kwaka
Not so new Member
Hi All,
Elliott is a 6 month old Stimmy, was feeding like a champion on fuzzies in his little cubby (Sistema), upsized him to a larger one, took two more fuzzies then stopped. Last feed was 2 May. After many aborted attempts at feeding him, I have put him back in his little cubby on the 23/5, temps 37 directly on the plastic, 32 on top of the two sheets of kitchen paper, 28 at the cool end. He has a toilet roll to hide in, and spends most days in between the two sheets of kitchen paper, his doona!! Temp wise, I think he is able to find the sweet spot for him.
It might still be a little early for him to be settled back in, and I am not concerned about lack of feeding, he is healthy looking, but my question is mainly around getting him to focus on his food. How do I keep him in his cubby while trying to feed him? I put the prey item in on the end of tongs, with the lid still on, so there is only a teeny tiny gap. He climbs up the tongs and gets out the gap. I then have to get him back in the cubby, and try again, but he is only interested in trying to find a way out.
Pretty sure I am doing everything else right, is it just that he is off his food for winter, so any gaps in the lid are just an exploring opportunity? He doesn't seem stressed, although the more times I have to move him back into the cubby, the faster his movements get, so I generally stop at that point, as I equate that to stress.
Others have spent an hour or more trying to feed - what happens in that timeframe? You just keep putting him back in and keep trying? Or just chase him around his cubby for an hour? At what point does it become more stressful on him to continue?
In short, how do I try to get his focus on feeding and not exploring?
Elliott is a 6 month old Stimmy, was feeding like a champion on fuzzies in his little cubby (Sistema), upsized him to a larger one, took two more fuzzies then stopped. Last feed was 2 May. After many aborted attempts at feeding him, I have put him back in his little cubby on the 23/5, temps 37 directly on the plastic, 32 on top of the two sheets of kitchen paper, 28 at the cool end. He has a toilet roll to hide in, and spends most days in between the two sheets of kitchen paper, his doona!! Temp wise, I think he is able to find the sweet spot for him.
It might still be a little early for him to be settled back in, and I am not concerned about lack of feeding, he is healthy looking, but my question is mainly around getting him to focus on his food. How do I keep him in his cubby while trying to feed him? I put the prey item in on the end of tongs, with the lid still on, so there is only a teeny tiny gap. He climbs up the tongs and gets out the gap. I then have to get him back in the cubby, and try again, but he is only interested in trying to find a way out.
Pretty sure I am doing everything else right, is it just that he is off his food for winter, so any gaps in the lid are just an exploring opportunity? He doesn't seem stressed, although the more times I have to move him back into the cubby, the faster his movements get, so I generally stop at that point, as I equate that to stress.
Others have spent an hour or more trying to feed - what happens in that timeframe? You just keep putting him back in and keep trying? Or just chase him around his cubby for an hour? At what point does it become more stressful on him to continue?
In short, how do I try to get his focus on feeding and not exploring?
