New leopard gecko staying in cool hide

A

Alana

New member
Hello,
I'm new here. I feel like I have a decent grasp on caring for leos; I had a female for almost 11 years who recently passed away from what the vet and I assumed was old age. So I decided to get a new one just because I love the little buggers. I received him yesterday morning via fedex from a breeder. He's just under a year old. He has a moist hide, warm, and cool hide. The temp on the warm side is between 89-91 degrees and the cool side around 71. The ambient temperature on the warm side seems to stay around 78-80. I have a uth and che on thermostats.
When I first put him in the cage he wandered around for most of the day. I tried to just watch him from a far so that I wouldn't stress him out. Then he found his cool hide, and from what I can tell hasn't moved from there since (he may have while I was sleeping) Like I said, I've been trying to keep my distance from the cage.

I know they need time to adjust to their new surroundings, and I'm sure they can tell when they need more heat. It's just been so long since I've had a new leo, that I don't know if it's normal for him to sit in the cold hide the entire day. My old leo was in the warm end 98% of the time. I'm just concerned. Thoughts?
 
kvnsu

kvnsu

New member
Some geckos are different then others, some prefer cool and others warm! I'm pretty sure he is doing fine, just acclimating like you said. In some cases, geckos just prefer the certain type of hide and stay in that. I wouldn't worry too much :).. And keep in mind some gecko can take up to a week to acclimate and start eating.
 
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A

Alana

New member
I've always been a bit of a worrier. I'm sure he is fine, I just need some reassurance haha. I haven't even tried to feed him yet. I was going to wait a few days.
 
kvnsu

kvnsu

New member
It won't hurt to try and feed him! When I first got my juvenile leopard gecko, I didn't feed it for 2 days. And I'm not sure if it's because of that but... let's just say he/she is a piggy now :biggrin:
 
Superleo98

Superleo98

New member
It can take a up to a week, or even to weeks for a new Leo to eat because they are acclimating.
My male Buki spends a lot of time in his tree (cool hide) and is doing fine.
Your leo may just prefer the cool hide more than the warm! :)
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Hi Alana ~

Just wondering whether you keep your leo's moist hide on the warm end of the enclosure.

Were you lightly dusting with any calcium w/vitamin D3 or multivitamins?

Healthy leos can live into their 20s. :)
 
A

Alana

New member
Hi Elizabeth,

Yes, I keep the moist hide on the warm side.

I did dust with calcium with D3 and the reptivite without D3. I can't lie and say my first gecko was always kept in perfect conditions though. When I got her I didn't know everything that I should have, so I adjusted things along the way. Maybe that shortened her lifespan? I was worried that she had parasites because she slowly stopped eating and became lethargic. I took her to the vet and her fecal came back negative and the vet said she looked healthy. One day I woke up and she was gone :(

I'm excited to have my new one though, and glad that I know much more about them than I did when I got my first. I caught him exploring the cage again this morning when I woke up for work. I think i was worrying over nothing. Thanks for the replies everyone :)

Oh, and I wanted to ask why we shouldn't keep plain calcium in the tank anymore? Is it because of accidental overdose?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Alana said:
Hi Elizabeth,

Yes, I keep the moist hide on the warm side.

I did dust with calcium with D3 and the reptivite without D3. I can't lie and say my first gecko was always kept in perfect conditions though. When I got her I didn't know everything that I should have, so I adjusted things along the way. Maybe that shortened her lifespan? I was worried that she had parasites because she slowly stopped eating and became lethargic. I took her to the vet and her fecal came back negative and the vet said she looked healthy. One day I woke up and she was gone :(

I'm excited to have my new one though, and glad that I know much more about them than I did when I got my first. I caught him exploring the cage again this morning when I woke up for work. I think i was worrying over nothing. Thanks for the replies everyone :)

Oh, and I wanted to ask why we shouldn't keep plain calcium in the tank anymore? Is it because of accidental overdose?
Click to expand...

Hi Alana ~

:cheer: about keeping the moist hide on the warm end and about your light dusting with calcium with D3 and with plain Reptivite. We were all nOObs once.

Curious how close your leo's death was to her vet visit when she "looked" healthy?

It's really exciting when our leos thrive! Healthy leos can live well into their 20s.

Yep, accidental overdose. Calcium should be also be taken with food for proper absorption.

