing them vs some type of work. He did the same thing with crickets.

He’s still leaving me his typical gift in his favorite spot, so he’s eating something lol, we’ve just had such a huge drop off in appetite that it worried me a bit. Hopefully it’s just the season but we’ll see once it warms up.


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[dakski]

I did get the spike fly larvae. Cleo was uninterested. It seems she did eat a couple mealworms out of her bowl this week (but sometimes they escape, so not sure until I clean the entire enclosure). She also ate a couple wax worms and a hornworm covered in calcium and vitamin powder, so at least she got her weekly amount of those. She seems okay. Her mouth looks okay, she's not losing weight, she's active, and will literally sit in my hand and take a waxworm from the other.

I don't think she's in any major discomfort at the movement. However, she was chilling in her moist hide, so a shed might be imminent, which might add to her not eating much. That in addition to the time of year and her age, etc.

I'll try again with the spike worms soon.

In the meantime, Carra (LG) and Ferry (Chewie), really liked them. They are the size of a small waxworm, move like a waxworm, but are more nutritious and seem gummier and denser (which makes sense because they are less fatty by a lot and have more protein).

Cleo seems to be going mostly by smell now and not movement - I really think her eyes are not great at this point. She smells the waxworms and hornworms and then bites them, often missing at first. Same with the mealworms, but they are harder to grab and not as enticing.

Hugsplox - overall, they were a big hit. However, Carra and Ferry eat anything that moves. Probably worth trying.

[Hugsplox]

I did get the spike fly larvae. Cleo was uninterested. It seems she did eat a couple mealworms out of her bowl this week (but sometimes they escape, so not sure until I clean the entire enclosure). She also ate a couple wax worms and a hornworm covered in calcium and vitamin powder, so at least she got her weekly amount of those. She seems okay. Her mouth looks okay, she's not losing weight, she's active, and will literally sit in my hand and take a waxworm from the other.

I don't think she's in any major discomfort at the movement. However, she was chilling in her moist hide, so a shed might be imminent, which might add to her not eating much. That in addition to the time of year and her age, etc.

I'll try again with the spike worms soon.

In the meantime, Carra (LG) and Ferry (Chewie), really liked them. They are the size of a small waxworm, move like a waxworm, but are more nutritious and seem gummier and denser (which makes sense because they are less fatty by a lot and have more protein).

Cleo seems to be going mostly by smell now and not movement - I really think her eyes are not great at this point. She smells the waxworms and hornworms and then bites them, often missing at first. Same with the mealworms, but they are harder to grab and not as enticing.

Hugsplox - overall, they were a big hit. However, Carra and Ferry eat anything that moves. Probably worth trying.

I'll definitely give them a try. Spitfire is in shed right now as well, but yesterday was feeding day, so I figured I'd see what he did, and he happily took 4 medium crickets from me. Hopefully this is the start of him getting back to normal now that it's warming up a little more outside, but we'll see. I think one of my big mistakes early on was only tong feeding vs leaving something in there with him. Initially he was only eating meal worms but I moved him to crickets when he started showing less interest.

Since I didn't want to leave crickets in the enclosure with him, I exclusively tong fed, so when I went back to leaving something in a bowl, the dubias, he was not interested. I don't want to say for sure that that was the issue, but yesterday went really well feeding off the tongs again.

[Spicey]

Katie is not happy about "bugs" in her fridge, but is willing to make an exception for Cleo.

As long as you don't mind having them added to your dinner some evening if she gets mad at you.