[panthergeckoNamka]

Hello everyone. I got my panther gecko around 6 weeks ago. I adore my little one. That's him in the picture. I have a few questions and I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

1. Can a panther gecko over-eat? Just now, he inhaled 6 reptivite covered small crickets in the course of 3 minutes. I haven't been able to keep up with his growing appetite lately so I gave him more than usual, not knowing he would chomp them all down at once. Should I be woried?

2. I've noticed that after 10-20 mins of being held, he starts to get lighter in color on the top of his head and on his hands and feet. I don't think this is a response to temperature, because the rom is warm and he seems to like being on my shoulder. When its for him to go back in his tank, he always tries to crawl back up onto my arm. Is this a sign of something bad?

3. While its very cute when he tries to climb on glass or my lacquered bedframe, he doesn't seem to be getting better at it. Will he ever get any better?

4. I have him set up with a heating pad on the side where his moist hide is and a red night lamp that is in the middle. The heating pad and night lamp are on at all times and I keep a UVB lamp on during the day. I had seat lamp that burnt out and I took that opportunity to switch to a UVB lamp. I wonder though, does the UVB lamp, alone provide enough light? He lives in my room which has very little natural light.

5. I have only witnessed him shed on one for. Is it possible that I missed the rest of it? (He ate what shed from his foot. The patch on top of his head is the only area that looks like its about to shed. And it's kooked that way for weeks. Is this normal?

6. Finally, I use D-3 free Reptivite. How much is too much when it comes to crickets? Is there even such a thing as too much when it comes to Reptivite? All of the forums seem to say that I should use it every dailuy feeding while he is a baby, and since he seems to love the stuff I have been giving him around 3 dusted crickets a day- excluding the eorrysome 6 that he inhaled around half an hour ago. What is the rule of thumb for D-3 free dusting?

Thanks so much, I look forward to your much-appreciated responses.

By the way, he is a juvenile. He is around 3 inches from head to tail.

PantherGeckoHenry

[Gexter]

Hey! Glad to hear that you have acquired one of these wonderful geckos! I personally refer to them as 'pictus geckos' due to the fact that they are generally given many common names and this one seems most appropriate.

1. Most pictus geckos know their limits when it comes to food and do not have the tendency to over-eat but it is possible. Many will eat anywhere from 8-12 appropriately sized crickets in a sitting but once again, they do know when to stop.
2. I have never heard of this species changing colour while being handled but I suppose it is possible. It is not a sign of something bad but rather a change in mood and in some cases it can be temperature.
3. Pictus geckos are terrestrial not arboreal. So they will never be able to climb glass or any other vertical surface.
4. When it comes to your lighting, try to give your gecko the option of thermoregulating. This can be achieved by getting all your light and heat sources on one side of the tank, creating a warmer gradient here and a cooler one of the opposite side. Pictus geckos know and will choose when and how warm or cool they would like to be. You just need to leave them with this option. They like temperatures of 85-90F in the warm end and 78-80 in the cool end. The whole vivarium can drop to 75F at night.
5. You will not witness your gecko shed very often as he will manage to eat the entire thing. miraculously, they generally manage to get every piece and eat it.
6. Crickets should be dusted every single feeding with some sort of supplement. I like Rep-Cal which is available in most pet stores. D3 FREE calcium is intended for animals that are kept outdoors and have the opportunity to absorb natural sunlight. With this species, I try to coat crickets with calcium WITH D3 every feeding and once a week I coat them with herptivite (Rep-Cal multivitamins).

I have worked with this species for about 3 years and bred them for 2. These methods have worked for me and I also work in a Pet Store. They are a fun species overall and a great reptile to own.

[Angelicka]

1. They can eat too quickly which may cause them to regurgitate. If you are worried, feed a couple crickets at a time, and only introduce more when the previous ones are gone. They have a voracious appetite when they are younger, which tends to taper off when they are older. In fact, we usually end up feeding the babies just as many crickets/mealworms as the adults (around 15 every 3 days), but the size of the feeders is different.

2. They will get lighter/darker based on temperature and stress. It's similar to how some leopard geckos change.

3. Gexter nailed this one; they are terrestrial. They have wider toes, but they aren't able to climb like the arboreals.

4. P. picta are nocturnal, and no special UV light is needed. In fact they prefer dark places. They are also in need of belly heat to digest their food and thermoregulate. If you are concerned about ODing on the D3 you can provide a bowl of calcium without D3 and just dust your feeders every couple of days since you are feeding daily.

5. The lightening on the head is natural, and a lot of times it is not an indication he is going to shed. This is part of the color changed discussed in question 2. As Gexter said, they will eat all their shed. You just need to make sure the eye caps come off completely. They do have skin that grows over the eye to protect it since they do not have eyelids. If for some reason a piece gets left on the eye it can cause issues the same as stuck shed on any other part of the body.

I hope you enjoy your new guy. They are a lot of fun.

[panthergeckoNamka]

Thank you so much, your advice was extremely helpful and very much appreciated! I love my pictus, which was originally named Henry, but is now Namka, since Henry seems to have the ability to lay eggs. "Namka" comes from "Om-Nom-Nom," in reference to her voracious appetite.

Thanks again!

Panther gecko Namka