[BonnieLorraine]

I'm more than happy to share I've found out most of what I know by bugging breeders and other keepers over the past 10 years, plus this is a new genus for me, so I definitely need the help heh. I'm using 6% Sodium hypochlorite which seems to be the strongest they make for laundry use. The probiotics I've been doing whenever I've dosed meds along with the day after, I just dab a bit on their nose and let them lick it off. I've been using Bene-bac. I asked the vet about that too, he said his stance is it hasn't been proven to be beneficial, but as long as it's not hurting them or stressing them it doesn't hurt to try it, so to keep using it. For gut loading the crickets, roaches, and superworms I use a mix of unsalted nuts, wheat germ, brewers yeast, spirulina, kelp, bee pollen, rodent chow, rice cereal, and dried milk, all pureed in the food processor, there's a recipe posted for it on chameleon forums, and then I throw in whatever organic veggies I've bought for my rhino iggy that week. I saw that the Repti Aid has a lot of the same ingredients as my gut load, including the kelp and spirulina, so hopefully it helps.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Originally Posted by BonnieLorraine

I'm more than happy to share I've found out most of what I know by bugging breeders and other keepers over the past 10 years, plus this is a new genus for me, so I definitely need the help heh. I'm using 6% Sodium hypochlorite which seems to be the strongest they make for laundry use. The probiotics I've been doing whenever I've dosed meds along with the day after, I just dab a bit on their nose and let them lick it off. I've been using Bene-bac. I asked the vet about that too, he said his stance is it hasn't been proven to be beneficial, but as long as it's not hurting them or stressing them it doesn't hurt to try it, so to keep using it. For gut loading the crickets, roaches, and superworms I use a mix of unsalted nuts, wheat germ, brewers yeast, spirulina, kelp, bee pollen, rodent chow, rice cereal, and dried milk, all pureed in the food processor, there's a recipe posted for it on chameleon forums, and then I throw in whatever organic veggies I've bought for my rhino iggy that week. I saw that the Repti Aid has a lot of the same ingredients as my gut load, including the kelp and spirulina, so hopefully it helps.

I'm worried about treating some WC geckos I'm about to receive. Hence all these questions.

Please tell me more about the 6% sodium hypochlorite---that is the % in the Clorox I have: soaking the whole tank, just wiping it down, how are you doing it? Are you doing a 10% solution---9 parts water and 1 part sodium hypochlorite? The Bene-bac (capsule or liquid) probiotic. Source of both? Are you just force feeding the ReptiAid by itself?

I've got a Zilla product called JumpStart.

[BonnieLorraine]

I started out using old glass tanks for quarantine but I'm switching over to sterilite bins because they're easier to clean and lighter to carry, parasite eggs can also get stuck in the silicone in glass cages, making them harder to sterilize. I get the big $7 bins from the store, draw a square on top of the lid, use a drill to drill out the corners, and use a skil saw to cut the square out. Then just lightly sand about half an inch around the square, and hot glue gun a square of screen to the lid. For cage decorations it needs to be either bleachable or tossable, so I stick to white papertowels for the bottom, a water dish, those foam twisty vines made thicker by twisting around each other, and fake plants. I do a 1:10 ratio with the bleach, and fill the containers about a third of the way using the hose in the yard and shove all the cage decorations under the water line. The bottom is the dirtiest part given that's where the majority of the feces end up, but I still use a sponge to wipe down the sides with the bleach solution. Let it sit for at least a half hour, then thoroughly rinse and towel dry, and let it air dry until you can't smell the bleach anymore. This is also the time I give the geckos a shower, since they can't be in the cage for at least an hour. Get a large potted plant or fake plant in a pot (if real cover the soil with cellophane) and adjust the water so it's on the cool side since these guys overheat easily. I position the plant about half in the water, so they can move out of it if they want, and shut the bathroom door so the humidity builds up. It works wonders for dehydrated animals and was literally the difference between life and death for some of my chameleons. The Repti Aid is actually made to be a carnivore/insectivore complete diet replacement, so it has the right balance of carbs, proteins, fats, and vitamins. From what I can see online of the Jump Start the first ingredient is corn syrup, and then it has a bunch of vitamins, so I guess kind of like a vitamin sugar water for energy, it also doesn't seem to be diet specific since they recommend it for tortoises. I used to do chicken baby food mixed with some Repashy calcium and vitamin supplement, but the vet says the Repti Aid more closely mimics their normal diet and to switch to that. Hopefully you shouldn't need to force feed at all, I'm just having to do the ones that were at the pet store in a planted vivarium and weren't dosed with any meds, they're down to 10 and 11 grams and one is usually laying on the floor of the tank. Oh, one more thing, toss any paper towels that have feces on them as soon as you see it, and toss any left over prey items since they'll eat the infected feces and reinfect your pet.

[BonnieLorraine]

Oh, and the bleach I get from walmart, their store brand is just as strong as Clorox and a bit cheaper, the Bene-bac is sold at Petco and is a gel made for birds and reptiles, and the Repti Aid is from PetSmart, I didn't see any on the Petco website.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Many thanks, BonnieLorraine, even for taking the time to google JumpStart. I will get some ReptiAid and Bene-bac just in case. ReptiAid sounds like just the product I may need.

Looks to me like the JumpStart is intended to be used with another food source.

These geckos I'm about to get are Cyrtodactylus.

Recently bought 3 large and 2 small bendable, twisty Exo Terra Jungle Vines...the type which say "water-proof" right on the container. Those tolerate bleaching?

Very sorry to hear that your Uroplatus sikorae males are down to 10 and 11 grams. Lieing on the floor of the cage is not a promising thing.

[BonnieLorraine]

Oh no, my male is fine, these are ones from my friends store that were ailing and I'm attempting to fix (I'm going to keep one if they make it). He doesn't have the time or ability to medicate animals daily and bleach cages constantly, he tries to not get wc for that very reason, but then, he really likes Mossies. There seem to be two types of bendable vines, the ones that look like they're covered in cat litter (guessing it's supposed to look like dirt), and the foam painted ones. I wouldn't try the cat litter ones, they look like they would fall apart, but the foam ones are holding up fine, just let them air out well after. I'd also try to provide some cover, I stick to fake plants and vines from walmart (they're cheaper than the ones sold for reptiles and it most cases identical) but my vet also recommended paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, cardboard boxes, and egg crate, pretty much anything disposable that they can hide in.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Good to hear your male is fine. Best wishes with BOTH rescues.

My bendable jungle vines have a very rough texture which seems fairly substantial. They seem "heavier" than painted foam might be?

[jadrig]

If you are going to try to rescue those from the store...The most important thing for these geckos when they are not doing well is H2o with an eyedropper...humidity...not necessarily keeping them soaked, and food. If they are not eating on their own... babyfood with H20 works well. If the animal is sick...parasites should be the last thing to worry about. Treating these geckos for parasites should only be done if they are healthy animals.
I have mixed in fruit flies with babyfood so that they get some insect protein...