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#2263875 Kalora View Profile	How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Hey everyone! I wanted to know if this happens with other people because I’ve found it to be very annoying. After I lay down some new moist eco-earth, it dries out completely in less than 2 days. I mist it every afternoon but it doesn’t seem to keep it moist. I dislike seeing the tank with the light brown and dry eco earth. When it’s dry, the coconut husks stick out and my lizard catches them in her mouth when she’s trying to hunt. She also don’t like to dig in the dry eco earth so she doesn’t get to burrow at night. Is there ANY way to keep it moist? ~ I also want to know how many inches away from the heat lamp I should put her mushroom ledge on for basking. I have it 5 inches away from the light right now but I don’t know if that’s accurate. The ledge covers the whole side of the tank so she’s not blasted with like if she jumps on it, there’s a cool side to the ledge too. ~ I got her last October and I know she was a baby then. I’m not sure if I should keep dusting her crickets every day like I used to. She’s moved from pin heads to small sized crickets to small crickets and I’ve been feeding about 6 a day. Too much? I’ve noticed she’s been getting a little fat. Not sure if she’s just growing though because she’s been pooping everyday like normal. From reading posts I’m thinking of cutting her to 3-4 a day. Does this sound good?
04/23/12  03:27am
#2263902 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2263875  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Can you mist the eco-earth? It is probably allot of work though. I don’t know about the mushroom ledge, sorry. I gave my adult male 3 half inch crickets every few days. He was very old though so he just sat on my head all day................... I just fed my fencies when they acted hungry. When they were hungry they would look all around for something to eat and I would feed them until they stopped looking interested in crickets. Just so you know, I am not an expert. I have had a few fence lizards though.
04/23/12  10:26am
#2263929 Kalora View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2263902  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Does yours dry out too? and yes, I try to every morning when I mist the cage. I know the humidity isn’t bad in the cage because my lizard was able to shed its tail shed problem last month. Any tips on taming them? I haven’t tried to interact with mine so much. I only interact when I move her out to clean her cage. She usually will willingly go into a plastic cup I use to "scoop" her out then place her in a temp. tank while I clean. I have been feeding her when she acts hungry too. She will get more active and jump around and she will try to dig holes. I’m wondering because when I feed her 3-4 she still acts hungry and she doesn’t poop until way later in the day or sometimes the next day.
04/23/12  04:36pm
#2263934 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2263929  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Yes, mine seems to dry out too. Zipper (my old fence lizard I used to have) was very mellow from the beginning. This is ThesaurusRex’s way of taming fence lizards: Quote: Ah, okay. Well, it’s all a matter of acclimation I suppose. Is his tank in your room or in a place where you are in most often? That always helps. I would recommend starting out with hand feeding. Try something like crickets first, if that doesn’t work try waxworms. He should be able to feel like he can just hop on your hand to get the waxworm. It may take a while, but this step is all to show him that your hand does no harm. After he’s okay with that, try just lightly stroking his back while he’s inside the tank. Do this for a while too. Eventually he should be totally used to your hand. And now for the next step, actually handling him. You’re going to want to slide your hand (With the palm of your hand facing the ground) below the lizard, not above, and then gently hover your index finger under his chin. Then rotate your hand, which in turn makes the lizard stand taller. Your middle finger should be under his belly, your index finger should be under his chin, and your thumb should be on top of his neck. The rest of your hand needs to support him. Support is KEY. Another way to do it is by approaching him from the front instead of the side, and using your middle finger to lift him up. Start with his chin, and then keep going down until you reach his belly. Slide the rest of your hand under him as well. He’s prone to try to escape and run into his hide, but this way he will be in control. The first way I told you should be the default way, though. Keep holding him, petting him, and etc. and he will get used to you. One other way I got mine used to handling is waiting until early morning to pick him up, when he’s real cold and hard to move. You may want to turn off the under-tank heater for this. Pick him up out of the substrate, and make sure he is supported by your fingers. Hold him and pet him until he warms up, then put him back in. Eventually, he’s going to realize that you’re a part of his daily life and will be perfectly willing to let you handle him. But it’s going to take a very long time. Remember, though, that these guys can be unpredictable, and decide to go off and explore at any given time, even if it looks like he’s okay! Mine doesn’t do that anymore, but he used to do it a lot.
