runt of the litter

[chrisd]

Hi,

As mentioned previously I had a very late 2nd clutch of Billineata's hatch this year naturally outside which I have kept inside up till now due to their original small size. Most are female and are growing well, except one which stopped growing quite early on and is tiny compared to the rest. They could easily eat it as a snack as it is not much bigger than a month old youngster. It has still yet to develop any green colour is still it's original brown colour. It is a poor eater due to being in competition with the rest and the increasing food size as they grew larger. I took it out of the cage early on and fed it separately on size appropriate food but it's making little difference to it's growth. Anyone had any similar experiences ?

[richad]

Hi,
I have had juveniles which grew at a much slower rate than their siblings. They usually achieved the same adult size as the others in the brood. As long as they appear healthy and active probably nothing to worry about.

[chrisd]

I've had one or two juveniles that have grown at a slower rate but this little one has grown very little in the last 4 months. It has lost its dark colour and has lightened somewhat, but is tiny compared to the rest. It is active but sporadic with its feeding and I wouldn't say it is in the best of health, but will be interesting to see what happens.