I "rescued" one of these guys from an LPS. The guy was telling me once they sold him they weren't going to be getting others because they're so difficult to care for, so I asked him to show me.
The poor thing was on top of 2" of dry substrate. That about cinched it for me and I brought the creature home.
Soaked up a fresh brick of coco fiber and got it all damp (but not dripping wet), nice big water dish, and he's now in a steralite container with about 6" of substrate, nice high humidity and a comfy 82*. He burrowed straight into it and I'll probably never see him voluntarily poke his little face out lol.
I was told when they first got him he was eating well but now he's picky and only eats every couple weeks. I'm fairly certain he'll get his appetite back with proper care. They were feeding him mostly earthworms and the occasional frog... so we'll see what we can do about that. I've also gotta keep an eye on his scales, a few don't look so great from drying up, but he's not infected so I'll leave him alone for today. I have what I need to treat him.
He MAY have a respiratory infection, but it could have just been stress (and the cold weather - it's snowing here - on the trip home, even though he was tucked in my shirt under my sweater, jacket & scarf). I'll see when I haul the poor thing out tomorrow or the day after to bathe and (possibly if he needs it) treat his scales. If it persists I can put him on a course of baytril (can you tell I've been through this sort of thing before? )
Anybody keep these guys? I've read a fair bit about them, and did more reading today, but have no experience with them, and any suggestions are welcome. I know they don't like to breed in captivity and that he is w/c, but he's clean and has been in captivity for at least 6mos or more. He's close to 4 feet and a healthy weight (though a little extra certainly wouldn't hurt him).
I have no pictures, unfortunately, I didn't want to keep stressing him out today, I figure he's been through enough. I'll try to snap a couple when he's in the tub, though I promise I couldn't possibly do him justice. This is a critter you really have to see in person, their iridescence is incredible!
The poor thing was on top of 2" of dry substrate. That about cinched it for me and I brought the creature home.
Soaked up a fresh brick of coco fiber and got it all damp (but not dripping wet), nice big water dish, and he's now in a steralite container with about 6" of substrate, nice high humidity and a comfy 82*. He burrowed straight into it and I'll probably never see him voluntarily poke his little face out lol.
I was told when they first got him he was eating well but now he's picky and only eats every couple weeks. I'm fairly certain he'll get his appetite back with proper care. They were feeding him mostly earthworms and the occasional frog... so we'll see what we can do about that. I've also gotta keep an eye on his scales, a few don't look so great from drying up, but he's not infected so I'll leave him alone for today. I have what I need to treat him.
He MAY have a respiratory infection, but it could have just been stress (and the cold weather - it's snowing here - on the trip home, even though he was tucked in my shirt under my sweater, jacket & scarf). I'll see when I haul the poor thing out tomorrow or the day after to bathe and (possibly if he needs it) treat his scales. If it persists I can put him on a course of baytril (can you tell I've been through this sort of thing before? )
Anybody keep these guys? I've read a fair bit about them, and did more reading today, but have no experience with them, and any suggestions are welcome. I know they don't like to breed in captivity and that he is w/c, but he's clean and has been in captivity for at least 6mos or more. He's close to 4 feet and a healthy weight (though a little extra certainly wouldn't hurt him).
I have no pictures, unfortunately, I didn't want to keep stressing him out today, I figure he's been through enough. I'll try to snap a couple when he's in the tub, though I promise I couldn't possibly do him justice. This is a critter you really have to see in person, their iridescence is incredible!