On Apr 27, 1:31 pm, Leopard Gecko's Pet
wrote:
> We just bought a Leopard Gecko last weekend for my son. We were
> advised by several that s/he would be the best first reptile for us.
> Got it at PetCo and advise on care from them as well, but I have more
> questions and am finding conflicting information on-line. I'd really
> appreciate any help. Our gecko is about 5" from nose to tip of tail.
>
> What should we have in the bottom of the tank? Four of the PetCo
> people that we talked with while trying to determine whether or not we
> should get this pet advised the extremely fine sand so that's what we
> have. Now, I'm reading that sand may cause juvenilles to impact. Do I
> need to worry and switch it out?
~ A lot of people say that you should not use sand, there is a risk
of impaction, but All 5 of mine were raised from tiny (around 3")
babies on sand with absolutely no problems. the best way to avoid
them ingesting sand is to put food in some sort of dish,
>
> How many baby crickets each day should it eat? Will it over-fill its
> belly? It has quite an appetite and is eating at least 10 baby
> crickets each day. It also is pooping each day. The PetCo staff
> advised me not to give mealworms to such a young one since mealworms
> have a harder exoskeleton than crickets have.
~ I feed mainly mealworms and superworms the supers have a softer
exoskeleton but they may be too large for your gecko still, crickets
are great but they are kind of a pain to maintain in large quantities,
in addition to gutloading you should also take out any dead crix every
day. and make sure they are in a well vetilated area. I also reccomend
lining your cricket container with papertowel or something similar, so
you can easily get rid of the crix excrement. leaving a piece of
cardboard eggcrate or a TP roll will give them a place to hide and
also make it easier to pick them up b/c they will cling to it when you
pick it up.
What products or fruits/
> veggies are best for gut-loading the crickets?
~ Store bought gutload is fine, I have heard rumors about Fluker's
carrying some kinds of disease or something but I have used it since I
have had my lizards, (3+ years) and never had a problem.
>
> I also bought wax worms for it. I was told only one or two per week.
> So far it hasn't eaten any.
~ They might not see them or they might not be used to them as a
food, since they probably were not fed them at petco. make sure they
are wiggling or try hand feeding them if you really want them to eat
them.
>
> Can we handle the baby too much? I've been holding it about 20 minutes
> each day. I think that it is getting used to me. It likes to crawl up
> my arms and sit on my neck. My children's excitement still scares it
> so the kid's are learning to be calmer around it.
~ The more you handle it the more comfortable it will get with you
handling you. I have had one bite once in 3 years, and it was not
even at one of the kids, a guest in our house threw a bottle cap at
the person holding him and he accidentally hit the gecko, he got
scared and bit her finger. That is the only time any of the 5 has bit
someone.
>
> It's tank is about 30" wide x 14" deep x 18" high. We have the heat
> lamp and undertank heat pad on one end and water and food dish on the
> other. Tank is not near a window. Sand is about 1" to 1-1/2" deep. I'm
> concerned that the tank may be too cold or vary too much in
> temperature over the course of the day. Warm end reads 88-100 degrees
> in direct line with the heat lamp, cool end reads 72-74 degrees. I've
> touched the hiding rock and it's warm, but not that warm. Our house
> has at least a 10 degree change throughout the day. I don't want to
> accidentally have the tank too hot. Any suggestions on how to better
> regulate the temperature?
~ Unless it's really cold in your house, I would not reccomend using
the undertank heating pad, they can be known to malfunction and
overheat. using the same wattage heating bulb consistantly 24hrs a day
should be plenty of heat, as long as you maintain a constant
temperature and the gecko isn't hiding on the coldest or hottest spot
all the time you should be OK.
>
> We were told to mist the gecko everyday to help with shedding. I've
> also read that their hiding spot should have materials that rub
> against the skin to help with shedding. We currently don't have
> anything and the gecko can easily move through the hole to the hiding
> spot without rubbing. It likes to climb in the water dish to drink so
> I've only misted it once. How often do they shed?
~ They shed when they are growing, so as juvies they will shed a lot
and as they get older less and less, it is not uncommon for them to
shed every week or so as babies.
>
> Last night I noticed that it looked like it had a white-ish tint to
> the black stripes. I don't know if it's shedding, normal or sick. This
> morning its color looks fine, but its moving slow. I don't know if
> that's normal for the morning. I have observed that dusk is when it
> likes to hunt and is most active. Do I need to worry?
~ Probably shedding, the layer of skin loosens and looks whitish
before it comes off. Don't be surprised if you never see the skin,
they will eat it after they shed.
>
> Is there anything else I need to know or watch?
It sounds like you got very good advice from petco, but I would
reccommend finding a pet shop that specializes in exotics in your
area, they usually have alot of great advice and there will be lots of
neat products that you won't find at chain stores. also if you are
intersted in seeing more types and designs of leopard geckos along
with care info and lots of other good stuff check out Ron Tremper's
site (he is the premier breeder of "designer" leopard geckos)
http://www.leopardgecko.com/
hope you find this helpful.
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