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So your new pet has arrived! Congratulations!
Here I'll discuss a few great ways to set up and make sure your pet becomes properly acclimated to prevent any arising
health issues due to stress, improper habitat/temperature settings or "eager feeding." I'll break them down into sections
and discuss the importance of each one. I highly recommend you review this page in its entirety before buying a new reptile.
Arrival: Day 1
Upon opening that lovely package all anxious and excited about your new pet, you should already
have a cage/habitat fully set up for their arrival so you can unpack them and put them away as quickly as possible to minimize
stress.
Please realize that these kids have been on an amazingly complex journey (for them anyhow) and have no doubt
stressed over the trip itself. What you need to do for now is make sure they are alive and fine and to put them in their new
habitat and LEAVE THEM ALONE. I know this may seem to be the lesser of desired remarks but regardless of how gentle you are,
handling a new arrival immediately, showing them off or spending QT with them is not a good idea, no matter how docile they
are. Stress is not something to mess with when it comes to animals period.
So once you get your little unpacked and
safely tucked away in his/her new habitat, you'll want to briefly check in on them each day for the first few days but without
disturbing them too much (yes, this means no handling). They need time to adjust to all the new smells, sights, air pressure
and vibrations that are common in your household. That's a lot to take in all of a sudden when you think about it, aside from
a very noisy and bumpy ride to get there in the first place. :)
Days 2-5:
After they've had a few days to rest, you
can begin to offer a food item (it is VERY important to make sure they are eating BEFORE you start handling them like mad).
There's nothing worse than paying for a solid feeder and then getting one that mysteriously won't feed due to one of two reasons:
1. it wasn't a solid feeder to begin with and now you get to find that out.
2. you handled it and bounced
it around before letting it acclimate and now it's shy/nervous and doesn't want to eat because it's not adjusted properly.
Once you get this new kiddo to feed, let him/her digest for AT LEAST 24 - 48 hours before attempting any handling.
You don't want any regurging to happen due to handling too soon after a meal.
Once your new baby has acclimated, had
an appropriately sized meal in his/her belly and time to digest, you can handle away! :)
I highly recommend that you
take all new animals to a qualified reptile veterinarian for a general checkup to assess that everything is fine and that
your new pet is healthy. You do have the right to accept or waive this option but I do stress the importance of having a good
qualified exotics/reptile veterinarian period, should anything happen with your animals during their lifetime.
Enjoy
your new pet!!
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