GT Update

The title of this post sounds a bit like something you might type at a command prompt if you are like me an mess about on computers.  Not so of course as that is work and this is far from it :-).

I dragged myself out of my sick bed today to feed my Golden Tail Geckos.  They are in a fairly noisy, high traffic area, which is why I think that I have yet to see them eat terribly much.  By that I mean actually witness it happening.  There has been plenty of evidence of successful digestion to be cleaned up regularly, but, there has certainly not been anything like I witnessed today.

After having chatted with their previous owner in the past few days, I was a little concerned that I had not witnessed the enthusiasm for food that she reported.  She told me that they almost jumped out of their enclosure at food when it was presented.  This has not been my experience, and largely I have put this down to their location.

Today I made sure it was quiet during the feeding and for Lizzy (the female) at least, this made all the difference.  Before I left her to it, I witnessed her take 5 crickets!  I couldn't believe it.  It was satisfying enough to see her down a single insect.  But, to see her almost approach me at the start and then time after time hunt and capture her food was very gratifying.

The series of images in this post depict Lizzy on the prowl.  First locating her prey, then stalking and finally having captured her meal.  This was actually the fourth cricket that she ate.  It was so pleasing to see her enthusiastic for the hunt even after having what I would have considered a full belly.  I should note that she is looking gravid again, so this could be playing a significant part in her appetite.  That should become clear in the next week or two.

Regardless of whether or not there will be two more little gems laid in the coming weeks, it was simply fantastic to witness the fervent activity from Lizzy today.  The grace and dare I say athleticism of efforts are certainly representative of some of the qualities that drew me to want to keep geckos.  Quite pleased with some of the photos I took as well.  Three of which are here of course.  First glimpse of the underside of Lizzy's belly too.  Although worth noting that the potentially expectant mother has hidden her tummy from view to make that assessment somewhat more challenging!  Oh well, something else to look forward to.

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?

The best of days the worst of days...

Today was the absolute definition of a rollercoaster as far as emotions went.  It started with the big time low that ebbed throughout the day.  The high came relatively early to lighten the mood somewhat.

I had my second ever trip to the vet this morning.  Over the weekend I had noticed that Lacey had some roughened scales on her belly that were browned as well as what looked like blistering along the back third of her belly.  It all looked very symptomatic of a burn.  As it was the weekend I consulted a trusted source who confirmed that it looked very much like a burn and perhaps some scale rot thrown in.  Needless to say neither is an particularly inviting prospect.

The world's most caring vet Jan Spate confirmed that it is a belly burn.  It occurred because I use a heat mat underneath Lacey's enclosure that she lies over to draw the heat she needs.  I will go into more detail on the mechanics of how a burn like this occurs and how to avoid it (lesson well and truly learned) in a later post.  Suffice to say that the burn was a result of my mistake and I'm pretty shattered about it.  You can see the nature of the burn in this first photo.  It is not serious and she will recover quickly.  She is eating well and generally appears to be as content as ever.  Loving her food is the way I would describe it.  Gave me a nip last night thinking it was feed time.  I have an ointment from the vet to apply daily.  She ate her latest meal tonight and I will apply the treatment tomorrow morning.  Expect progress updates soon.

On a brighter note, after the early morning run to the vet I went in to work.  First thing was to check on the geckos, now named Lizzy and Ecko after a naming contest with my colleagues.  I noticed sand around the entrance to the lay box which peaked my interest.  Further investigation of the underside of the container and I spied a glimpse of white suggesting that my suspicions about Lizzy were correct.  She had laid two of the smallest eggs I think I have and will ever see. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting by way of size.  Reptiles tend to be measured in terms of 'snout to vent length (SVL).  That's their nose to their bum basically.  Golden Tail Geckos are around 12cm SVL.  So they are not exactly huge.  The two eggs that you can see in the images here are about the size of the very small jelly beans you can buy these days.  I put a five cent piece in the photo for perspective.

Of course as you do, Lizzy buried the eggs in the very very, back bottom corner of the box.  The only indicator really was the sand around the entrance and a little bit of lateral thinking.  Lizzy herself does look a lot slimmer, but, I doubt I would have quite picked that she had laid without a pretty detailed inspection.  I have chosen to use perlite as the medium to incubate the eggs in this time.  It is the white pebbly looking material around the eggs in this second photo.  I found that I was less than entirely happy with using vermiculite this season with the Dragons.  There was mould in the egg containers for the first time in the second clutch.  I'm not sure that the clutch was as strong as the previous ones that Lolly has produced, but, I do think that the vermiculite may have contributed to the outcomes somewhat.  Most of the eggs survived and produced healthy babies.  I just felt that the consistency of the vermiculite may have contributed to the few that were lost.  So I am moving to another commonly used material that just appears to me to be cleaner and retains the moisture in a better way.

I have started another competition at my work to guess the hatching date of the two eggs.  I should mention that geckos only ever lay two eggs, so all is very normal on that front.  I thought the competition was at least another way to try and bring a bit of light into an otherwise shady day.