[Kairi]

I am brand new here, and brand new to anything that doesn't have fur or swims, so I am looking for info and help

We found this little fella in the laundry room, well, actually, my dog found him, but he seems to be ok.

Our local pet store identified him as a banded gecko and gave us some tiny crickets for him to eat... so far he is living in an old 2.5 gallon fish tank with a paper towel on the bottom, a little water dish and a terra cotta pot that he slept in last night (in one of my betta's critter keepers).

Any advice on this little guy would be great- we're in the process of getting him a 10 gallon home with a screen lid. I was also told he needed a heat lamp... any more suggestions?

Here he is last night once we snatched him from the dog. You can see his back foot is a little red, but that hasn't seemed to stop him!


And here's his temporary home... he hides under the paper towels, but he seems to be super active when he's hunting and exploring. I guess he's still kind of scared?

[gbhil]

The 2.5 gallon is better for him/her right now than the 10 gallon. Here's what I'd do -

1. remove the water bowl. He won't likely drink from it and he can't swim. Use a clean spray bottle and lightly spray one corner of the tank every evening for him to drink. Always spray the same corner.

2. Keep the towels dry.

3. Get a reptile heating pad and put it under one side of the tank.

4. Put something for him to hide under at both the warm end and the cool end.

5. Feed him a few tiny crickets or fruit flies every evening and use a calcium supplement with every other feeding. After a few hours, remove any uneaten crickets.

In a month or two he/she will be ready for a more permanent home, either with you or someone else who may want him. Don't release him into the wild, as you never know what he may have picked up from cage or furnishings. If he fails to thrive, a vet visit may be needed.


Good luck, thats a very pretty little gecko.

[Kairi]

What types of things can I get for him to hide in? Fish decorations/caves ok?

What about a heating pad under one side of the tank?

Can I keep the crickets in a critter keeper for the next night feeding?

He seems to be doing well, he's pretty active between naps. How can I tell if it's a boy or girl?

[gbhil]

Originally Posted by Kairi

What types of things can I get for him to hide in? Fish decorations/caves ok?

Anything that's flat shaped and stable. I like to use cork bark, or slate. Big plus with the slate is it holds warmth very well.


What about a heating pad under one side of the tank?

That will work, carefully monitor the temp though. The floor of the cage right above the pad should never get over 90 or so. I've used heating pads set on low in a pinch before.

Can I keep the crickets in a critter keeper for the next night feeding?

Yep. Buy about a weeks worth at a time and feed them carrot peelings or potatoes and a few crushed cheerios. Replace their food daily or it will get slimy and mold. Keeping the cricket keeper under 80 degrees or so will help keep the crickets from molting too fast, that way they stay small.

He seems to be doing well, he's pretty active between naps.

Great. Keep an eye on his foot, and try to make sure he poops regularly. As long as he's pooping and growing, you're doing fine.


How can I tell if it's a boy or girl?

Once he/she is older (about 4-6 months old) males will get tiny spikes growing out behind the back legs at the base of the tail. Females do not have these. Males also look like they have a scrotum right past the flap that covers their bum, it will look like testicles are growing in there. They aren't testes, but actually his hemipenes. The scrotum/testes analogy makes it easy to explain, and that's honestly what they look like

typing in some text so my message inside the quotes is long enough to post.

[Kairi]

I don't have any flat decorations at the house, but I will find stuff for him. I hope in the mean time his little pot is ok. He seems to like it... crawls on it, sleeps behind it.

I will clean out the old critter keeper NOT used for my fish and put the crickets in that... but how do I catch them? They creep me out

The tank is currently about 2" above the surface it's sitting on (it's a mini bow 2.5 aquarium), so I'm guessing I'd have to sit the tank right on the heating pad? Would a reptile heating pad melt an acrylic tank?

And this is a stupid question, but I have to ask... do crickets jump?

[fickle]

you could just go to te pet store and get a care sheet for leopard geckos because their ways of life in captivity are just about the same thing

[fickle]

if you buy your crickeets the card board stuff they come on i just look to se how many are on it and shake it into the tank till they fall out and yes crickets jump run and occasionally get away from you and your new lil gecko

[Kairi]

There's a tiny cardboard thing they came with, but they weren't on it. Fishing for crickets is harder than fishing for fish! I got the last three into the critter keeper though. I suppose a loose cricket is better than a loose roach

How much is a week's supply of crickets? Could I keep a week supply in the critter keeper with some food?

Oh, and they gave us a care sheet on leopard gecko's today... still don't feel it gave me enough info to really take great care of this little fella.

[gbhil]

1 - beautiful crowntail in your avatar.

2 - I would buy 2 -3 dozen crickets per week, depending on their size. 3 dozen small crickets will live fine in a small kritter keeper, they like to be slightly crowded. Don't over do it (6 dozen, or some other huge silly number) or they will die off quickly.

3 - Yes crickets jump. By now I'm sure you found that out lol.

4 - Put an empty toilet paper roll in the cage with the crickets. They'll congregate inside it. When you need a few for feeding, grab the tube and shake them into a small butter dish right from the tube. Dump calcium/vitamin on them and shake until covered. Tap them out into the cage.

5 - If you have to go out and buy hides, get small terra cotta plant saucers. Chip a hole on one edge, and put them in upside down. He will love it.

6 - Don't ruin your Minibow by sticking a heating pad to the bottom of it, they make a mess when you pull them off. Get a 6 quart rubbermaid shoebox for a nursery instead. A small reptile heating pad should not melt it, just get a very small one - they're often marketed as a hermit crab heating pad and they're about 4" square.

7 - Keep asking anytime you have a question. An informed keeper = a happy and healthy gecko. Good Luck!

[gbhil]

Originally Posted by Kairi

I suppose a loose cricket is better than a loose roach

Wanted to comment on this a little more in depth. Any tropical roach used as a feeder is actually BETTER loose in your house than a cricket. Both have the potential to carry disease and other nasties, but the roach will not be able to reproduce in the dry conditions inside a home. Crickets OTOH will gladly use potted plants, moist areas of tile grout or sink caulking, fiberglass insulation, etc etc to lay eggs and make many lil babies in.

In your case though, you're better off with the tiny crickets for the gecko's sake.