Monday, February 22, 2016

Live food- one of the wonderful things I have learned about through having my critters

I had a coworker say to me- "who knows that".   I have found that I have learned so much more than I ever intended by having my newt/salamander/gecko hobby.  The place where I suprise myself is with their food.  I have just as many types of food as I have critters.

I am dedicating this post to my critters live food.

European night crawlers- less bitter than redworms and heartier and easier to keep than Canadian nightcrawlers.


Black worms- these guys have their own mini-fridge and need daily showers.  The newts love them.

White worms- great for small newts and larvae.  They arenot wone of my favorites because they are more work.

Daphnia- fresh water crustaceans.  I tend to purchase and then can feed for a few weeks before I run out.


Brine shrimp- salt water crustaceans.  These are good for the very smallest larva.  

Isopods (aquatic)- very small freshwater crustaceans.  These are the little things that you don't see until you turn out your lights and shine a light. 

Isopods (terrestrial) & Springtails

 Fruit flies- great for new terrestrial larvae



Superworms- are exactly what they sound like.  Superworms are the super sized versions of mealworms.



Meal worms-  I grow these at home- the critters eat the worm.  The worms pupate and become beetles that lay eggs that grow more worms.



Butter worms- low in fat and high in protien. 


Pheonix worms- good in protien.  Not especially lively- I wish they moved more to draw attention.



Hornworms- an eye catching treat.  They are full of protien and soft and wonderful.


Bean beatles - Good protien and a next step up from fruit flies.  The beans lay their eggs in the beans and then the larva chew there way through the bean.


Dubia roaches- better protien than crickets and can produce them at home without noise or smell.

Crickets- easy to obtain and move in a stimulating way. 

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Pictures update on Crested Geckos

Pictures of the babies.  I love how they develop.

Little Brittle- developing a little more pattern.

Brittle up close.

Chewy- getting more spots.

Pookie getting some lovely side markings coming in.

Pookie is a sweet and fiesty one.

Pookie has some lashes.

Picture updates on the Gargoyles

I weigh and take pictures every two weeks.  I love taking pictures and comparing the divelopment.

Abigail always looks fantastic to me.

Archibald fired down.

Archibald has such a creamy head when he is fired down.

Archibald bringing on some color.

Fleck- looking fine.


Fleck

Bleu- love his pattern.  Starting to see a little yellow coming through.

He is a small but wonderful ball of awesome.

Reticulated is starting to win me over.

Flash is so amazingly bold.

Flash is bold and beautiful.  I love the darkness on his face.

Alpine Newt aka Ichthyosaura alpestris

My colony of Alpine newts now has a large portion that have remained neotenic.  I kind of like their adult colors with their crown of beautiful gills.

Boy

Boy


Boy

Girl

Boy

Girl

Leopard Gecko update

I love how Elliott is getting a blaze down his nose.  Elliott is now 62 grams.  Charlief follow behind as usual at 54.  They both continue to grow- I think Elliott will have to slow down at some point.

Elliott becoming one with his mural in his terrarium.

I love the white blaze that my boy is getting.

62 grams and growing.

Elliott in part of his terraium- to the left is his moist hide with a cool hide on top.  I am going to remake them now that they are in larger terrariums.

Charlie- my bashful boy.

I love his "normal" eyes.  He makes me dream of dragons.

New pair of Gargoyle geckos- I think I am going with Lucy and Ricky.

I picked up a pair of Gargoyle geckos.  I hope that in the spirit of Valentines day they will be a very loving pair.  I was able to take an adventurous drive to pick them up.  I then picked up a terrarium (off of Craigslist) and learned/self taught myself on how to replace the screen.  I love the fact that I learn so many unplanned things while taking care of my hobby.

New Girl- She has an odd shape- I am going to give time to settle down. 

New Boy- fired down.

New Set up - I know it needs more green toward the bottom.  I am thinking of moving the ledge down so I can drop the green down, too.

Boy and girl introduced to their new setup.

She went straight to the most box.

First morning- she is stretching out and relaxing.  Weight is 45 grams.

The boy is showing off some of his color.  Love his stripes.  He weighs in at 34 grams.