Raising the temperature?

[laursmustdie]

Hi

This is my first time rearing lotls, I have 6 wildtype(?) babies, who are about 5/6 weeks old in a tupperware, the temperature is sitting about 15c, is this ok or should I try and raise it a bit and how would I go about doing this if so?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Laura

 

[Kaysie]

They'll be fine at 15c. They may eat a little less and grow a little more slowly, but they won't have any physical harm.

 

[laursmustdie]

Thanks! I dunno if I'm just being over cautious but they do seem a bit small..think they're about 13mm @ 5/6 weeks?

 

[Kaysie]

That's a little small, but that's probably a product of being cooler than average. Are they hitting all the benchmarks: developing legs, etc.? That's what's more important.

 

[oceanblue]

I raised my larvae cool and it took twice as long as most people describe but they efficiently eat less food and grow slowly to 250mm+, taking somewhat over a year to reach maturity. Water quality and other problems develop more slowly and are easier to spot and reverse. In general I'm a great believer in growing animals towards the lower end ot their temperature range. Commercially fast growth is a premium but for pets why not aim for a long life? My adults live at 10-15C.