help needed with young ewd's

[beejay]

hello all,

sorry to be disturbing the guru's with the usual 'help me' questions!
owned multiple herp's over the years but only just got back into ownership with a pair of ewd's,not sure how old but they are only 10cm's in length so rather young im assuming.

picked them up last thursday and im a bit worried about them,they dont appear to be interested in food wether it be small crickets,mealworms or little bits of banana.

i have the enclosure set up with a hot end with a basking temp around 28-30 degrees c. and a compact uv globe. a good hide,some branches and a water bowl.

are they still settling in or is there perhaps an issue?

ive owned beardies,bluetongues and some carpet pythons and never had any issues but all have been over a year old and eating well when i purchased them,so needless to say i have no experience with the young ones!

any help appreciated!

cheers,
beej

 

[Eddie2257]

umm i dont no too much so someone tell me if im wrong but no banana. they have heaps of Potassium and its not always good for reptiles,

 

[KaotikJezta]

They love banana every now and again but usually only when they are older. I have found water dragons do take a little longer to settle in than other dragons. I wouldn't worry too much yet. Just leave them to settle in quietly and try again in a few days.

 

[mayamaya]

Its true, I have a 6cm(not including tail, last time I checked a month ago. also unknown age) eastern water dragon who Ive had since february when he was a bit smaller and yeah, they take a while to settle in! especially when they're this tiny and young >_> its a little frustrating for the owner since you wanna be able to bond with it and let it be comfortable with you watching it, but really they are so skittish at this age! Very paranoid little things. So just make sure u have them in a room where they cant see anything intimidating (like people, other pets, the birds outside,etc), and leave them around 6-8 little small crickets daily(which u should dust with calcium & vitamin supplements 2-3 times per week at this age) and when its quiet & no ones around they will definately eat them if they feel safe! I want another dragon too! but in 3 years that will take up heaps of room with a double sized super gigantic tank in my house (since i want them to be mainly indoors) and wont be able to find a take that giant haha. and also if they both turn out to be male, you'll need 2 tanks unfortunately since they are very territorial, almost double the size of females, and have a high chance of fighting (they dont like friends/company lol!)
But yeah just try to handle them 2 times a week for a few minutes to begin with just so they dont stress out and attempt to get them used to you, then I believe when they grow a bit bigger it wont be as awkward for either of you to handle / be held!
But yeah, they wont eat any greens or anything at the moment. just insects >_> mine lives on crickets (dusted 2/3 times p.w.) for now, since he barely touches anything else! and make sure they have a couple of hides, EWDs are addicted to hides lol. a pool big enough for them to sort of swim around in which u can replace each night since they will deficate in that and they need it fresh everyday to drink from, some sticks and vines up high near the UV light, an enclosure big enough for all that + some open space to run in, a good substrate to burrow into (they love doing that lol) and make sure its bark or something safe like that which they have no chance of swalling and getting sick from, some face plants(not real, too much hassle and they like to ruin and tear up real ones I heard lol),aaaand yeah! & honestly, its best to make the highest temp around 40 degrees c and the lowest around 21 degrees c with the middle gradient just ranging around 26-28ish. its easier for them to choose the right temperature that way and warm up/cool down quicker when they feel the need to.

Anyway hope that helped a bit, Ive been trying all different things in the 4-5 months Ive had my one and Ive found that all the stuff Ive just wrote is the best thing for EWDs! Good like with your little double troubles, psycho 1 and psycho 2! Haha.

Maya ^.^

Oh and some tips with the crickets: people say that they've had bits of their lizards nibbled off by the crickets at night since they dont care what they have to eat if theyre hungry, so leave a small slice of carrot in a bit of egg carton in your enclosure for the crickets to eat and replace the carrot every second or third day! I was so cautious of this ever since I heard it, I was like damn! :\ Because EWDs are very deep sleepers, they even look dead sometimes(once I thought this with the loose position mine was sleeping in) and it took like 10+ seconds to wake him up then he opened his eye and went crazy im like Sorry....! D:
And sometimes its hard for them to find the stupid crickets too, so try to cover as many potential cricket holes/hiding places as you can where your lizards cant fit into. Otherwise when u next clean your enclosure you'll find all these crickets hiding under rocks & stuff often near the heat. Its annoying >_>

Here's my little nutter, Jamba. Look any similar to your ones? Lol.
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...bums/jamba-4432/sure-age-guessing-5-6-206343/

 

[vampstorso]

hey there,
I got some a week ago,
one is happy as larry, basks all day and eats every day, poops regularly.

The other has hid the ENTIRE time, and not eaten (until today). I resisted the temptation to disturb it just to comfort myself that it was okay, coz I knew that'd make its life harder.

so ANYWAY the point to what I'm saying is, it may still be settling in. Just leave it be, and when it wants too eat, it will (unless ill).