#22---***GU's Admin Hilde on Calcium, Vitamin A, & D3 interactions, et cetera***
VITAMIN A:
: Promotes bone growth, teeth development.
: Helps form and maintain healthy skin, hair, mucous membranes.
: Builds body's resistance to respiratory infections.
: Essential for normal function of retina. Combines with purple pigment of retina (opsin) to form rhodopsin, which is necessary for sight in partial darkness.
: Necessary for proper testicular function, ovarian function, embryonic development, regulation of growth, differentiation of tissues.

VITAMIN D:
: Plays a key role in the absorption of calcium for bone and tooth development.
: Affects cardiovascular health, immune system, cancer prevention
: Has a major role in muscle development & strength
: Key role in mental health and depression avoidance

VITAMINS A & D interaction with other substances:
: Calcium decreases absorption of fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E and K.

You can't see the Vitamin A shortage easily, except for possibly poor vision and/or aim when hunting. Rough skin is usually shrugged off as a 'bit of a bad shed' and hope it works better next time. If not.... well, we'll just remove the stuck skin with a cotton pad.

Lethargy and weakness might be chalked up to many things including boredom or brumation, never a thought that it could hint at a Vitamin D shortage.

CALCIUM - excess:
Excess calcium in the digestive tract can hinder absorption of Vitamin A and D (we won't worry about E & K here). MBD is often considered to be caused by a shortage of calcium, but can happen even though there is ample calcium available. If there's not enough Vit D available, either stored in the liver absorbed via food/supplements, then there won't be enough calcium absorbed. If you suspect a calcium shortage, it's easy to increase the amount available by dusting more often, even to the point of 'icing' the bugs with calcium, all of which just puts more calcium into the intestines but allowing less and less Vitamin A & D to be absorbed.... a vicious circle. The result is a gecko with possible MBD (even if it's on calcium substrate and gets calcium supplement), and a severe shortage of Vitamin A & D.

And so it continues.... more calcium, less vitamin A & D.

The next big worry is the next generation. The offspring of parents with Vitamin A and/or D imbalance can affect the young - they might hatch tiny, maybe shorter than normal tails, missing or deformed eyelids, a pouch-like flap of skin under the chin (looks like a tiny dewlap), weak, poor vision or even blind, weak or even deformed bones, including skull. It gets shrugged off as one of those things, after all, even in the wild they don't all hatch perfect.

Who would have thought that it could be traced to excess calcium?

Some people shy away from supplementing with pre-formed Vitamin A. It's been proven that geckos need it, they can't convert beta-carotene well enough to make do with just that. If the parents of your gecko were only supplemented with beta-carotene, no pre-formed Vit A, then they were prime candidates for a Vit A deficiency, and their offspring suffered the consequences. At the very least, add some pre-formed Vit A to the supplements a few times a month. Most can be beta-carotene, but the bit of pre-formed A will tide them over until they get enough beta-carotene converted."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Related post #48 here: Can plain calcium carbonate be overdosed? Check link from post #5 onwards......
Leos having health issues,setup question
 
Last edited:
A

Alana

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
Hi Alana ~

:cheer: about keeping the moist hide on the warm end and about your light dusting with calcium with D3 and with plain Reptivite. We were all nOObs once.

Curious how close your leo's death was to her vet visit when she "looked" healthy?

It's really exciting when our leos thrive! Healthy leos can live well into their 20s.

Yep, accidental overdose. Calcium should be also be taken with food for proper absorption.

#22---***GU's Admin Hilde on Calcium, Vitamin A, & D3 interactions, et cetera***
VITAMIN A:
: Promotes bone growth, teeth development.
: Helps form and maintain healthy skin, hair, mucous membranes.
: Builds body's resistance to respiratory infections.
: Essential for normal function of retina. Combines with purple pigment of retina (opsin) to form rhodopsin, which is necessary for sight in partial darkness.
: Necessary for proper testicular function, ovarian function, embryonic development, regulation of growth, differentiation of tissues.

VITAMIN D:
: Plays a key role in the absorption of calcium for bone and tooth development.
: Affects cardiovascular health, immune system, cancer prevention
: Has a major role in muscle development & strength
: Key role in mental health and depression avoidance

VITAMINS A & D interaction with other substances:
: Calcium decreases absorption of fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E and K.

