Advices on new Halmahera BTS

[Machan]

Hi everyone. My friend gvies me a juvenile Halmahera BTS as a gift. This is my first experience with reptile so I do so many researchs to give her best care I can, but after a month living with her things become quite confuse now. Hope you guys can give me some advices because if this continutes, it will be really stressful for her. (Sorry if my English is terrible )

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The pictures took when she first came home. She was very tame and not huffing at all even if I try to touch her. After unboxed her for a while she became very active and even attached to me when my cat appeared in my room. It was night here so I put her to her new home and go to sleep. The next day when I woke up she just hide all the time. I intented to leave her alone but I realized she had stuck shed on toes and head when I got her. I spayed and left her alone for some days but thing didn't get any better so I decided to help her. I tried to bath her but she was scared and panic a lot so it didn't succeed. Then I had to hold and helped her with a cotton swad for about 3 days to get off all the shed on her toes. That time must be very stressful because she struggled so much and I think she must have hate being handled since then.
I always take her out to eat and poo, she huffing a lot when I try to pick her up but after that everything seem fine. I think she recognized me because she always tries to climb up my shoulder instead of letting me handle her but refuses to climb up my sister shoulder. She had a second shed about 2 week ago and it took her only 4 days from when her color started become dull to when the shed completed (surprisingly quick ). After she completes shedding I clean her entire tank and get this chance to take her out and play with me. She hides almost all of time so I gave her a more visible hide in her new set up tank and when I put her back, she anxiously rubbed her face to the glass so I have to gave back her old hide. Since then she becomes scare of me and hide even more, only comes out when I'm not there.
I has left her alone for 4 days: not touching, not handling, only change water and do some clean but don't think the situation will get better.
Sorry for a long post and poor english but if anyone had gone through the same situation please give me some advices (leave her alone more or continue to interact with her). Our interaction is getting worse and worse at this rate
Thank you all

[splashy07]

Halmaheras are wild caught and need extremely high humidity. (Lack of which causes the problems you mentioned on her toes). I would just limit handling for a while and build her trust in you. Her previous experiences with humans was not exactly favorable, they stress greatly during importation. You can offer her something she likes from your hand, possibly that would get her to trust you in time. She also may have had the beginnings of the shedding process going on, at which time they really don't like to be bothered. Give her time, I've kept them in the past and they make beautiful, rewarding pets with the proper care.

[Machan]

I was told she is a captive bred maybe I was tricked. Her second shed had no problem at all so I don't worry much about that anymore. I try hand feeding her many time but she always bites my finger by accident. And many times when I play with her she licks my hand nonstop and bites it, not only my fingers but my toes, my palm. And what make me confuse is that she is scared of me more and more even though I have followed her lead and let her do whatever she want (except for taking her out to eat and poo). So I should completely leave her alone? For how long? She barely comes out so it is hard to check her condition if I don't pick her up.
I never happened to see her bask so I give her Exo terra calcium + d3 every meal. Is that too much? (I feed her 3 times/week with cat food and vegetables, treat her with fruits)

[splashy07]

If she is biting everything perhaps she needs to eat more often. My babies get calcium/d3 with every meal also.

[Machan]

Thank you. I will feed her more. If my girl is wild caught then she must have some type of parasite but I can't find any exotic vet here not to mention reptile vet. Is there any medicines or a way I could use to kill the parasite. Thank you

[splashy07]

I wish I could help you but I've never had the issue. I have a friend who uses panacur for such things when she takes in rescues, but I don't know how that product is marketed where you are.

[lunarisx]

That Halmahera BTS of yours are captive breed. Wild Caught BTS are ugly, skinny, full of scars and always missing its tail. Your BTS are fat, have no scar and have sharp tail, it means it eat everyday since its born and never suffer psychological trauma because being hunted down.

Halmahera need high humidity and temperature. Mine only play outside its burrow when the temperature reach 31 celcius on the basking spot and retreat back/burrow when it drop bellow 30. I kept one big water bowl so it can bathe without drowning and use mix of coco husk and spagnum moss for substrate.

Edit: Almost forgot but this is probably the most important. Earth has reach farthest point from the sun so its colder than normal and for tropical BTS it will be icy hell so they will hide more during this time.

[splashy07]

I don't know anything about your imports over there, but Halmaheras come into this country by the thousands and none look as you described. Darn near impossible to get a captive bred in the US, anywhere else EXCEPT Indonesia where the are farmed would also be a gamble.

[lunarisx]

I live in Indonesia and we have our own local breeder. We have trouble getting anything other than Halmahera because they always exported after being born. The demand is so high that we cant compete with foreign buyer when bidding for the new born.

