how many of you "feed the substrate"?

Gillian

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I know I do, for several of mine. My parahybana sling, my fasciatum, are about the only ones, now. I thought for the longest time that my parahybana was dead, not wanting to dig it out. So, an experiment. Instead of live cricks, I put half a chopped crick in there. It was gone by next afternoon.
As for my fasciatum, I think she's dead. I'm going to dig her out, this afternoon, after work. She's near adult size, and I have (to me) what sounds like a stupid question. How do I dig her out? I have a 10G for a "safety net", but, will she jump?
My parahybana leaves these really cute, perfectly round holes, in the substrate...I may dig it up, too, just to make sure. Plus, a week ago, there was housecleaning, so to speak. It had molted, and placed it's "old clothes" by one of the holes..*g*
Peace,
Gillian
 

Lopez

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I dug out my "dead" juvenile Usambara baboon.
Just gently "stirred" the substrate inch by inch until I thought I saw something move.
It bolted out at the speed of light - I've never seen anything move so damn quick.

I made the substrate shallower, propped up a piece of wood, and whaddaya know, it became an arboreal Usambara. :D
 

Joy

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Originally posted by Gillian
.
As for my fasciatum, I think she's dead. I'm going to dig her out, this afternoon, after work. She's near adult size, and I have (to me) what sounds like a stupid question. How do I dig her out? I have a 10G for a "safety net", but, will she jump?

Peace,
Gillian
Oh, yes, I have lots of vivaria that to all appearances contain nothing but peat, soil, and/or vermiculite. In fact, a few years ago when I mentioned getting another C. crawshayi, my husband opined that I might as well just fill an aquarium with dirt, dig a hole in it, and stuff in a $100 bill =D

I wouldn't be surprised if your fasciatum is fine. IME these guys often shut themselves in their burrows for months on end, very much after the manner of roseas. If you feel you MUST dig her up, remove only small amounts of substrate at a time and try to leave her burrow as intact as possible so she won't be unduly disturbed if she proves alive and well (and possibly pre-molt). I wouldn't expect her to jump, but she might make a dash for it if she feels threatened. Doing the excavation inside another, larger container is a good idea, as is removing any auxiliary heat sources the night before and doing your digging in the morning when her reactions should be at their most sluggish. By way of reassurance, I've never had one of these threaten me in any way, and where aerobic capacity is concerned they are sprinters rather than marathoners!

Joy
 

Wade

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Those rare moments when I see my C. crawshayi at the surface are cause for so much excitement you'd think I'd traveled to Africa and saw one in the wild. I named her after Halley's Comet, since they're both seen with about the same frequency!

My H. gigas, C. marshalli, and Asian mystery T's are almost as reclusive.

Wade
 

conipto

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Gillian - My C. fasciatum seemed to totally dissapear. no holes, not sign of it at all for weeks. Finally I dug it up using the carpet removal method, and there it was, freshly molted and pissed off. For a time I seriously thought a cricket that might have been too big had totally devoured it... How long has she been out of sight?

Bill
 

Gillian

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Conipto,
She's been "incognito" for a little over a month..
Peace,
Gillian
 

Gillian

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Joy,
I like your husband's comparison..*lol* It is true..in a way..But just think...Lurking under the peat, is a gorgeous baboon..*g*
As for my tiger..She's been hidden for a little over a month. I have to agree with your analogy; she can run..I've seen it first hand.
Peace,
Gillian
I'll keep ya'll posted..
 

kellygirl

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Sep 1, 2002
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lol... I've got 2 cobalts on the way... looking forward to seeing them once a year! :}

kellygirl
 
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