[ryndgls360]

I was searching for a unique, cool looking class pet and settled for a leopard gecko. My theory was to pick the smallest one in the tank, the one that was isolated from the group and looked starved because the others wouldn't let him eat, and kind of "rescue" him. That didn't work. Took him back to the pet store 3 days latter with no eye balls because the crickets ate them.

So I was very interested in getting another lizard. Then I saw the tokay and their amazing colors. I had a 55 gallon tank donated to my classroom and all the good stuff to go with it. I've had my tokay for almost a week now. I haven't seen him eat any crickets (they are still hoping around the tank) and I have hardly seen him move at all. He just hides in the multiple covers I have on the bottom of the tank. I leave a red light on at night with a heating pad on the bottom of the tank under his favorite hiding cave to keep the temps up. His tank is about mid 70's 24 hrs a day with the humidity anywhere from 70%-90% depending on how often I mist. He is very lathargic and doesn't even really seem to care when I rub his head with a cricket at the end of some feeding tongs. I know that these guys are mainly nocturnal so I'm not expecting him to do freakin cartwheels all day, but shouldn't I see him do something at some point? I don't want this guy to end up like the leopard. My second graders have grown too attached. The pet store was useless as far as help so I have no where else to turn.

Help me please! What do I need to do?

[Riverside Reptiles]

Sounds like you need to do some reading through this forum. You need higher temps. Also, these are mostly an arboreal animal. So, hiding on the floor is not natural. They much prefer vertical hide spaces (pieces of pvc pipe, cork bark tubes, paper towel tubes, etc). Lots of plants, etc to hide behind. Hiding is what tokays like to do. Instead of guessing at the enclosures temps, you really should have a digital thermometer that has a probe (cost under $15). Unlike leopard geckos, most tokay are wild caught animals and loaded with parasites. So he really should be taken to a vet for a fecal exam and treated as needed. Lethargy and lack of appetite are both symptomatic of parasites. Tokay tend to be a fairly shy and reclusive animal. Not at all like a leopard gecko. It's not unusual to never see them during the day. Unfortunately, this doesn't make for the best of classroom display animals.

[ryndgls360]

That's great! Thanks for the info. I took the little guy to the vet and all checked out. I have two different thermometers in the tank actually, so I was never guessing. I have the digital probe one on one side and a gauge at the other end. So when I say "around mid 70's", that means the temp is anywhere from 70 being the lowest, to 76-78 during the day. No guessing here.

I picked up some things to hang from the wall of the enclosure for the guy to hang out in. His appetite seems to be getting better since the post, I think. Although I have yet to see him actually eat anything, he is leaving me little presents here and there so he must be eating.

I know I need to get the temps up. There are a ton of bulbs and lights to choose from. Any recommendations? I've seen red ones, blue ones, giant white UV ones, and ones that look like they could shoot a death laser and blow up Manhattan.

I have done some reading through these forums. But instead of reading through 3 pages of comments about how good the comment before them was, I just thought I would ask the experts. When it comes to live plants, are there any particular kinds I should be looking for and/or staying away from? I have the coconut fiber substrate and some jungle themed faux plants from Zilla already but from reading other posts about mold concerns and what they have going on in their habitat, obviously I've messed something up. And a fan? I need a computer fan to circulate air?

[Archie]

A word of caution when buying animals.....if the seller or petshop cant give you proper information on the animal and you are not sure of the health of the animal. You may believe you are rescueing it, but may just be adopting a bad case of heartache. Rather tell them why you wont purchase the animal from them.

Heating

I would suggest a heating pad placed against one side of the tank possibly even beneath the tank (although this will dry the substrate quickly)....the safest way of heating IMO dont go the bulb route as depending on how you set it up it can burn the Tokay.....besides no need to get fancy, keep it simple.

Ventilation

As long as there is sufficient air flow then there is no need to go fancy and add a fan. The air should not be stagnant as this will cause mold and is also not good for your Tokay.

Behaviour

Being nocturnal will mean you not likely to see much activity from him especialy if its feeling vulnarable.....I try have at least 3 panels of the tank covered to help them feel more secure. As the Tokay grows and becomes somewhat more used to activity around him he may become less scared. Mine after a year and a half often move around during the day and feed whenever they hungry they are quite happy to sit on the front glass panel in the open, with little regard for day and night although most of the realy interesting activity happens at night. Never tap the glass or allow anyone too obviously.....Mine are most happy as long as I leave them alone, they allow me to carry out maintenance on the tanks without ever going into defence mode, I wont ever try handle them they simply dont like it....

Plants and Substrate

Your substrate should be fine....I would leave it, I like the fact that it holds humidity realy well, if it gets realy mouldy then perhaps you should change, it most likely wont give you hassles though

Once you have the basics waxed then you can get super fancy and add live plants you will need full spectrum lights to do this properly, but its not important at this stage. Live plants make a realy great display viv and go towards making your Tokay realy happy, but thats step two!

Here are pics of my vivs for my tokays the first two are what the look like with plants....I still try keep things simple. The last is a new tank for a gecko Im not entierly sure of its husbandry, so instead of making it comlicated I add the basics and later will add the pretty bits

[ryndgls360]

Thanks Archie! That was a ton of good info! I thought I would catch you guys up to date because I am really excited about the progress. Yesterday, right before I left school for the day, I thought I would try putting a cricket on the end of tongs and try to get my little guy to eat it. I have tried this every day for over a week with no success. Yesterday, however, as soon as I put the cricket near him, he snapped at it and took it right off! I was ecstatic! So I tried again. 5 crickets later, he seemed to not be interested anymore. This was the first time I've been able to actually see him eat something. Not only was it a relief (because now I know for sure that he eats), but it was pretty fun to watch as Commodus crunched up some giant crickets.

I will admit my rush to purchase the animal without getting all the knowledge possible was a bit of a mistake. But where I am located, this is the only place around to get the lizard.

Heating

We had our first temperature drop outside last night. I was a little alarmed when I came in this morning to see that the tank was at a cool 64 degrees. I will get rid of the lamp per your advice and go pick up another heating pad. I have one now (certainly not big enough for such a large tank which is why I was using both the lamp and the pad) so another one should do the trick. Would it be ok (or recommended) to cover the 55 gallon tank before I leave everyday with a blanket to help keep it warm?

Behavior

He moves. Not much during the day, but the more I read about them, the less concerned I am about it. He is extremely laid back. I've done some cleaning and rearranging right in front of him and he doesn't care at all. If I didn't know better, I would probably be trying to carry him around on my shoulder teaching him how to save people money on their car insurance. I will see if I can get some pictures put up of his home and him (assuming he is actually a he).

I won't worry about the live plants right now then if it's not crucial. But if I did want to add some in to make it look more attractive, what kind exactly would I be looking for?

I will also pick up some tank wallpaper from the pet store to cover the back and side walls to help him feel more secure.

Thanks again for your help. I've already grown attached to the little guy and since this is my first reptile, I want to make sure he is taken care of.