These breeder bought some wild caught bts from their native habitat for breeding then sell their offspring over internet or sell it to collector for export. They show me what a wild caught BTS looks like. They are ugly when compared to their offspring.

[kingofnobbys]

I can't add much more other than :
he looks about 3 - 4 months old so still a baby

> it needs to be kept warm (about 35 degC in the warm zone , no hotter than 40 degC at basking spot)
> UV rated at 10%UVB is necessary (I think , ie similar to a Northern BTS)
> at it's age live insects twice per day to give it the best possible start on live and help it grow and develop
… I'd be choosing from the following insects
BSFL
silkworms
earthworms (farmed as pet food rather than for bait) *
land snails (farmed for human consumption if you can't get garden snails (farmed as pet food) *
* if you take from the garden ( give them a week or so to eat fresh kitchen greens and veg off cuts and to purge - in case they have eaten something toxic in your garden or next doors garden
crickets or roaches or locusts (suitable sized and dusted with calcium powder (lightly) and gut loaded with high calcium greens and chopped veg
choosing insects see : https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/vi ... 4#p1807834 (aim for lower fat , higher protein, higher Ca/P ratio)

OK to offer Repashi BugPie and VeggieBurger as staples / suppliments
OK to offer VetaFarm lizard pellets and RepCal Adult or Juvenile Beardie pellets (soften the pellets in water or natural fruit juice)

Offer green leafies , and chopped or grated greens and veg (sweet potato, carrot) daily , choose from http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html , he may not show a lot of interest , but keep offering freshly daily.

I would not be giving cat or dog food except as an emergency.
My vet recommended Vetafarm pellets http://vetafarm.com.au/product/lizard-food/
and Wombaroo reptile supp http://www.wombaroo.com.au/reptiles/reptile-supplement
as a baskstop , and boiled lean chicken mince as an emergency protein source.

Photoperiod ,I'd set the lights to run 14-16 hr per day … I do this for Eastern Bluetongue and Eastern Water skinks and central bearded dragons.

OK treats are
hard boiled egg whites and yokes …. the shells can be crunched up too (great source of calcium)
raw hole chicken eggs (messy !!! definitely for eating in the playpool or on the lawn !! my BTs love an egg and are very messy eaters of their eggs)
berries
banana (note rich in phosphorus so only occasional as the phos binds calcium and make the calcium biologically unavailable
kiwi fruit
mango flesh
grapes (seedless chopped in half)
peas
edible flowers - my gang love dandelions, thistle flowers, nasturtion flowers , hibiscus flowers , clover flowers
Nopat if you can get It fresh Is good.


He seems relaxed enough when being handled by you, so I'd be making a daily ritual of having a little fun time (cuddle time) and giving him some food treats by hand each time (food is a great way to bond with a skink). Let him dictate what he feels comfortable with.

How are you housing him ?
If you haven't bought a kit or built a home for him yet - a 100L to 150L tub is a great rearing tank for a baby or juvenile BTS , see this for how I set up my rearing tubs : https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/vi ... 4&t=233480

[Thee]

Could we see a pic of the tummy and under chin?

[Thee]

Maybe let her hide outside the tank in a special blanket or one of your clothes and try hold her while she is “hiding “ in the given space, hold her while you relax or watching something, she’ll get used with your breathing movement and heartbeat, when she starts becoming active outside the tank it might be cause she’s looking for a place to do her business so it might be a good idea to put her back in the tank and see if that was her intention.

Don’t move her too often, offer her time to adapt to every change even if it might be considered a good one

Remember they do not see the same colours as us and don’t have the same interpretation of what they see, in uv light vision they see red purple and blue ( from what I have read at least) and some patterns or colours might trigger them and come up as dangerous

Try doing simple repetitive things so it can have comfort in knowing what to expect when something changes

[Machan]

Sorry I'm quite busy lately so I barely online. I will update the situation . From the first post till now all I have done is feeding and cleaning, no touching or handling at all. She seem more comfortable when I'm nearby now and even let me put my hand in her tank without immediately hides (but I still not touch her yet. She's supper scary if I try to catch her and honestly I'm scary too). Maybe because I leave her alone in her tank so long now she become very lazy and very caution if there's another one in my room. Should I bring her out of her enclosure more often now even if she don't like it?
I don't have any pic of her tummy because she's still not comfortable enough for my to flip her over. But later maybe I can show you if you still need it
My mother have a small garden so I have Convolvulus, Amaranth, Ceylon spinach available most of time. Are those safe for her to eat? Thanks