help with getting a baby Trioceros Sternfeldis eye to open

[christineacero]

oohh great idea! I'll have to go steal some ketchup cups! I had shot glasses in their deli cups for the food and while I was away yesterday, 2 fell in and couldnt get out. I freaked out and removed them all and have just let the flies and crickets free range in their cups.

 

[kplatvoet]

I happy to hear they are eating-
I hope you have fruit fly cultures going and don't have to buy them by the jar- they go really quick that way- I had just my one baby and finding enough was a challenge- till I figured out that if I had 5 or 6 going I could keep up- There are some make your own culture kits or you can find a recipe.
You probably don't even need to steal the ketchup cups (i know you were kidding) - Canadian's are so polite you most likely just have to go into a deli or a fast food place and ask for them (my brother is a Canadian and I lived in Toronto for a short time - when I took my husband for a visit he couldn't believe that cars actually stop to let you cross the road)
The only worm I could get when my baby was little were phoenix They are pretty good if you can get the small - I did finally get some silks and she ate them. I used the ketchup cups and velcro buttons to move the phoenix worms around her cage -
On dusting I was told by the breeder that I got my panther from that "over supplementing" was the the reason most breeders didn't do well with montaine species- I would take advice from Carl on that not me as I was afraid to dust anything when she was small - she got a lot of phoenix worms because the sold them as "no need to dust"

 

[christineacero]

I happy to hear they are eating-
I hope you have fruit fly cultures going and don't have to buy them by the jar- they go really quick that way- I had just my one baby and finding enough was a challenge- till I figured out that if I had 5 or 6 going I could keep up- There are some make your own culture kits or you can find a recipe.

I currently have 2 fruit fly cultures on the go, and I'm worried that even that isnt enough! 1 of the 2 cultures has maybe 3 left in it, and the other one has quite a few, but probably after today I'll be low again. My pinheads that I have are too big so they won't touch those and are relying solely on the flies. I'm worried that I'm going to run out and have nothing to offer them

 

[CarlC]

Cultures are easy to make with supplies from the grocery store for under $10. All you need is potato flakes, cheap small bottle of vinegar, coffee filters, yeast and some rubberbands. Clear plastic juice or tea bottles work in a pinch.

Pour out some potato flakes into a bowl, pour a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar on to the flakes and mix well. The mixture will thicken up once the potato flakes absord it all. Put 1"-2" of the mixture in each bottle. Add a pinch of yeast to each culture. Crumble up a coffee filter and put it in the bottle. Add some flies from your existing cultures. Cover the bottle with a coffee filter and rubberband. If you keep them in a warm place you'll see larva in a week or two depending on which species you have. Every 2-3 start new cultures so you have a steady supply.

You can add things to the mix to make it more nutritious like finely ground bee pollen, brewers yeast or honey powder. Just go easy with how much you add.

Carl

 

[christineacero]

Carl, you are seriously a life saver!! Wanna be best friends?? lol

Your advice is truly invaluable, and I appreciate every post! I don't know where I'd be without the advice you have been giving me. Keep it coming! And thank you

 

[CarlC]

I want to see you succeed!

Besides I'm gonna need people to exchange bloodlines with since Fed Ex delivered 2 male and 2 female sternfeldi to me this morning! Here are a couple of photo's

Carl

 

[christineacero]

oh my GOD!!! They look fantastic!! Congrats on the little ones! Do you know how old they are??

This is perfect, because now that I have 2 females, I'm going to be in the market for a male. I'm probably going to wait a year or so though, I want to give my females ample time to recover from their births. Asha is still very upset and has been since Sunday. Shes eating like a monster though and I'm noticing that she is starting to gain a bit of her weight back, but she is always exhibiting stress colors. She'll temporarily brighten up if I open the cage and talk to her, or feed her, but other than that she seems to always be a green/ muddy brown color. Is this normal after birthing??

 

[Cait0420]

I want to see you succeed!

Besides I'm gonna need people to exchange bloodlines with since Fed Ex delivered 2 male and 2 female sternfeldi to me this morning! Here are a couple of photo's

Carl

Congrats Carl! They're adorable!!