athenaltena | Wherein Ro feels like an idiot and a bad pet owner

I've noticed that Ryu has been pretty lazy lately and hasn't been eating much (she doesn't tend to eat that much in the first place, but this was unusual) and I was starting to get worried, and just today I noticed that she was going white to shed again when it's been less than a month since she last shed.

That's not normal, and after a quick Google I found that the most likely culprit was the temperature, which can send her into psuedo-hibernation if she feels too cold and cuts down on her appetite. So I measured the temperature in her tank, and sure enough it was about 10 degrees cooler than it should have been, and it's not at all helped by the fact that this place is fairly drafty. So I investigated the undertank heater and discovered that it wasn't performing to capacity. I've had that heater since before I even had Ryu, somewhere around 7 or 8 years, so it probably wore out, and likely wasn't helped by when I moved it out here. Mystery solved.

So I went to the PetCo over near the Cambridgeside Galleria and got a new one, which I just installed. The internal temperature is climbing and Ryu is already more active, so I feel safe saying that I figured it out. But I feel really bad that she's been cold and it was basically my fault. Luckily leopard geckos are hearty and she hasn't lost any weight, which would mean she was in serious trouble, and in a day or so she should be back to normal.

So yeah, Me = Idiot. I'm sorry your human is a dumbass, Ryu! ;_;