Wake Up Sleepy Heads!

I bit the bullet today and turned the lights on for Lolly and Beau.  Beau in particular had been somewhat restless for the last week or two.  Never waking up as such, but, changing positions in the enclosure frequently.  So yesterday, I did a quick check that I had everything I needed by way of food etc and cleaned up food dishes in preparation for the big day.

The big thing to be sure to do when reptiles first wake up from brumating is to get them hydrated.  I have rarely, maybe one or two times, seen Lolly drink from standing water.  The very first time was shortly after she laid her first ever clutch of eggs.  I gave her a bath that day and she took a long quenching drink.  Unlike Beau, she never took to drinking droplets from misting and I never saw her taking water from bowls in the enclosure.  Beau on the other hand likes to drink in all of those ways.

After about 30 minutes of exposure to heat, I used a spray bottle on a stream setting to drop water on their snouts.  Beau took to it straight away.  So I put him front feet deep in the big water dish (ceramic pot plant dish) you see in the first photo here.  He dropped his head in and did not emerge for a good five minutes or so.  I then turned my attention more directly on to Lolly with the water stream.  As soon as she made motions to drink, I put here into the dish as well.  To my pleasant surprise, she drank also.

Since the intake of water, both have lazed directly under the heat lamp for the remainder of the day.  Neither look to have touched the veggies I have provided.  I will get some large crickets for them tomorrow and see how their appetite is fairing then.

Lacey seems to be recovering well from her burn.  She is certainly eating well, which is a fantastic sign.  Snakes will go off their food first before anything else when they are upset.  Lacey is ploughing through her food, so I am hopeful, if not confident that she is well on the way to recovery.  She is shedding individual scales and has been for the last few weeks.  I plan to contact the vet again this week as she asked me to give an update on Lacey's progress.   At that time I will ask about the scales also.  She pooped the other day, which was a great relief (to both of us I am sure).  It had been the better part of two months in between.  Not too alarming during winter or a growth spurt.  But, given that she has eaten regularly and I have kept the temperatures up...Let's just say I am glad that she did it.

A little more on how the burn happened.  Warming a snake from below, as I do with a heat mat has to be done using a thermostat, for safety, so that the temperatures don't get too hot.  Where I ran into trouble was having the probe for the thermostat, which regulates the power to the heat mat a few centimetres above the basking point.  This meant it was measuring ambient temperatures rather than the contact temperature that was exposed to the snake.  This meant despite having all quality equipment, the temperatures on the surface above the heat mat that Lacey was lying on, were not regulated correctly and prone to being far too hot.

The second part of the issue comes in when we consider how snakes warm themselves.  In the wild, they will slither out onto a warm rock, probably just above the optimal temperature, knowing full well that when they block the sun onto that part of the rock, it's temperature will drop a little whilst the residual heat can be absorbed.  Add to that, they start warming from above via the heat from the sun, and they get a nice, full body warming.  I had no source of heat from above.  What this meant was that no matter how warm\hot\burning Lacey was from the poorly regulated heat mat from below, she was potentially shivering from the top down in the cool ambient temperatures of a Canberra winter.  The best image to have in your mind is an attempt to cook a roast in a frying pan.  The bottom could be burned to a crisp in the allotted cooking time, while the top half would still be red raw.

How do we fix this?  Well, now I have attached the thermostat probe directly to the bottom of the enclosure right where the heat source is and Lacey lies.  I have also added a heat source in the form of a halogen bulb above the enclosure, to raise the ambient and overhead temperatures.  It all seems to be going remarkably well.  The image here is what it looks like now.

I feel such a fool, that despite all the best intentions, research and questions I asked of experienced keepers, I managed to make one small oversight that injured our precious Lacey.  The lesson has be learned.  Just so unfortunately at Lacey's expense.  Happily, she should make a full recovery.

Adding to the Crew

My obsession continues.  Today 3 baby Northern Spiny Tail Geckos (Strophurus ciliaris).  Aside from being beautiful animals, my first impression of them is that they are tiny.  They are a month or so old and no more than 6cm in total length.  The first couple of photos here will give you some indication of just how small they are.  The first is of probably the boldest one of the three so far as he makes his way out of the take away container that he arrived in.  The second is the same animal on my thumb for some further perspective.  Now I am the first to admit that I have big thumbs, but, you have to concede, that is one teeny tiny gecko.

This species of gecko is in the same genus (Strophurus) as our other Golden Tail Geckos whose eggs are currently incubating and looking great.  I have gone for another Strophurus as their body shape and general aesthetics appeal to me more so than other species that I have investigated.  They are arboreal, which is a slight draw back when  compared some other of the Australian species that are terrestrial in that their housing requirements are a bit more demanding.  As adults, they can climb pretty much anything.  Fully grown they are only around 12cm long and their slender frames mean that gaps in enclosures that might be fine with other animals will present escape options for these guys.  It's not a big deal, but, there's no keeping them in a low height plastic tub as with a species that does not climb.  These species need a reasonable level of climbing height and structures, as well as a seriously escape proof enclosure.  Certainly things I can live with in order to experience these wonderful creatures.

I shared the last photo here with a friend of mine who said that they thought the markings made it look like a piece of Indigenous art.  I have to agree.  It also makes me think of all the gecko shaped screen prints and wooden carvings I have seen at every market stall I have ever seen.  That archetypal image of a sticky footed lizard scaling an impossible surface.  The markings they show at the moment will change as they mature.  I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Right now they are in a small acrylic critter keeper on the desk in the study, fitted out with a heat mat, sand, a nice piece of wood for climbing and some artificial foliage for cover.  After turning off the main lights in the room, I have spent most of tonight watching the three of them cruise around hunting the little crickets I put in there for them.  They are primarily nocturnal, but, like the golden tails, they will sit out in the open on display, unlike many other Australian gecko species which is another very appealing aspect that attracted them to me.  What's not to like right?