leonardo is being unusually skittish

[SusiMarie]

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Leonardo ( my leo) is being really skittish, he wont let me pick him up and he keeps trying to wedge himself between the back wall of his tank and he larger hide i made him. The hide is on the cold side of the tank which isnt tiled, its made from a card board box. Its been with him for about 9 days now and he didn't seem to mind it at all before today.

I came home from work and he was wedged behind the box. I'm concerned about him any ideas on why/ how to help him?

If it matters he shed yesterday for the first time here

[Embrace Calamity]

He needs two dry hides - one on the cool side, and one on the warm side. If the hide is large, it's probably too big for him to be able to feel secure inside, so he's wedging himself in a tighter place.

~Maggot

[SusiMarie]

he has 3, two warm ones one moist one and one cool one. but the cool one is alot bigger than the warm ones.

[Embrace Calamity]

Then he might just not be feeling secure in it. Or he could just be agitated from shedding, as I believe (though anyone can correct me if I'm wrong) that reptiles can sometimes get more agitated around shedding time. Here, fill this out:

Gender:
Age:
Weight:
How big was the reptile when you first acquired it?
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner):
Captive bred or wild caught?
Do you handle him? If so how often?

Enclosure:

Cage: type, size:
Substrate provided?
What types of hiding places are provided?
Is there a humidity hide? location?
Please describe any other furnishings:

Lighting:

Artificial lighting?
incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s) ?
fluorescent (tube bulbs)?

Temperature:

Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? what type?
What is the temperature in the warm part of the cage? under the warm hide? In the coolest part?
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature? hot rock, UTH, heat light, ceramic heater, other:
Are you using a thermostat?
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time?

Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much?

Humidity:

Is the humidity measured? Range:


List other animals that are kept in the same cage:
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months)
Are any of your other pets ill?
List recent changes in the environment, if any:

Diet:

Insects, list type?
Are they “gut loaded”? If so with?
How often do you feed your reptile?
Please list any supplements used. How are they given and how often?
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both?
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without?
Multivitamins?

Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:

If your reptile is sick, please describe the signs and how long your reptile has been showing these signs:
Is your reptile’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased?
Is your reptile’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased?
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight loss, Weight gain
Discharge from the eyes or nose
Increased breathing rate or effort
Change in the droppings
urates white or yellowish
Abnormal skin color or shedding
Parasites on the skin or in the feces
Weakness

~Maggot

[SusiMarie]

Gender: I think he is a he
Age: not very old.
Weight:
How big was the reptile when you first acquired it? He is the same size now as when I got him
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Pet store
Captive bred or wild caught? I think captive bred
Do you handle him? If so how often? Most every day I pick him up

Enclosure:

Cage: type, size: 20 gal long glass tank
Substrate provided? Ceramic tiles
What types of hiding places are provided? Small paper dish upside down with a door cut in it, half a paper towel roll, a fake rock full of moss kept moist, on the warm side, and two halves of a box that used to be one larger enclosure on the cool side
Is there a humidity hide? location? Rock on the heated side, full of moss
Please describe any other furnishings:

Lighting:

Artificial lighting? One red bulb 75 watt basking spot light
incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s) ?
fluorescent (tube bulbs)?

Temperature:

Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? what type? I don’t have one yet.
What is the temperature in the warm part of the cage? under the warm hide? In the coolest part?
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature? hot rock, UTH, heat light, ceramic heater, other: there is a UTH
Are you using a thermostat?
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? spends most of his time in the rock or the paper towel tube

Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? Not specifically in his tank

Humidity:

Is the humidity measured? Range: don’t have a gauge yet


List other animals that are kept in the same cage:
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months)
Are any of your other pets ill? None only he lives there, ive only had him about two weeks
List recent changes in the environment, if any:

Diet:

Insects, list type? Crickets
Are they “gut loaded”? If so with? The food they eat claims to gut load them
How often do you feed your reptile? Once a day
Please list any supplements used. How are they given and how often?
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both?
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without?
Multivitamins?

Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:

If your reptile is sick, please describe the signs and how long your reptile has been showing these signs:
Is your reptile’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased?
Is your reptile’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased?
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight loss, Weight gain
Discharge from the eyes or nose
Increased breathing rate or effort
Change in the droppings
urates white or yellowish
Abnormal skin color or shedding
Parasites on the skin or in the feces
Weakness

[Embrace Calamity]

You need to know the temperatures in the enclosure with a digital thermometer and/or temp gun. You could be baking him, which could be why he's acting like that. I use a 20 long and have a 75 watt basking bulb, and that's plenty of heat. Of course, it depends on the ambient temps of your room. You also need to be supplementing him with a calcium/vitamin supplement. And you should be giving him time to settle in before handling him, minimum of one week but preferably two. Hopefully someone else can come up with some more suggestions or ideas.

~Maggot

[SusiMarie]

ill leave him alone for a while, and im going to get gauges when I get paid. as well as supplements, I just haven't gotten paid yet I used the last of my xmas money on crickets

I live in Maine, so its really cold, im trying to keep him warm enough.

[cricket4u]

You need to know the temperatures in the enclosure with a digital thermometer and/or temp gun. You could be baking him, which could be why he's acting like that. I use a 20 long and have a 75 watt basking bulb, and that's plenty of heat. Of course, it depends on the ambient temps of your room. You also need to be supplementing him with a calcium/vitamin supplement. And you should be giving him time to settle in before handling him, minimum of one week but preferably two. Hopefully someone else can come up with some more suggestions or ideas.

~Maggot

Maggot I slept 2 hours before my insomnia episode kicked in. And I'm glad that you used the questionnaire because without it we miss a lot of important details.

[cricket4u]

Oh my SusiMarie you must buy these supplements right away if not your gecko will develop MBD and nutritional deficiencies. He has not grown since you first got him? which was?

These are all the important items your gecko needs.

Under Tank Heater (UTH) -- main heat source...extremely important

10 inch (25.4 cm) diameter overhead dome fixture -- important for warm air no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) ~6 inches (15.2 cm) above the UTH. The 10 inch diameter dome is preferred because it will better direct the heat from a bulb back into the tank. With smaller domes a greater amount of heat escapes into the room .

Ceramic heat emitter (CHE) or Exo Terra's Night-Glo Moonlight bulb

Substrate -- ceramic, porcelain, or slate tiles (slate needs sealing with a food grade sealant), paper towels, kitchen roll

Thermostat(s)

Thermometer -- digital with probe, temperature gun, possibly an aquarium-type thermometer with a red display which has been calibrated against a trusted source. NO LCD (liquid crystal display) stick-ons or circle analog dial types. Both the latter are inaccurate.

Hides (3 per gecko) -- warm, warm moist, cool

Supplements --
100% pure calcium carbonate---NOW brand is fine
Phosphorus-free calcium with vitamin D3
Multivitamins which include vitamin D3 & vitamin A acetate

Water dish

[Embrace Calamity]

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ill leave him alone for a while, and im going to get gauges when I get paid. as well as supplements, I just haven't gotten paid yet I used the last of my xmas money on crickets

I live in Maine, so its really cold, im trying to keep him warm enough.

Not to be rude, but if you couldn't afford supplements that cost a couple bucks, you shouldn't have bought the gecko. They are absolutely vital to his survival. And no "gauges" - they need to be digital.

Maggot I slept 2 hours before my insomnia episode kicked in. And I'am glad you used the questionnaire because without it we miss a lot of important details.

I'm a huge fan of questionnaires. So much is missed when a person has to ask individual questions.

~Maggot