lacey advice what else can i try

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cougarstrike

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hi guys I have a 6mth old lacy that I have moved from an inside tank to an outside enclosure. the outside cage has a basking light, is much bigger than inside cage and has lots more hides. the problem is when he was inside he would eat like clock work every three days. now he is outside he hasn't eaten in nearly a month. he is still in good condition, his tail is nice and solid. his skin is still normal looking. he hasn't had a shed since he has been out there. he still wanders around cage most days . I have seen signs of woodies in his cage but surly there couldn't be that many that it could sustain him. my question is what signs should I look out for and when should I start to get worried. all in all he still acts the same as what he did when he was inside and looks just as healthy. thanks
 
if he is still behaving the same as inside i wouldnt be too worried, how old/big is it and how large is the enclosure?
 
so it gets a fare bit of sun ? does he hide when you come out and watch him ?
my boy has a habbit of saulking but he has never gone off his food .
 
no he doesn't hide he just sits there. no sun till late in the arvo that's why I put in a spot light over his log
 
He needs heat or he wont eat (50-60C as a hotspot) and watch for thermal burns if the weather outside is cool and you're using a single spot (I use a bank of floods to cover the snout-vent area). At that size, I'd be keeping him inside until he's closer to the metre mark if it were me. If you're having probs feeding, cut up an adult mouse, weaner rat or chick/ quail into bite sized lumps and simply leave it in a small dish, he'll eat then in privacy and at his own leisure. You'll know because the food will be dissapearing, but you need to get the temps right first.

Hope this helps:)!
 
I'd get it back inside. It sounds like the setup you have for it outside is unsuitable. A six month old Lacie should be ravenous most of the time. No sun until late arvo is the problem - your heat source clearly isn't doing the job.

Jamie
 
yup id put it back inside for winter then try again next summer with the enclosure in a better spot to get the sun for the whole day [ of course with a shaded area too]
 
Putting a rock under the light instead of a log will help retain a bit more heat.
 
I agree with most of the other posters and would also be disinclined to put a monitor that size outdoors. In the wild, they have all sorts of options for choosing the microclimate that suits them best at any particular point in time. With an enclosure the size you mentioned, it's really hard to give the animal much choice and it's going to be spending a lot of time either too cool or too warm, even if you have a basking light in there (and, as Richard has mentioned, with a single globe in there you do run the risk of thermal burns when the ambient temperature drops).

If it were me, I'd put the animal into an indoor enclosure in which you can control all of the variables and then, when it is much larger and more robust, put it in a much larger outdoor enclosure.
 
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