Specieis behavior differences?

[aron77]

My sister and I recently purchased two BT's last night and despite what the pet store told us they have been identified on here as two separate species. All the responses agreed that mine was a Merauke and hers an Irian Jaya. Her IJ is an inch or two longer than mine and a lot fatter, probably about 8 inches with mine being about 6 (just eye balling them). Thus far hers is way more active than mine and eating better. He doesn't burrow but just hangs out in his hides when he sees people coming otherwise he is out exploring and eats, while mine is constantly burrowed and I haven't seen it basking or exploring hardly at all and while I got him to eat a couple of bites of collard greens and a tad of cat food last night he ignored the meal worms I got today as well as the cat food. I did put him in his water dish and he licked some water off his face so I believe he has at least gotten a drink. I'm getting concerned because I want him to eat and generally I want to know he is healthy but her IJ being so much more active and eating more has me worried. I did read that Meraukes are more shy so I'm hoping that is all this is but I'm afraid I'm going to go dig him out and find a dead lizard. Should I be concerned and or when should I get concerned? Are these just differences in species? Also I'm trying to not handle him too much since I just got him and I want to let him get acclimated but I wonder if I should handle him more so he is less afraid of me when I get in his cage or try to hand feed him?

[aron77]

Well I got her out one more time a couple of hours before lights out and I put her the hot spot and she stayed their to warm up a little. I put the food dish in front of her and she took a couple of bites of catfood sprinkled with calcium and I got her to eat a meal worm. She wondered around the cage a little while still looking kind of slow but she stayed out for a little while and basked and then went and took a drink so I feel a little better that she ate and drank plus got some calcium.

[Susann]

If she is hiding, leave her be. If she's only 6 inches long then she's almost newborn and has very likely been through a lot, including 3 places to get used to in the short weeks since she was born, on top of quite possibly getting shipped to the pet store.
Make sure there are lots of places for her to stay hidden on the warm side as well as the cool, and that she can easily get to her water. Open her tank only to give her clean water, to check all temperatures, and to place a plate of food in front of whatever place she's hiding. You are much more likely to make her scared and skittish through digging her up or out of her hiding place than you are by leaving her alone for several weeks. LET her discover that she's now in a place where she can feel safe, and allow her to discover her tank in peace. When she's more comfortable roaming around her tank, THEN you can start teaching her that you mean no harm, you bring good stuff to eat and offer fun exploring time.

It's way too soon to say whether your Merauke is more shy than your sister's IJ. The IJ may very well be a more laid back, calm individual, but nothing says your Merauke can't turn out the same. You just need to take it slow and, in my opinion, not rush into handling too much or too soon.

[JoshChimera]

I agree with Susan, let the bts adjust. I felt the same way when I first had my bts his first week.

[aron77]

If she is hiding, leave her be. If she's only 6 inches long then she's almost newborn and has very likely been through a lot, including 3 places to get used to in the short weeks since she was born, on top of quite possibly getting shipped to the pet store.
Make sure there are lots of places for her to stay hidden on the warm side as well as the cool, and that she can easily get to her water. Open her tank only to give her clean water, to check all temperatures, and to place a plate of food in front of whatever place she's hiding. You are much more likely to make her scared and skittish through digging her up or out of her hiding place than you are by leaving her alone for several weeks. LET her discover that she's now in a place where she can feel safe, and allow her to discover her tank in peace. When she's more comfortable roaming around her tank, THEN you can start teaching her that you mean no harm, you bring good stuff to eat and offer fun exploring time.

It's way too soon to say whether your Merauke is more shy than your sister's IJ. The IJ may very well be a more laid back, calm individual, but nothing says your Merauke can't turn out the same. You just need to take it slow and, in my opinion, not rush into handling too much or too soon.

My sister's is skittish too but when nobody is around he is out and active while mine never seems to see the light of day so I've been worried. I've been of the same mind to just leave her be and let her acclimate but I feel the need to check on her and to try to get her to bask and eat. After work today I dug her out to check on her and I got her to bask and then she ate about 8 meal worms. She was skittish so I handled her as little as possible but after she warmed up under the light she didn't mind me dropping some meal worms in. She stayed out to bask after she ate and then drank so I feel better now that she has food and water in her and also basked under the heat and got some UV too. She roamed around the tank for about a half hour and then went in her cave, it was nice to see her active and curious, so now I'm leaving her alone.

[Susann]