May 2009
Injury?
I got a look at her new skin today, and there’s been
some sort of injury. On either side of her body,
there is an injury that appears to have been
bleeding. It is not an open sore, and the scales are
formed over it, but there has been blood forced
through them and it has formed a hard scar. It could
be a heat burn, I suppose, or it could be a crush
injury from her getting trapped in something. I
haven’t seen her be trapped any time, but with the
injury matching on both sides, it has to be a
possibility.
Tried a small mouse tonight, expecting her to be hungry now, but no interest at all. This is worrying.
Tried a small mouse tonight, expecting her to be hungry now, but no interest at all. This is worrying.
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A tough time
Since my last post of 3rd May Victoria has been off
her food. I have presented her with a mouse several
times, but with declining interest. Her eyes were
slightly clouded, so I didn’t worry at first,
thinking that she was getting ready to slough.
However, as the time passed by without any sign of
it, I started to worry.
The temperature has been fine, I have been spraying the viv occasionally to keep the humidity up and hep her slough, but nothing came of it. She became very listless and I really thought I was going to loose her.
Then, last night she started to slough!I had her out of the viv, trying to find out if anything was wrong and she started to rub her nose against the rough fabric of my jeans. She kept it up for a good couple of hours and managed to break the skin on her nose and work it back over her head. I went to bed and left her to it, but in the morning found she had had a very untidy slough. The skin was still stick to the top of her head and along her back and sides for about 8 inches. The rest of it had come off in tiny pieces - the largest was barely an inch long.
Tonight, I let her rest up. I think she was exhausted with the effort. There are some white patches on her sides I’m not altogether happy about, but we’ll look at those tomorrow.
The temperature has been fine, I have been spraying the viv occasionally to keep the humidity up and hep her slough, but nothing came of it. She became very listless and I really thought I was going to loose her.
Then, last night she started to slough!I had her out of the viv, trying to find out if anything was wrong and she started to rub her nose against the rough fabric of my jeans. She kept it up for a good couple of hours and managed to break the skin on her nose and work it back over her head. I went to bed and left her to it, but in the morning found she had had a very untidy slough. The skin was still stick to the top of her head and along her back and sides for about 8 inches. The rest of it had come off in tiny pieces - the largest was barely an inch long.
Tonight, I let her rest up. I think she was exhausted with the effort. There are some white patches on her sides I’m not altogether happy about, but we’ll look at those tomorrow.
Rearranging the Furniture
I wasn’t happy with the setup of Victoria’s vivarium.
First, I wasn’t convinced that the 11watt heater mat
was large enough for the tank size (an 11” square
heater under a 24” square tank). The heater seemed to
be on almost all the time and, unless the lamp was on
as well, it couldn’t maintain an adequate
temperature. So, I rearranged the tank today,
replacing the 11w mat with a larger, 20w one. That
seems much better. There’s still plenty of space for
Victoria to escape the heat, if she wants to, but now
the mat is able to maintain temperature when I put
the lamp off.
While I was at it, I also put in a larger branch, with several off-shoots. This is about 5” wide at the base, with the offshoots between 2” and 4” diameter. I have wrapped some artificial vines around it and it looks quite effective. i know that Royals are not often found off the ground, but it has also given her a much wider range of ground level hides as well. All in all, a good improvement.
As if to celebrate, some 12 hours or so after the rearrangement she struck at a mouse as soon as it was offered. i bought some smaller mice to try her with, since she had refused the last two medium mice offered. I’ll thaw another one tomorrow and try her again tomorrow night.
I haven’t weighed her tonight, but while she was out of her viv during the rearrangement, I measured her length. i had previously estimated it at 20-24”. I turns out that she’s a healthy 39”!
It must be time to find her a mate.
I also called in at Norwich Reptiles today, hoping to pick up a couple of beardies and a couple of Emperor Scorpions. Out of luck on both!. They are growing on some Captive Bred beardies, but they aren’t quite ready yet. Another week should see them ready. They’re also down to their last Emporer - expecting more in next Wednesday. They did have an absolutely gorgeous Cayman Island Iguana there though. A fantastic beast that I fell in love with, but at £1,500 I’m not so sure that I could have convinced Margaret that it really needed a new home with us!
Anyway, it seems I just happened to call in a few days too soon! I had the viva set up ready for them as well. Ah, well. Maybe better luck next time.
While I was at it, I also put in a larger branch, with several off-shoots. This is about 5” wide at the base, with the offshoots between 2” and 4” diameter. I have wrapped some artificial vines around it and it looks quite effective. i know that Royals are not often found off the ground, but it has also given her a much wider range of ground level hides as well. All in all, a good improvement.
As if to celebrate, some 12 hours or so after the rearrangement she struck at a mouse as soon as it was offered. i bought some smaller mice to try her with, since she had refused the last two medium mice offered. I’ll thaw another one tomorrow and try her again tomorrow night.
I haven’t weighed her tonight, but while she was out of her viv during the rearrangement, I measured her length. i had previously estimated it at 20-24”. I turns out that she’s a healthy 39”!
It must be time to find her a mate.
I also called in at Norwich Reptiles today, hoping to pick up a couple of beardies and a couple of Emperor Scorpions. Out of luck on both!. They are growing on some Captive Bred beardies, but they aren’t quite ready yet. Another week should see them ready. They’re also down to their last Emporer - expecting more in next Wednesday. They did have an absolutely gorgeous Cayman Island Iguana there though. A fantastic beast that I fell in love with, but at £1,500 I’m not so sure that I could have convinced Margaret that it really needed a new home with us!
Anyway, it seems I just happened to call in a few days too soon! I had the viva set up ready for them as well. Ah, well. Maybe better luck next time.
