Our first Tokay- and it's kind of a rescue?

zuper8 · #1 01-31-2012, 09:26 PM

We went to pick up a "baby Tokay gecko" that we found on Craigslist. Turns out it is 6-8 months old- so still young, but no longer the right size for the 10 gal tank the person said was included. The owner lived in a house where the whole family smoked IN the house, the tank itself is just absolutely caked with it, we had to remove the gecko and all the decorations and clean the snot out of everything with some reptile-safe cleaner. Still stinks, poor gecko. No offense to smokers, I don't care, but I just feel like all that smoke in the cage could not have been good for this little guy. The original owner got it from petco, and only had a water dish in the tank, never misted it. He fed him mostly worms, sometimes crickets. Had no humidity gauge, we went out and bought one right away of course.

Put in a new hide and newspaper and we will be buying a 24" tall tank tomorrow along with plenty of things to climb on. We have been struggling to keep the temps up this evening because the owner also didn't mention the cage has several huge cracks in it, so of course it is not keeping heat in. We covered up all the cracks with tape, seems to be helping. Warm side is 80 degrees right now.

We have some small crickets hopping around in the cage and a dish with some applesauce/ calcium, but the gecko is not interested yet. we are worried but know he must be really stressed right now. not to mention the cage was extremely cold when he was picked up, the heating pad cord had been cut off (??).

I'm no reptile condition expert, but he looks thin to me. I am going to have a fecal test done for parasites just to be sure. We are very committed to making a nice home for him. He was a doll being held while the cage was cleaned- a little squirmy and defensive naturally, but no bites. He was being held for 1/2 hour, what a champ. And the owner said he was aggressive

Here's a photo by which I was hoping ya'll could give me your opinions on his weight

**Riverside Reptiles** · #2 01-31-2012, 10:50 PM

He doesn't look horribly thin. He's likely dehydrated though. So give him a good misting. He's most certainly stressed. So give him a few days to settle in now without messing with him (other than misting him a couple of times per day with warm water). Leave a couple of crickets in with him. Tokay tend to hunt at night since they're nocturnal. And make sure he has plenty of vertical hides like bamboo, pvc tube, or even paper towel tube. Definitely make an appointment to have a fecal done. Pet store animals get exposed to tons of other animals. So even if he's captive bred, he's likely to have parasites of some sort.

zuper8 · #3 02-01-2012, 07:40 AM

thank you thank you for the reply. I'm relieved he's not too thin. he didn't seem to touch the crickets overnight

hope he starts eating soon.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #4 02-01-2012, 10:22 AM

It might take him a few days or maybe even more to settle down in his new home before he eats. The best thing that you can do for him right now is to just leave him alone as much as possible and let him acclimate to his new surroundings.

zuper8 · #5 02-01-2012, 08:56 PM

Trying to get a picture to find out the sex, but my camera sucks. Pretty sure it is a female though. On the underside of these geckos, does the pelvis usually protrude this much? At least I think that big lump in the lower abdomen is the pelvis.

Got her a branch

**Riverside Reptiles** · #6 02-01-2012, 09:19 PM

They really need some sort of vertical tube to hide in or behind. Even something as cheap as an old paper towel tube.

zuper8 · #7 02-01-2012, 09:51 PM

After work tomorrow I am going to stop by the hardware store to get some PVC pipe.

It has now eaten most of the crickets in there and a superworm. yay.

billewicz · #8 02-02-2012, 08:15 AM

Tubes make a great hide for your Tokay but small ones are really hard to get them out of for any reason like going to the vet. I like bigger diameter hides so it easy to see them and get them out with less pushing and stress when giving oral medications, etc.

Personally, I like slate leaned up against the side of the enclosure with cork bark up against that. Tokay will use both sides of the slate and the inside of the bark yet you can still see them by looking in between.

Also, I find that crickets 'disappear' visually in the enclosure after a while. Before you put the next set in, dust them in a good calcium/D-3 powder and put them in around dusk. The 'white' crickets are easier to see and your Tokay is usually ready to start hunting first thing at sundown.

Good luck and enjoy!

Michael

zuper8 · #9 02-03-2012, 08:20 PM

I chose newspaper as a temporary substrate so I could get a stool sample (also make sure he's going). Got him 3 days ago and haven't seen anything

he has eaten crickets and some worms, but leaves a lot in the tank as well. I have been dusting everything with repto-cal and gut loading with fresh vegetables. getting very concerned about the lack of poop. what should I do?

He has not been handled since the first day and I am covering the tank with a blanket to reduce stress, seems to make him more active.

billewicz · #10 02-03-2012, 08:44 PM

So, whatever day you are going to take the stool sample in for lab work, go in and get him. Have your container ready because chances are he will defaecate while you are trying to capture him or, more commonly, once you have him in your hand.