What am I doing wrong?

[Newbeardiemom]

My Charlie is a few days from 6 months… just got a wellness check… all is good.. no parasites (we did treat for parasites and coccidia) but was free as of yesterday at vet check. He weighs 312 grams.. obviously eats good… refuses anything green and I’ve tried it all as well as all the types of squash and fruit… refuses!… he has been with me 6 weeks now… is in a 72x24x24 wooden enclosure with tile substrate… a Reptisun T5 ho 10.0 uvb that hangs inside the enclosure and is 2/3 the length…his basking decor is 13 inches from uvb and directly under it…I’m using a halogen flood for basking light and a zoomed basking bulb for ambient heat (I know that sounds like a lot but the enclosure seems to be hard to get temps up… I’ve tried many many combinations of lights and this combo seems to work) they are both bright white lights.. basking surface is kept at 101-102…hot side ambient temp is at 90… cool side stays at 80 and the middle is usually 82-84. I’ve tried upping the temps and lowering them… These temps are measured using digital probes (I have a prove on cool side, in the middle, and hot side...3probes total) hot side basking surface and ambient temp is regulated with the Herpstat dimming thermostat. Humidity is always between 25 and 40… averaging 35 most times. He has plenty of enrichment in his enclosure..a rock back wall .. several pieces of wood and flagstone ….. he is soaked every 4-5 days… no sign of shed yet although he is really growing…so finally my question…. I have to get this guy outta his hide that he sleeps in in the mornings ..(lights on at 6:30 and off at 6:30 every day)… I put him in his basking area where he will stay a couple of hours.. then he eats and heads straight to the top on the cool side… every day I put him in his basking area off and on or he would stay up top on the cool side… why??? Is this normal? I thought it would stop after he got acclimated but it’s not stopped… should I change something? Advice please? Also, when should I expect him to begin to shed..? The vet never gave me a clear answer… just that he’ll shed as he grows. But he weighed 158 grams upon arrival to me and now 312 grams… I think that constitutes a lot of growth!… what am I doing wrong???

 

[Sadie]

My Charlie is a few days from 6 months… just got a wellness check… all is good.. no parasites (we did treat for parasites and coccidia) but was free as of yesterday at vet check. He weighs 312 grams.. obviously eats good… refuses anything green and I’ve tried it all as well as all the types of squash and fruit… refuses!… he has been with me 6 weeks now… is in a 72x24x24 wooden enclosure with tile substrate… a Reptisun T5 ho 10.0 uvb that hangs inside the enclosure and is 2/3 the length…his basking decor is 13 inches from uvb and directly under it…I’m using a halogen flood for basking light and a zoomed basking bulb for ambient heat (I know that sounds like a lot but the enclosure seems to be hard to get temps up… I’ve tried many many combinations of lights and this combo seems to work) they are both bright white lights.. basking surface is kept at 101-102…hot side ambient temp is at 90… cool side stays at 80 and the middle is usually 82-84. I’ve tried upping the temps and lowering them… These temps are measured using digital probes (I have a prove on cool side, in the middle, and hot side...3probes total) hot side basking surface and ambient temp is regulated with the Herpstat dimming thermostat. Humidity is always between 25 and 40… averaging 35 most times. He has plenty of enrichment in his enclosure..a rock back wall .. several pieces of wood and flagstone ….. he is soaked every 4-5 days… no sign of shed yet although he is really growing…so finally my question…. I have to get this guy outta his hide that he sleeps in in the mornings ..(lights on at 6:30 and off at 6:30 every day)… I put him in his basking area where he will stay a couple of hours.. then he eats and heads straight to the top on the cool side… every day I put him in his basking area off and on or he would stay up top on the cool side… why??? Is this normal? I thought it would stop after he got acclimated but it’s not stopped… should I change something? Advice please? Also, when should I expect him to begin to shed..? The vet never gave me a clear answer… just that he’ll shed as he grows. But he weighed 158 grams upon arrival to me and now 312 grams… I think that constitutes a lot of growth!… what am I doing wrong???

Nothing he is acting toward the weather --- they tend to slow down -- hes eating and basking --- that is what you want him to do --- let him come out on his own -- at 6 months old hes a hefty boy at 312 --- you do not need to soak him as often -- what does the poop look like --- it should be white formed and moist for the urate --- dark formed and moist for the poop - not eating greens not good --- have you tried using BSFL to lure him to the salad bowl ?

 

[Newbeardiemom]

Nothing he is acting toward the weather --- they tend to slow down -- hes eating and basking --- that is what you want him to do --- let him come out on his own -- at 6 months old hes a hefty boy at 312 --- you do not need to soak him as often -- what does the poop look like --- it should be white formed and moist for the urate --- dark formed and moist for the poop - not eating greens not good --- have you tried using BSFL to lure him to the salad bowl ?

Well poop was looking good… formed as it should be after his round of albon and panacur… until yesterday… it was some form and some runny… so I went ahead and took him on in to see the vet as I was wanting a wellness check anyway… i had only taken his poop in for a fecal before…I collected his poop also… she said she didn’t see any parasites or coccidia but said she wanted to do 7 more days of the meds in the event there would be eggs which she couldn’t see.. so his first dose was today and he hasn’t pooped today. She said he looked very healthy… she gave me no recommendations about him not eating greens other than he should start as he gets older… I kinda disagree tho as I’ve been reading that if they don’t start early it will be harder later.. so, this concerns me. Yes, I have put the BFSL on top, I’ve put waxworks on top, I’ve put superworms on top.. I’ve covered the greens with roaches… won’t touch a thing with the greens in there. I have access to a garden of fresh mustard and turnip greens.. no fertilizer ..no pesticides and I’m picking them daily… I’ve tried spring mix, bell pepper, parsley, and every other greens that the supermarket has.. I’ve tried yellow squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini squash, banana, strawberries, blueberries… I honestly don’t know what else to do!… I know he needs them.. this worries me..I’ve not tried the reptile salad dressing that I’ve heard of but will be willing of course…. I’ll take all suggestions on this please. Ok.. so my temps are all good? He actually took the ride to the vet like a champ yesterday!… he sat in one hand and took the view in while I drove with the other hand!… I tried wrapping him in warm soft robes of mine and putting him in a tote with a mini dehumidifier in there but he was not having that!… I will be buying a travel bag for him in the event we have to have another outing!… it was in the 70’s here yesterday and I had the car heated before we got in. He didn’t seem too stressed.. I was much more stressed!!… so, if my temps are good then this is normal behavior?… temps here in Louisiana are crazy!.. it’ll be high 70’s in the day… even low 80!s … then drop into the low 30s at night .. it’s really hard to regulate temps with these up’s and downs… so, do these high and low temps affect him also? I work really hard all day maintaining it the same for him…. But I guess he knows?? Thanks for any and all advice…