Baby BTS, I need help!

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Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:59 am

Hi,

I am new to this site, and not sure where to post this, hope it is in the right spot. I live in Australia, and a day ago a friend of mine found a baby BTS (I think Eastern) on a building site. He is really small, about 13cm, and he weighs 11 grams - named him Ninja. I have an enclosure for him, but no heat lamp yet. He has eaten a piece of hard boiled egg, kiwi, and a few licks of cherry tomato. I have also seen him drink water.

I would just like to know what are some things that are very important that I need to do, heat lamp being one of them. I have fallen in love with him already (hard not to), and I am 100% committed.

I appreciate any help!
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Jeff » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:30 am

First, are you sure it's legal to keep a wild BTS where you live? I was under the impression that most places in Australia require you to have a permit to collect wild BTS.

If you are living somewhere that it is legal, they are very easy to set up, and you will get lots of suggestions and advice here. I'm going to move this topic over to the General Discussion Forum where it fits better.

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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:38 am

Yep, checked that out already, only need a permit if you have more than one BTS. We have so many of them here, and it is sad how many get run over :( Thanks for the reply, appreciate it!
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:57 am

His enclosure.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:58 am

Cuddling :D - sorry for the low quality.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Katrina » Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:12 am

Welcome! I don't know anything about the legalities, I was under the same impression as Jeff is -that it isn't possible to keep wild BTS without a specific permit.

For baby care, check out this link: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16120 It has the caresheet, diet info (remember, lots of this stuff is more tailored to North America... if after reading it you can't find certain products or foods, please ask more questions and members in Australia can help with the specifics). :D Good luck!!
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby bella3 » Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:14 am

You will need a basking area (basically where they digest). For that, you just need a nice flat rock, and the temperature should be no higher than 100 s. There should also be a cooler end of the tank, and a hiding spot where they can cool off if they would like.
Their diet should be about 60% fruits and veggies, 40% meat such as superworms (make sure that they are not too big for the lizard), crickets, waxworms etc. stay away from citric fruits such as oranges and grapefruits.
A good substrate is Aspen.
Hope that helped.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Richard.C » Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:30 pm

id say its a recently born animal,up to a month or 2 old,depending where you are in aus,thinking qld perhaps,remember u could have one or 2 animals of certain species with out needing a licence,in alot of states over here,easterns and blotcheds are 2 of the species that arent required to be on the licencing system over here,well in a couple of states anyways

what you really need to do is set up a basking spot,and make a temp gradient,so its warm under spotlight,but cooler up other end of cage,lets it move to where it wants and control its prefered body temp,once u have that done it will eat well and be less stressed,should thrive and they grow pretty fast,yes its an eastern,looks like a southern eastern though,as it looks similar to ones one of my females produced
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby El Lobo » Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:49 pm

bella3 wrote:You will need a basking area (basically where they digest). For that, you just need a nice flat rock, and the temperature should be no higher than 100 s. There should also be a cooler end of the tank, and a hiding spot where they can cool off if they would like.
Their diet should be about 60% fruits and veggies, 40% meat such as superworms (make sure that they are not too big for the lizard), crickets, waxworms etc. stay away from citric fruits such as oranges and grapefruits.
A good substrate is Aspen.
Hope that helped.


As s/he is as Richard C said only a month or two old the diet would benefit from more emphasis on protein in the form of meat. Canned dog food would fill most requirements with some added greens and other vegetable matter with only a small amount of fruit. I used about 60% meat and 30-40% vegetable for the first 6 months when I raised our blotchies from a few weeks old. Don't be overly concerned if s/he doesn't eat a lot of vegetable to start with, at that age they are craving protein for growth and also need a regular supply of calcium for the same reason.

At least one hide should be provided. I have a preference for something with only one entrance/exit rather than open ended. I think that offers the bluey more security, particularly when very young. The most pressing need is for a heat lamp that can preferably be adjusted by a dimmer for basking. Substrate around 7-10cms deep will allow the bluey to burrow. Aspen might be good but unless money is no object is not a good choice in Australia. A few of us successfully use Oz Pet pellets or Breeder's Choice cat litter for substrate. Both are economical with the Oz Pet just looking a little more natural.