04/23/12  05:04pm
#2263959 Kalora View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2263934  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Wow! Thanks so much for the tips. My lizard was stuck on one of the gauges today so I put my hand below her and she used it like a bridge to get off without me having to edge her to get on it. I also tried to hand feed her today by pinching the little cricket butts and showing them to her. She didn’t do it a few times so I set them down but then she did it! She looked at me weird after that. I think I’m going to keep trying until she shows no signs of hesitation. It was really exciting though! I have only been feeding her crickets too, I’m not sure if she could swallow worms properly yet.
04/23/12  08:18pm
#2263962 Kalora View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2263934  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions She is in my room and can see me all day. She looks at me a lot and displays her push-ups to me more than once a day at times. Sometimes she moves her head and sometimes it’s her whole body. I thought maybe she sees me as a threat so I have avoided trying to pet her in case she would get stressed and want to bite me. There was one time she jumped on my hand and ran up my arm when I was trying to feed her a long time ago. It was dangerous because she could have fallen very far and gotten lost in my messy room. I heard a good place to try was in the bathroom but I worry about stressing her out too much since she’s still young and I don’t want it to hurt her health. I haven’t ever seen her bury underground though so I thought it might be because of the dry eco earth. She will hide under things but I’ve never seen her dig her own hole and hide there.
04/23/12  08:27pm
#2263964 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2263959  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions My curly tail lizard I am trying to tame just ate out of my hand a few days ago! I put the cricket on my hand so it can run around and Kona will see it and eat it.
04/23/12  08:33pm
#2263965 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2263964  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions My curly tail lizard buries herself although the eco-earth is dry................. Maybe your lizard just doesn’t like to bury herself.
04/23/12  08:36pm
#2263973 Kalora View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2263965  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Wow! I googled that lizard and they look very cool! I have never seen one before. Did you catch it wild? I haven’t seen them in pet stores either. I didn’t want to put it in my hand because I thought it would hop away or maybe she would climb up my arm again. I thought they all liked to bury but maybe you have a point there. I suppose they are all different with their own personalities! I am thinking of posting a picture of her cage so maybe someone can see and assume if the ledge is too close to the light or not.
04/23/12  09:18pm
#2264008 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2263973  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Curlytails are from the Caribbean. They’re not as popular as bearded dragons but they are still in the pet trade, Kingsnake.com’s classifieds may have some every now and then. Someone on this forum also had a lizard that preferred to stay above ground, so I guess it’s not too uncommon. Yes please; pictures can allow us to help you with things you weren’t even looking for.
04/24/12  12:31am
#2264101 Kalora View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2264008  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions The pictures look a little dark but that’s because I just woke up and I had my lights dimmed. I admit I have her by a window, but it doesn’t seem to really get that hot in there according to the gauges. When it’s a really hot day and the heat lamp makes it too hot, I turn off the heat lamp and open some of my curtains for some light. Is that okay, or bad? The tank is 20x18 and at the store it was labeled a 20 gallon "high". It’s 4x bigger than the smaller one I used to have her in. Here is the tank in the morning, waking up, the temp is usually in the middle and the humidity is a little higher. Towards the afternoon the humidity bar goes to the middle and the heat temp goes more to the right, but doesn’t ever pass 100 or get too close to that. Took the pic right after I woke up and turned on her lights. I took this picture of her at feeding time (took the lights off the cage). She ate from my hand twice today! Notice how she looks a little scared though, she doesn’t like the camera much. This is what I meant by her looking kind of tubby. I assume she’s too young to have eggs? I wasn’t sure if she was just growing or not. I took this last one because there is more light. I don’t like to be bothering her with the camera business so I don’t take many pictures of her up close. Let me know if there is anything wrong with my set up. My questions are= 1) How to keep the Eco Earth from drying out (It’s moist in these pictures still but the top seems to be getting dry. I have an inch (give or take) of it in the cage. 2) Is the ledge too close to the heat lamp? 3) I feed her dusted crickets (Miner-All) every day still. Should I stop? Is she old enough to not need an every day supplement? I also feed her about 5-6 crickets a day. Is this too much? Is her looking tubby a warning sign for something else or is she just growing?
