Sleeping more eating less.

[mdkelty]

I have two little Leapords that normally are fine, but I'm a little concerned. One of them I purchased last summer (rescue) with soft shell made a come back. They have proper lighting with a heating spot of 90-93. I noticed the sleeping area was getting cooler at night so the other day I put a heating pad under that part of the enclosure, so it brought it up to the mid 70's.
I know they don't hibernate, but is it normal that they are less active now? I live in MI so the general environment is getting colder.

My other concern is maybe they are experiencing D3 toxicity because I wanted to boost the immune system of the rescue (Simon), so I was giving them calcium every day. As far as diet goes, they get a variety of greens with Mazuri and a bath twice a week.

Any help or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Michael

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Michael:

Yes, they DO experience a slow down if their summer time conditions are not kept up. They need the length of the days...lights on early morning and not off until 7 or 8 at night. Plus they need the warmth. So if your house is cooler you have to make adjustments to the habitat's lighting and heating arrangements.

Babies go downhill quite quickly, so fix this quickly. Warm them up and they should get their appetites back.

I don't use the calcium that contains D3 because I have my indoor babies under a UVB light.

 

[Seiryu]

I'm in Michigan as well, and I notice a slow-down with all my reptiles, even though they are kept at the same temperatures year round.

They still eat, and move around daily, but tend to bask and nap more than usual.

You said you gave them calcium every day, but are worried about d3 toxicity? Pure calcium does not contain d3. Or did you mean you used a calcium supplement that contains d3? Something like Rep-Cal.

I do use a calcium with d3 once a week, although in a much lower concentration than it recommends. Instead of a 1:1 ratio of Rep-Cal with d3 and Herpititve (like they say to). I do a 1:5 (rep-cal 1 and herpitivite 5).

And I have not had any issues with any reptiles doing this. If you're giving the d3 supplement daily, definitely stop for a while and if you need to, only once a week.

I assume you have at least a 10.0 ReptiSun UVB light or a Mercury Vapor bulb for UVB? If you have a Mercury vapor, the d3 supplement is not needed.

 

[J. Ellis]

Michael,

As suggested by Rob I think it is important for us to know whether or not the supplement you are using contains D3. I assume that it does considering you are worried about toxicity levels; however, you know what they say happens when you assume...

Vitamin D is a fat soluable vitamin. If you have been using D3 daily, I urge you to stop immediately and continue to use plain caclium 2-3 times a week. This allows the vitamin D to be metabolized instead of building up to a toxic level by continued use. However, if you are using calcium rich feed (such as opuntia) regularly, I would say that supplementing pure calcium 1-2 times a week would suffice.

I have kept a consistent 12-13 hours of light for my leopards. I have upgraded the amount of wattage of their basking bulb since this summer to combat the lower temperatures and they have been as active as ever. You mentioned that they were "little", but "little" is a relative term. Do you know their age, or at least their weight? Babies dehydrate quickly so I would suggest that you allow them to soak 4-5 times a week instead of two, and for a minimum of 20 minutes. You also didn't mention whether or not you mist them or the substrate that you are currently keeping them on. I mist mine 2-3 times a day, really whenever I can get a squirt bottle in my hand and happen to be walking past their enclosure at the same time.

 

[yagyujubei]

I never let my little ones get under 80 degrees ever. Daytime 90+. Basking around 100. I live in Ohio, and it was 22 this AM. So I know it can be a challenge. But if their diminished appetites coincided with the cooler weather, I'll bet that's your answer.

 

[mdkelty]

Thank you all your suggestions and advice. I have been using Repcal with D3. I will get a calcium without D3, mist and soak more often and they should bounce back to normal. To answer a few questions, they are 3.5 and 4" long, not sure about weight, I'll have to get a scale. The substrate is cocoa fiber with some timothy hay on top. They have a separate sleeping area (dark) where I've placed the heating pad underneath the enclosure.

 

[J. Ellis]

Thank you all your suggestions and advice. I have been using Repcal with D3. I will get a calcium without D3, mist and soak more often and they should bounce back to normal. To answer a few questions, they are 3.5 and 4" long, not sure about weight, I'll have to get a scale. The substrate is cocoa fiber with some timothy hay on top. They have a separate sleeping area (dark) where I've placed the heating pad underneath the enclosure.

I would say that hay isn't a very good substrate. In my experience I have leaned toward peat moss a lot more than anything else. Some on TFO also use either a peat moss/cypress mulch mixture of cypress mulch by itself. If you have access to it that is what I would switch to as it holds moisture much easier to create a humid environment.

 

[Neal]

I use hay, but it is kept seperate from the other areas and is the smallest part of their enclosure. Cocoa fiber is pretty good, but I would deffinatley seperate the two.

 

[Laura]

I would up the temps, increase light time, no D3, make sure they have a cuttle bone, and give warm water soaks every day. even with some vitamins or baby food mixed with the water..

 

[mdkelty]

I would up the temps, increase light time, no D3, make sure they have a cuttle bone, and give warm water soaks every day. even with some vitamins or baby food mixed with the water..

Well, I increased the temps, cut out the D3, starting misting more and changed the substrate (coco fiber) and sure enough they were more active. Thank you so much for all your help. This is by far the most friendly, helpful forum I have ever been on, thank you!

 

[J. Ellis]

Michael,

That's great news! Keep up the good work.

 

[J. Ellis]

Hey Michael,

I just wanted to see if you had an update on how they are doing?