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 #962742


Lizardzzz
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 Help!

Help my long tailed grass lizard lizzy is not eating! What should I do? Any Help would be appreciated.

Thank you
08/29/06  05:27pm

 #962748


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962742


 Help!

take her to the vet for a checkup and fecal test. Can you give us a rundown on your setup? Where is the tank placed in your house?
08/29/06  05:31pm

 #962762


Lizardzzz
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 962748


 Help!

I Put Cork Bark In There and Pete moss I also I put Some Sticks In There so He could climb. I have a heat lamp on her right now and I spray her cage with water every day! Ill Get A Picture when I find My camera.



08/29/06  05:40pm

 #962808


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962762


 Help!

How big is the tank, what are the temps, what is the humidity, and are you using any special bulbs?
08/29/06  06:03pm

 #962819


Lizardzzz
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 962808


 Help!

The tank is a 10 gallon tank. Not sure what the temp is - maybe 85 or so? Not sure about humidity either. It’s a UVB lamp, 100 watt bulb.



08/29/06  06:10pm

 #962823


Geckogirlemi
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962819


 Help!

Don’t guesstimate the temps. Get a thermometer, and a humidity guage. It could be you are baking your poor little lizard.
08/29/06  06:14pm

 #962825


LIZARD-MAN2
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962819


 Help!

100watts is way to much in my opinion, try lowering it down to 60watts. you should only use a 60watt for a 10 gallon.



08/29/06  06:18pm

 #962833


Lizardzzz
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   Message To: LIZARD-MAN2   In reference to Message Id: 962825


 Help!

Ok. Well I’m only 12 so I don’t have it on during the day when I’m at school. I just turn it on some when I’m home. I’ll put a 60 watt bulb in it. This is my first lizard. Is there anything else I should know or do? If I get a humidity guage, what should the humidity be in there? Or the temperature?
08/29/06  06:22pm

 #962842


Geckogirlemi
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962833


 Help!

Here is a link to caresheets LINK. Now, when you are at school, it needs to stay on, they need 12 hours of light in the day and 12 hours of night at night. Also, the temps and everything will be on the caresheet. Good luck.:)
08/29/06  06:29pm

 #962845


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Lizardzzz   In reference to Message Id: 962819


 Help!

K, now I can help you a little =]. I highly recommend you take your lizard to the vet. The easiest way to find a vet that does herps in your area is to look in the Yellowpages and basically call every number under ’V’ for vet, asking them if they do reptiles. If you specifically only ask for a fecal test, you’ll probably get away with about 20 dollars. Parasites is a big thing in grass lizards and will upset them into not eating. If your lizard has parasites, they need to be dewormed. This means bleaching the tank once a week for a month or two, temporarily keeping your lizard on papertowel, giving the dewormers a few times (perscribed by vet) and you may even have to forcefeed. Never syringfeed without being told how by a vet first.

You’re going to have to buy/change a few things. First, I recommend you upgrade to a bigger tank - such as a 15 or 20 gallon (20 gallon is more efficiant). Small lizard, I know. But they have more room and places to hide when the tank is bigger. Get the tank after any parasite problem is taken care of.

Next, buy yourself a digital thermometer and hydrometer. This is to properly measure tank temperatures and humidity. Mount them on the inside of the tank - close to the substrate. Why digital thermometer? Because those cheap sticker and dial kinds don’t work that well and often misread temps. The humidity should be around 70%, the temps should be between 75 and 85F during the day (87 to 90 hot spot with the lamp) and drop 5 degrees at night with no hot spot. I also recommend you get a 60 to 75 watt UV bulb. The 100 watt bulb being directed at a 10 gallon tank is probably heating it well beyond 95F when it’s on and that could easily hurt/kill your lizard in the future (you could use the 100 watter for a much bigger tank in the future). Speaking of Uvb, you ultimately rule for knowing what sort of bulb you need. I like that.

I don’t know what sorta substrate corkbark is, but as long as it doesn’t have sharp edges, it should be ok for a grass lizard. They should also have the ability to burrow in it. Makes them happy. You can also try out bed a beast in the future if you’d like.

Make sure you have a water dish at all times. You can also leave a small glass/ceramic dish (can be bought at any flower or department store) in there with mealworms and see if your lizard doesn’t take some.

The more hiding places the better. You say you have some sticks now, but more is always better. If you have any money left over after the rest of this, you could invest in more. What I highly recommend is going to a local hobby store and buying 6 ft of fake pothos vine for 3 dollars. Much more cost efficiant than pet supply stores in that area.

Have you been giving your lizard her vitamins? I forgot to ask you if you have or not, but make sure to supply your lizard with calcium(preferably without d3 as the uvb is doing that for you. JurassiCal is a good brand) and vitamin suppliments. Dust/coat the suppliments on the crickets/mealworms before adding them to the tank. You should also gutload your insects with vegis, vitamins, and other such things for a day or more before giving htem to the lizard. This will ensure that your lizard gets the healthy stuff. There are there vitamin cubes from Flukers that I use for my feeder bugs and they do wonders. Anyway, dust with teh calcium every other day and the vitamins once a week.

Lastly, make sure the tank is away from any windows. Direct sunlight can literally fry the tank. Also have the tank in a secluded room. This is because too much activity outside of the tank will stress the lizard.



As for what could be wrong with your lizard, it could be many things. Currently I’m guessing parasites - which is why taking it to the vet should be objective #1 if it’s never had a fecal test before. It’s the #1 culprit. However the problem could also be stress caused from where the tank is placed in the house, too much handling, the intense heat from the extreme wattage on the bulb, the tank being too small, or not enough places to hide. The lizard could be impacted from eating the bark (specially if it’s sharp), so monitor the lizard to see if it is able to crap. If there’s blood in the crap, take it to the vet ASAP. If the lizard can’t crap, give it either 1 to 3 drops of olive oil or 1 small drop of mineral oil and see if that doesn’t help. Should impaction (not being able to crap) be the problem, remove the cork bark. And even then, it could be something as small as the lizard getting ready to shed. Sometimes lizards wont eat for up to 5 days before shedding, shed, then eat a load.


I hope this has been an informative post.
08/29/06  06:35pm

 #962847


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 962845


 Help!

Oh sure, Emily =P take over the thread while I write all this up.
08/29/06  06:36pm

 #962881


Lizardzzz
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 962847


 Help!

Thank you all for your help! I just bought this lizard so I’m still learning. You have all been VERY helpful!
08/29/06  07:02pm


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