The weather in Buffalo has been peculiar this spring- bouncing from 30s to 70s and back again throughout the last couple months. Wednesday, we had a particularly hot day- a high of 85! Being the middle of May, I did NOT want to put in the a/c unit yet, especially since I knew today was going to be in the 30's-40's. Yep, it's really that crazy here.
Lindsey had posted something on her FB page a bit ago about putting bags of ice cubes on top of reptile enclosures in case of emergencies. This, I thought, would be perfect, and Wednesday was such an emergency. I checked the grocery bags for holes, filled them with ice cubes, tied the knots tight, plopped them on the tanks and was out the door, but not before noticing they'd already dropped a degree. Perfect!
I thought.
I got home Wednesday night and, as I usually do, I went over to the geckos to check on them. Wasn't I surprised to find the grocery bags EMPTY and a good 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of both tanks! Apparently I didn't check well enough for holes in the bags. The "trick" worked- the geckos stayed below 80 all day, likely because they were in a pond situation. I know now for the future though- ziplock bags!
I mini-panicked as I searched for the geckos themselves. Hank of course was tucked in between his two favorite leaves, with his head sticking out further than usual, and he looked at me as if to say "Crazy weather we're having- it rained ALL DAY here!" I was most worried for Quinn, who is usually sleeping during the day in his hidey-rock on the floor of his enclosure. I was relieved to find him clinging to the cork bark background, clearly annoyed with the monsoon.
That was quite a mess to clean up! The tanks needed a cleaning anyway, but sopping up a ton of poop water was not on the itinerary for the night.
I'm also a bit worried about Quinn. I weighed them both while I was cleaning their tanks. Hank has gone up, no surprise, as the little guy has been in the midst of a feeding frenzy growth spurt.
Quinn actually went down a whole gram since I weighed him last. He is a much fussier eater than Hank, and I noticed a liqui-poo on Tuesday; I was going to clean it up Wednesday anyway. Can a liqui-poo cause a whole gram loss? It was a big-ish puddle, and he's had record .5 gram poops before. I also think my cat Oliver (sorry George) has been bothering him, which may be a stressor causing some weight loss? Oliver likes to sit on his tank; he was sitting up there to attack my pothos plant, but I've moved the plant since he knocked it over, and I'm putting more "stuff" on top of the tank to deter Oliver from going up there, so hopefully that's working. Perhaps also the crazy weather/temperature changes are causing some stress as well? He's not lethargic in the least; if anything he's more energetic than he used to be. Could it be breeding season stress/hormones? He'll be two years old next Saturday. I've noticed a definite drop in his food intake since he sprouted his man-parts last fall.
I try not to compare the two geckos since they're different species and animals, obviously, but it's frustrating when Hank is a CGD inhaler and Quinn is like, the one lick king. Quinn is terrified of crickets, so that's not an option for feeding- I even covered a half-dead one in his favorite fruit, persimmon, and he was afraid of THAT, he kept turning his head and walking away from it. I think it's just a bunch of stressors hitting him the wrong way, he is a pretty sensitive dude. And I'm a worry wort. Any more weight loss will definitely require a vet trip though; I am worried.
So, that's what is happening in my little reptile world. Happy Memorial Day weekend! I'll be working Monday morning, I hope you have better plans! 