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Havasu   Dallas0218   Johelian   Aliceinwl   Aliceinwl  
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 #1589932


Havasu
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 I can’t get them to eat

Just got off the phone with the reptile store and they said if I caught my Chuckwallas in the wild they most likely won’t eat. Is that true? (Rather than buying from a dealer) I have tried every thing I can think of to feed them. We have a native plant here called Brittle Bush. It has a yellow flower that looks like a daisy. I read that they love to eat the flower. Fortunately, they are beginning to Bloom, however they still won’t even look at it. The female (2 weeks) stays mostly in the basking area and hardly moves about. The male (2 days) is still in the same spot where we put him.
The reptile store said to try collard greens. So, off to the store, but I think it is a waste of time. The female doesn’t even come close to the dish to see what I have.
I’m frustrated!



01/22/08  06:38pm

 #1590582


Dallas0218
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   Message To: Havasu   In reference to Message Id: 1589932


 I can’t get them to eat

They should eat the flowers off the brittle-bush. If you can find some dandelion flowers they should eat those too. All my original chucks were wild caught and they all love the dandelion flowers. I live in Las Vegas and we still have dandelions blooming so maybe Arizona does too. The bulk of their diet should be greens 80-85% (collard, mustard, turnip, watercress, endive, dandelions, escarole, parsley) . Veggies 10-15%( some broccoli, snow peas and shredded hard squashes such as acorn. Fruits 5-10%(strawberries, mango, grapes, and kiwi). If they are not moving you need to make sure the temps are good. Temp should be 85-90 degrees daytime with around 110 degrees in the basking area and a cool side around 80 degrees. They should also have a place to hide, this will help reduce their stress level which can also cause them not to eat. Hope this helps some.

Brian
01/22/08  11:40pm

 #1590750


Johelian
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   Message To: Havasu   In reference to Message Id: 1589932


 I can’t get them to eat

As the other poster mentioned, it sounds like your cage is too cold still. Can you describe your setup in more detail? We have an 80W floodlight creating a 120F approx basking spot and ambient temps in the 80s, plus a MegaRay Reptile UV, and our chucks are living it up at the moment. They have no problems with a 120F basking spot (so long as they have a cooler area in the mid to low 80s to escape to), so I would really recommend that you check your temperatures with a temperature gun to make sure that its hot enough.

Your cage may also be too small and stressful. If you havent already get some more hides into the cage so that they can get out of sight. My chucks dont mind people being nearby, but they have been raised in captivity; being forced to be near humans can be very stressful for WC chucks. Put the food near a hide so that they can investigate while still having cover to dash away to.

Possibly they are parasitic...I would consider talking to a reptile vet to see what they suggest. If they poo you can take it to the vet to check; obviously though lizards that arent eating dont poo, which makes this very frustrating.



01/23/08  07:46am

 #1610245


Aliceinwl
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   Message To: Johelian   In reference to Message Id: 1590750


 I can’t get them to eat

How old are your chucks? Wild caught chucks, especially older animals can often take 6 - 24 months to acclimate and may never tolerate people well. The temps supplied in the previous post are right on, if you’re keeping them in a glass tank, you also need to cover at least three sides of the tank with something opaque to reduce stress and put them in a low traffic area.

Chucks naturally have a rich intestinal flora of worms, protozoa and bacteria that assist in digestion. For the first week or so of life baby checks eat nothing but adult poo to get this flora. Unless your chucks have been exposed to exotic herps, treating them for parasites is likely to do more harm than good.

I have a wild caught chuck, she had an SVL of about 3 inches when I caught her. I thought she was a yearling only to find out she was actually probably around 3 years old. It took me over six months to get her eating regularly. To get her eating, I had to upgrade her from a 70 gallon to a 100 gallon tank, get her a mercury vapor bulb, load it up with a ton of rocks, cover all four sides, and spend a ton of money on a captive bred chuck buddy (she couldn’t let him eat all the food). Almost 2 years later, I’ve finally taken all the paper off the front.

There’s a thread here: http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1468481,1468786 with a lot of tasty plants to try. Mine really like nasturtium leaves and flowers, dandelion flowers, perennial marigold flowers, callendula flowers, cilantro, collard greens, grated orange squashes, sweet potatoes and carrots, pastel colored pansy flowers, hibiscus leaves and flowers, alyssum, plantain leaves, alfalfa leaves and flowers, rough cat’s ear flowers, and moss roses. For the fist year I had my wild caught female, once she started eating regularly, about 95% of her diet was composed solely of dandelion flowers. Once you find something they like, give them lots of it mixed in with other things, and eventually they may branch out.

Try to position the food bowl near a crevice / secure hide they can retreat to so they don’t feel exposed while eating. Also use a small or very shallow dish so they don’t have to scale sides to access the food. You may also want to add a small water bowl to prevent dehydration until they start eating.



02/05/08  12:14am

 #1610265


Aliceinwl
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   Message To: Aliceinwl   In reference to Message Id: 1610245


 I can’t get them to eat

I just read your previous post.

Until they’re completely acclimated (feeding well etc.) they should not be handled unless absolutely necessary and disturbance should be restricted to replacing food dishes. Adult males can be very difficult to acclimate; you may want to look into building some type of large outdoor pen as opposed to a tank inside, if feasible.

Some more foods: fresh mints, cat-nip, basil, and wild raddish flowers.

Since they’ve been brumating their appetites may not pick up until spring. You may just want to have one hot elevated basking site with the rest of the cage relatively cool so that they can continue brumating if that’s what they want to do. If conditions are right, there should be no dramatic weight loss. If you haven’t already, you may want to consider getting an appliance timer to turn the lights on and off at set times every day. If you’re trying to get them eating, you want about 12 hours worth of daylight.
02/05/08  12:35am


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