Good luck.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:51 pm

Thanks very much for all the replies. Weighed him, 12 grams now! I ordered a heat rock (asked about the safety etc.) with food, is something like boiled chicken good? And hot or cold? Obviously not boiling hot. Council said I definitely don't need a permit. Do they get dewormed or anything? It is Summer here, so I put him out in the sun for a while, looked like he enjoyed it.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby xxmonitorlizardxx » Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:53 pm

cancel the heat rock order. feed wet dog food not chicken
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby El Lobo » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:12 pm

Agree with no heat rock. Apart from being unreliable they heat from the wrong direction i.e. from underneath instead of overhead. Beef based dog food is a better staple than chicken but some chicken is OK and needs to be cooked. DON"T feed hot food, only food at ambient temperature or they will throw it back up. They aren't designed to eat food warmer than blood temperature.

I would hold off on de-worming unless cause is shown for treatment.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:13 pm

Heat rock not recomended? Ok, high quality dog food?
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Katrina » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:26 pm

Try to get a heat lamp to provide overhead heat. It is fairly easy to set up a heat bulb with a dimmer and then just regulate the basking temperature. :D

They can eat all sorts of food - quality dog food, some cooked chicken, some cooked beef, roaches, snails (appropriately sized live food - might need to wait until this little one is bigger!), some egg, liver, etc. Dog food is a good staple, variety is great so don't be afraid to mix it up a bit. A calcium supplement would be good, little ones grow fast and need lots of calcium for healthy bones.
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Richard.C » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:56 pm

if u dont own a dog,whiskas jelly meat is a good option,saves wasting dog food as it comes in small cans and satchels

also if u have a bunnings near by,get a 40 watt spot light,possably a clamp lamp or something to,hot rocks can be dodgey,not only un natural way of heating but also in a cold cage they can lay on it and some hot rocks get hot enough to burn the lizard,not sure on your cage size but u shouldnt need a big light to provide it a nice warm basking spot at one end,and plenty of room to move away from if if it needs to,aim for around the high 30,s to 40 degrees at basking spot,way cooler at cool end,in hot weather just leave light off ,or turn it off when it starts warming up

theres some good examples in the care sheet,look at board index and theres a care sheet section

also,some states u dont need a licence/permit to keep blueys of some species,but there not supposed to be taken from the wild,still sposed to come from breeders,but some states you possably can,if there not from national parks
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby babyNINJA » Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:28 am

I got a lamp today, he moves from under the lamp to the other side of the tank, so I am happy about that. He has a rock where he hides under, should the light be on that side, or on the other side?

Just to reiterate, I am 100% sure, I doubled checked, I do not need a permit, and even if I needed a permit, I would not hesitate to get one.

What kind of calcium supplement is best? And is it possible to handle him too much?
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby WanderingChai » Sat Feb 18, 2012 7:31 am

Note about heat rocks:

They will KILL your BTS. :shock: They will fluctuate and burn your skink. They also put an electricity hazard inside of the tank. Not to mention if it caught on fire, it could burn your house down.
So, no heat rocks, pretty please!! :D

Welcome to the forum. Best luck to you and your guy!!
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Nae » Sat Feb 18, 2012 7:55 am

Congrats on your little guy :D

Its a good idea to have 2 hides - One on the cool side, one on the hot. That way he can pick and choose~ Many people make hides where they can either sit on top, or hide underneath, using stuff like bits of slate, which is something that also increases the amount of room he has in the tank!

I believe any calcium with D3 will be just fine~
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Richard.C » Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:06 am

with permits/licences,u need to show the breeders details u got it off ect,its how they try to stop folk nabbing stuff from the wild,i dont think u need a permit for easterns though,but if u did,theres record keeping that needs to be done,which u have to write down who u got stuff from,who u sold stuff to,if any were bred ,any died ect ect,and u have to do returns yearly,to the appropriate wildlife department,taking from the wild,even if just helping a sick or injured one is generally seen as a no no with most states,and getting a permit if you need one you wouldnt be able to add it on,dont mean to sound negative ,just letting you know,most eastern states u dont need a permit to keep them though
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Re: Baby BTS, I need help!

Postby Jeff » Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:36 am

babyNINJA wrote:
Just to reiterate, I am 100% sure, I doubled checked, I do not need a permit, and even if I needed a permit, I would not hesitate to get one.


I think everyone believes you that you have made sure you are not breaking any laws. Most of the information being given about permits/licenses is not directed at you personally. Many people read the forum without posting. It is important to make clear that the laws are very different in different states so that people don't get the impression that what is ok for you to do is also legal for them automatically.
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