Could use some help with my new tokay!

Bish · #1 01-17-2011, 11:48 PM

I have had the tokay now for about a week. He went from a 10 gallon aquarium with sand to a 29gallon, with coco substrate, 2 hides plants and around 70-85% humidity on any given day. I have had some trouble regulating the temperature, I now have 4, yes 4 heat sources on the tank to keep it above 80 deg. I have an under tank heater, red light, blue light and ceramic heater to keep it warm enough. I just purchased the ceramic heater yesterday because it was clear the other 3 weren't enough for the job.

My question is this, how long does it take for a tokay to generally adjust to their new environment. It is a male, and for the first 2 days he was on the wall, and moving around exploring his new environment. I did make an amateur mistake and was probably disturbing him and the environment way to much in the first 3-4 days. I have now left him alone except for misting the cage for the last 3 days. However he has remained in his hide branch which is elevated, horizontal log that is open from one end to the other. This means that he has been in there laying horizontal for at least 2 days. I don't believe that he has eaten, as I don't see any feces, and the crickets seem to be the same numbers. However crickets do hide. He has moved, I don't know if he has come out but he has changed positions within the log. I don't know what the difference is between a stressed out gecko, a sick gecko, or a gecko that is adjusting, or all of the above.

His mouth is black and pink on the inside, no sign of mouth rot. He is skinny, but no visible bones at least at the date of purchase ( he's in the log so I can't tell now). He didn't try to attack me with my hand in the cage when I first got him, he seemed kind of lethargic but not really if that makes sense. If I tried to pick him up he would scurry. I did that just to see if he had any form of response. The guys at the store were a bit rough when handling him so I can only imagine that he was traumatized by this coupled with his move. At what point should I be legitimately concerned about his eating, over all demeanor etc?

I do not know if he is wild or not, nor have I found any feces to take to the vet for parasite testing. I do plan to do so as soon as I find some. Also I did come home today to find him shedding. I have kept humidity high through this and believe that he's doing okay with it.

He looks about the size of the first picture in this thread-

New male Tokay...

Thanks everyone for your help,

Bish

ExoticGekko · #2 01-18-2011, 12:23 AM

How cold is the room that it is kept in? What wattage bulbs are you using? These two answers will end up helping quite a bit.

Messing with it probably didn't help him settle in any to be honest. So dont do anything with it. Depending on how much it is messed with it can take anywhere from a week or two to a few months to calm down and get used to things. The more it is messed with the more it wants to hide instead of look around and so on.

I would also spray it down just once a day to let it dry out. Try spraying around night time then letting it dry out during the day when its not active.

Bish · #3 01-18-2011, 12:42 AM

the room itself is about 65 degrees, will be warmer in the summer but it's the best I can do right now. I have regulated the temp to about 85 during the day and mid 70's tonight so looks like I've got it down with the heat sources. It has just taken a bit more than needed due to colder house.

The humidity level right now I'm trying to keep higher to help the little guy along with shedding. One of my main concerns is that I don't believe that he's eating and he was already skinny to begin with. Are there any suggestions as to what I could use that is not alive that tokay are attracted to that I can at least tell if he is eating something? Or at what point is it an issue for them not to eat? So now I feel like I'm stuck because I'm not sure what's what. I mean do you take him out to the vet or does that just send him over the edge? Am I out of line with my concern about this particular situation and just need to give him more room? I want the best for him, but I don't want to prolong a bad situation if there is one.

BTW define messing with the gecko. The only thing that I have been doing at this point is misting the cage, there was one day that he was chillin while I was adding another hide. Which I would like to rearrange so that it's a little more secluded for him. Is messing with the gecko limited to handling or to habitat disturbance?

I certainly hope that made sense, again thanks for the help!

ExoticGekko · #4 01-18-2011, 12:55 AM

In MY experience tokays wont eat anything that isn't moving, as for anyone else I don't know. I would just give it some room and spray it once a day, I know you want to keep it humid due to the shedding but at a point if it stays to wet it will have just as many problems getting it off because it sort of sticks to them (again my experience). Thats why letting it dry out during the day helps so when the skin drys a little it can rub it off easier.

The reason I ask about the heating is because they do better with a hot spot around 95ish. I have had my best luck with these animals with a basking spot of at least 90. I also wouldn't let it drop below 80's at night. I think if you bring temps up a little it should get more active. The come from a very warm places and chances are its WC because you rarely see any CB animals in most pet stores. Not when you can buy wild caught for $5 bucks and captive breed animals for around $30.

ExoticGekko · #5 01-18-2011, 01:02 AM

Just seen the "BTW" you put in lol. I would consider "messing" as in doing anything in the cage besides putting food in and spraying. He needs to get used to one thing before you to redoing it. It just makes it a little easier on him to transition into a new home is all.

Bish · #6 01-18-2011, 01:07 AM

The ambient temp is around mid 80's during the day, there is a basking spot of 88.1 ( taken with laser thermometer ) And a bit lower ambient at night. I have only been misting 2 times a day, so during the day the humidity has dropped to around 60% and I can see the substrate drying out so maybe I'm on the right path there.

So he should have adequate temps in the cage, I will reduce the interaction with the cage for sure. Thanks for all your input and by all means more is welcome if something else crosses your mind.

Regards,
Bish

BTW where are you in Indiana? Curious cause I'm in Louisville.

ExoticGekko · #7 01-18-2011, 01:11 AM

Im in a little town by Illinois called Cayuga.

What wattage of bulbs are you using?

Bish · #8 01-18-2011, 01:48 AM

75 watt red, 100 watt blue I believe may be higher need to double Check, and 100 watt ceramic.

ExoticGekko · #9 01-18-2011, 01:57 AM

I just use normal incandescent bulbs for a daytime baking spot. They are cheaper lol. But I have a heated room that's why I don't need anything at night. I use 100s to get the temp I want and if you have somewhere for them to bask under it they seem to use it, or put a cork tube under it so they can still hide but be in a warmer spot. If your room is cold you might try wrapping the 3 sides with a towel to help keep heat in. I used to do this and it seemed to help.

Bish · #10 01-18-2011, 01:58 AM

Couple more things,

I have a florescent that cycles for 12 hours from 8am-8pm for daylight.

Also I'm in the process of setting up a gecko cam for live streaming and audio, however that will probably not happen till tomorrow or the next day provided my drivers work correctly.