JulieS
New Member
Hello all,
My teenage daughter went to a reptile store late yesterday (they'd posted a 9-inch red leg female on their available website the day before that she'd wanted, but it was sold by the time she got there), and she ended up bringing home two hatchlings instead (a leopard and a sulcata).
I helped her set them up in their temporary housing (about 2/3 of a 125-gallon aquarium I had sitting on some 2x4s on the floor in the dining room) based off of information I found on the internet (found this forum while doing those searches). And we're putting some finishing touches on it today (adding backgrounds to the glass so they don't start bumping into it, haven't so far).
She put a stick-on heating pad under the glass at one end of their cypress mulch area and then hung one of those two-bulb pendants about 9" over it (one heat bulb, one UVB bulb). Their dinner last night was dandelion leaves, and this morning it was mulberry leaves (both out of our yard), and they have a separate low dish for water. Their hut is one of those carved-out tree arches.
But I still have some questions. I read that hatchlings need lots of moisture but how much is too much? If we leave the tank uncovered, the gauge reads about 78% humidity. When we covered it last night when the lights were turned off (heating pad was left on underneath), the humidity has risen to close to 99% by this morning. Is that too much? Do we still mist them twice a day with a spray bottle? One video we watched also said to soak sphagnum moss and then add it to the hut. Good idea?
For trips outside into the sun and lawn, do we only do that between 80-90 degrees? Is there a way to tell if they're starting to overheat or dehydrate? The leopard seems to be very active, but the sulcata seems to only want to sleep. Caitlin saw it eat well in the store yesterday, but ever since it took a drink last night before bed, no one's seen it eat or drink after that. (It has crawled across the food though, so I guess it knows where it is.) Could it just be tired from an hour's drive home yesterday and learning a new pen? Or is this a bad sign?
Thanks in advance (hope I figured out how to attach the photo correctly),
Julie
My teenage daughter went to a reptile store late yesterday (they'd posted a 9-inch red leg female on their available website the day before that she'd wanted, but it was sold by the time she got there), and she ended up bringing home two hatchlings instead (a leopard and a sulcata).
I helped her set them up in their temporary housing (about 2/3 of a 125-gallon aquarium I had sitting on some 2x4s on the floor in the dining room) based off of information I found on the internet (found this forum while doing those searches). And we're putting some finishing touches on it today (adding backgrounds to the glass so they don't start bumping into it, haven't so far).
She put a stick-on heating pad under the glass at one end of their cypress mulch area and then hung one of those two-bulb pendants about 9" over it (one heat bulb, one UVB bulb). Their dinner last night was dandelion leaves, and this morning it was mulberry leaves (both out of our yard), and they have a separate low dish for water. Their hut is one of those carved-out tree arches.
But I still have some questions. I read that hatchlings need lots of moisture but how much is too much? If we leave the tank uncovered, the gauge reads about 78% humidity. When we covered it last night when the lights were turned off (heating pad was left on underneath), the humidity has risen to close to 99% by this morning. Is that too much? Do we still mist them twice a day with a spray bottle? One video we watched also said to soak sphagnum moss and then add it to the hut. Good idea?
For trips outside into the sun and lawn, do we only do that between 80-90 degrees? Is there a way to tell if they're starting to overheat or dehydrate? The leopard seems to be very active, but the sulcata seems to only want to sleep. Caitlin saw it eat well in the store yesterday, but ever since it took a drink last night before bed, no one's seen it eat or drink after that. (It has crawled across the food though, so I guess it knows where it is.) Could it just be tired from an hour's drive home yesterday and learning a new pen? Or is this a bad sign?
Thanks in advance (hope I figured out how to attach the photo correctly),
Julie