Starting the East Coast Colony- "Glam" comes home
Happy Tuesday all!
It's blog day and I thought i'd take the time to introduce the first addition to "The East Coast Colony" my Leucistic , Glam. I've had her about 3 weeks now and we are creeping our way through a seeded cycling and quarantine. When she first arrived she appeared rather round and has basically been pooping daily since. I suspect she may have been a bit bound up (her poop is not fully digested or what i'm feeding) and now that she has cleared up some she has a more typical body shape for a juvenile of her size/age- I suspect she is about 5/6 months old.
The initial sand substrate I purchased appeared to be too large a grain size so I scooped most of it out after day 1. My cats also pulled out the filter media from the internal filter so I'm thinking of switching to a small sponge filter for the time being and doing away with the internal. We are on a 50% daily water change rotation while the seeded filter cycles and to combat the crazy amount of waste she's putting out. This weekend will be a shopping trip to grab the sponge filter and a trip to the storage unit to grab some more decor and make the whole thing more comfortable for her. The tank is a nice 15.5C so i'm hoping the cooler temperatures will help her clear out her digestive tract and the small amount of swelling around her Cloaca will go down. Fingers crossed that she did not arrive with an impaction!
Without much further adieu here are the pictures I know y'all came for:
Photo1: This is Glam's QT setup on day 1. It's still a wee bit foggy after the substrate removal and of course the substrate is now removed. I'll be doing another overhaul this weekend.
Photo2: Here she is day 1 after arrival. As you can see she is a little puffy around the middle but looking good.
Photo 3: Here she is after 3 weeks. Her costal grooves are more apparent and she has a waist in front of her back legs. Her Cloaca appears a bit swollen but by the looks of her upraised legs and flushed gills she is working on yet another chihuaha sized poop. Hoping she clears out soon.
Photo4: Glam on day 1 with a face full of freckles! Eee. The cute kills me.
UPDATE:
I am hunting around for some Red Wriggler earthworms to start a breeding colony of those here as well in preparation for the move of the big tank to our new house in a few months. I will also be sanding down and staining and sealing the oak stand and canopy just to make sure the piece lasts many years to come and because I am decor picky. The "Diet" page is half done and on track to be completed by the next blog on Tuesday, be sure to look for more updates soon!
Take care keepers,
-Amy B