You can't see the Vitamin A shortage easily, except for possibly poor vision and/or aim when hunting. Rough skin is usually shrugged off as a 'bit of a bad shed' and hope it works better next time. If not.... well, we'll just remove the stuck skin with a cotton pad.

Lethargy and weakness might be chalked up to many things including boredom or brumation, never a thought that it could hint at a Vitamin D shortage.

CALCIUM - excess:
Excess calcium in the digestive tract can hinder absorption of Vitamin A and D (we won't worry about E & K here). MBD is often considered to be caused by a shortage of calcium, but can happen even though there is ample calcium available. If there's not enough Vit D available, either stored in the liver absorbed via food/supplements, then there won't be enough calcium absorbed. If you suspect a calcium shortage, it's easy to increase the amount available by dusting more often, even to the point of 'icing' the bugs with calcium, all of which just puts more calcium into the intestines but allowing less and less Vitamin A & D to be absorbed.... a vicious circle. The result is a gecko with possible MBD (even if it's on calcium substrate and gets calcium supplement), and a severe shortage of Vitamin A & D.

And so it continues.... more calcium, less vitamin A & D.

The next big worry is the next generation. The offspring of parents with Vitamin A and/or D imbalance can affect the young - they might hatch tiny, maybe shorter than normal tails, missing or deformed eyelids, a pouch-like flap of skin under the chin (looks like a tiny dewlap), weak, poor vision or even blind, weak or even deformed bones, including skull. It gets shrugged off as one of those things, after all, even in the wild they don't all hatch perfect.

Who would have thought that it could be traced to excess calcium?

Some people shy away from supplementing with pre-formed Vitamin A. It's been proven that geckos need it, they can't convert beta-carotene well enough to make do with just that. If the parents of your gecko were only supplemented with beta-carotene, no pre-formed Vit A, then they were prime candidates for a Vit A deficiency, and their offspring suffered the consequences. At the very least, add some pre-formed Vit A to the supplements a few times a month. Most can be beta-carotene, but the bit of pre-formed A will tide them over until they get enough beta-carotene converted."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Related post #48 here: Can plain calcium carbonate be overdosed? Check link from post #5 onwards......
Leos having health issues,setup question
Click to expand...

Hey Elizabeth,
That's interesting about the vitamin A and D. I read the care sheet on here. So I should only dust with the calcium with D3 twice a week and plain reptivite once a week?

The vet visit was about 2 weeks before she passed away. She may have looked healthy, but I know she wasn't feeling all that healthy.

Update on my new guy, Django. I've noticed he'll stay in the cool hide all day and then hangs out in/around the warm hide at night, so I guess he's figured out his daily routine haha. I also got him to eat 8 meal worms lastnight, but I had to put them in front of him with tweezers (which freaked him out, but he gobbled them up anyways) I don't think he realizes they're in the dish at night. This was the first time he's ate anything. I know he was mostly raised on mealworms.
 
kvnsu

kvnsu

New member
Alana said:
Hey Elizabeth,
That's interesting about the vitamin A and D. I read the care sheet on here. So I should only dust with the calcium with D3 twice a week and plain reptivite once a week?

The vet visit was about 2 weeks before she passed away. She may have looked healthy, but I know she wasn't feeling all that healthy.

Update on my new guy, Django. I've noticed he'll stay in the cool hide all day and then hangs out in/around the warm hide at night, so I guess he's figured out his daily routine haha. I also got him to eat 8 meal worms lastnight, but I had to put them in front of him with tweezers (which freaked him out, but he gobbled them up anyways) I don't think he realizes they're in the dish at night. This was the first time he's ate anything. I know he was mostly raised on mealworms.
Click to expand...



Sorry to butt in your conversation but yes you should dust with calcium d3 twice a week and a multivitamin once a week..

Here is a dusting schedule Elizabeth recommends:
Monday-lightly dust with Zoo Med's Reptivite without D3
Wednesday- lightly dust with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
Saturday-lightly dust with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
 
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A

Alana

New member
kvnsu said:
Sorry to butt in your conversation but yes you should dust with calcium d3 twice a week and a multivitamin once a week..

Here is a dusting schedule Elizabeth recommends:
Monday-lightly dust with Zoo Med's Reptivite without D3
Wednesday- lightly dust with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
Saturday-lightly dust with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
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