04/24/12  05:55pm
#2264206 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2264101  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions The Eco-Earth is going to naturally dry after a while; you’re not doing anything wrong. Do you have a water bowl in there? Even if she doesn’t drink from it, the water will help with the humidity. If you’re really concerned about keeping it damp then just heavily mist it and mix up the substrate a bit. It doesn’t have to be wet, especially not for a fence lizard. I think the ledge is at an acceptable height. You have a very beautifully designed terrarium; congratulations! One thing I find important though: I see you have brought in decor from outside. Did you bake and sterilize these properly before putting them in? How big is she? She looks like a young adult in the picture. Adults are about 3 inches snout-to-vent, and 6 inches total. Just don’t stress her out and she’ll be fine. YES, she is plenty old enough to not need a dusting every feeding. Miner-all calls for doing that with hatchlings. Hatchlings are a little longer than a quarter. Half-grown to sub-adults get one every second feeeding. If they’re 5-6 medium sized crickets, then yes. This is too much. They usually only need 3 medium crickets a day.
04/25/12  03:13pm
#2264209 Kalora View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2264206  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Yes, the water bowl can be seen in the first picture, it’s on the very left. It’s pink. I did have a question though, about the water dish. I noticed that white "crust" has been forming around it. I change it every day with bottled water. I’m not sure if I should get a new water dish or not. The white stuff goes away when I try to clean it using water but nothing I tried can get rid of it. I’m not sure if it’s natural or really harmful. Thank you so much, and oh yes, don’t worry! You gave me lots of good tips from the get-go. I still sterilize them every month just in case any of her waste that was once there can be harmful if it’s not 100% clean. She looks like she’s a little over two inches now! She’s grown a lot, that’s for sure! I suppose she’s just getting bigger. One every second feeding? Does that mean I feed dusted every other feeding? These are 5-6 size small crickets, I thought that mediums are too big for her to swallow so I went with small. Is it okay if they are small and I’m feeding 5-6? Thank you for your reply!
04/25/12  03:49pm
#2264227 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2264209  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions She can’t infect herself, you know :P Crust?? I’m not sure. It might just be the water bowl, but I’m not sure if it’s harmful or not. Yes, every other feeding. Two inches snout-to-vent? Or her overall length? If the latter, then no, the mediums are not too big but it’s alright to feet 5-6 small ones.
04/25/12  05:29pm
#2264281 Kalora View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2264227  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions Oh haha! I suppose that WOULD be a little silly. Maybe it’s just me thinking she’s happier if everything is spotless and sparkling! Or maybe that’s just me. I took a picture of the "crust" here it is: I can’t really seem to get it off of the water dish. I can’t rub it off or anything. It seems that the water dish only looks normal again when I get it wet. The white on the bottom of the dish where the water is is the left over substances from the label that was stuck to the bottom. I cleaned it well but it still left a mark. She’s about two inches shout-to-vent. I think I will pick up some mediums and feed her 3 a day though. I tried to do this before but she seemed to act on edge like she wanted to hunt more so I got the smaller ones. I feel like she gets fulfillment from snatching up more but I don’t know if that’s exactly how lizards work.. lol.
04/26/12  03:41am
#2264289 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2264281  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions I’ve seen that happen with most water dishes, it’s probably nothing.
04/26/12  07:34am
#2264887 Spring Bloom View Profile	Message To: Kalora   In reference to Message Id: 2264281  How to keep eco earth from drying out? +more questions I can’t tell from the pic. but the crust on the dish is probably just mineral deposits. This will not harm your lizard. You can clean it by soaking it in bleach, however you must thoroughly wash the dish afterwards as the bleach could make your lizard sick. You could also try lemon juice, again you must thoroughly wash after. It could be the plastic deteriorating (if it is plastic) in which case there is nothing you can do about it. It will get worse over time. I use a resin dish that looks like porous rock. It gets mineral deposits on it as well, but this adds to the natural look of the cage.
04/30/12  09:19pm

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