my dog found a baby gecko! now what?

[Kairi]

I am brand new here, and brand new to anything that doesn't have fur or swims, so I am looking for info and help

We found this little fella in the laundry room, well, actually, my dog found him, but he seems to be ok.

Our local pet store identified him as a banded gecko and gave us some tiny crickets for him to eat... so far he is living in an old 2.5 gallon fish tank with a paper towel on the bottom, a little water dish and a terra cotta pot that he slept in last night (in one of my betta's critter keepers).

Any advice on this little guy would be great- we're in the process of getting him a 10 gallon home with a screen lid. I was also told he needed a heat lamp... any more suggestions?

Here he is last night once we snatched him from the dog. You can see his back foot is a little red, but that hasn't seemed to stop him!

And here's his temporary home... he hides under the paper towels, but he seems to be super active when he's hunting and exploring. I guess he's still kind of scared?

 

[gbhil]

The 2.5 gallon is better for him/her right now than the 10 gallon. Here's what I'd do -

1. remove the water bowl. He won't likely drink from it and he can't swim. Use a clean spray bottle and lightly spray one corner of the tank every evening for him to drink. Always spray the same corner.

2. Keep the towels dry.

3. Get a reptile heating pad and put it under one side of the tank.

4. Put something for him to hide under at both the warm end and the cool end.

5. Feed him a few tiny crickets or fruit flies every evening and use a calcium supplement with every other feeding. After a few hours, remove any uneaten crickets.

In a month or two he/she will be ready for a more permanent home, either with you or someone else who may want him. Don't release him into the wild, as you never know what he may have picked up from cage or furnishings. If he fails to thrive, a vet visit may be needed.


Good luck, thats a very pretty little gecko.

 

[Kairi]

What types of things can I get for him to hide in? Fish decorations/caves ok?

What about a heating pad under one side of the tank?

Can I keep the crickets in a critter keeper for the next night feeding?

He seems to be doing well, he's pretty active between naps. How can I tell if it's a boy or girl?

 

[gbhil]

What types of things can I get for him to hide in? Fish decorations/caves ok?

Anything that's flat shaped and stable. I like to use cork bark, or slate. Big plus with the slate is it holds warmth very well.


What about a heating pad under one side of the tank?

That will work, carefully monitor the temp though. The floor of the cage right above the pad should never get over 90 or so. I've used heating pads set on low in a pinch before.

Can I keep the crickets in a critter keeper for the next night feeding?

Yep. Buy about a weeks worth at a time and feed them carrot peelings or potatoes and a few crushed cheerios. Replace their food daily or it will get slimy and mold. Keeping the cricket keeper under 80 degrees or so will help keep the crickets from molting too fast, that way they stay small.

He seems to be doing well, he's pretty active between naps.

Great. Keep an eye on his foot, and try to make sure he poops regularly. As long as he's pooping and growing, you're doing fine.


How can I tell if it's a boy or girl?

Once he/she is older (about 4-6 months old) males will get tiny spikes growing out behind the back legs at the base of the tail. Females do not have these. Males also look like they have a scrotum right past the flap that covers their bum, it will look like testicles are growing in there. They aren't testes, but actually his hemipenes. The scrotum/testes analogy makes it easy to explain, and that's honestly what they look like :lol:

typing in some text so my message inside the quotes is long enough to post.

 

[Kairi]

I don't have any flat decorations at the house, but I will find stuff for him. I hope in the mean time his little pot is ok. He seems to like it... crawls on it, sleeps behind it.

I will clean out the old critter keeper NOT used for my fish and put the crickets in that... but how do I catch them? They creep me out

The tank is currently about 2" above the surface it's sitting on (it's a mini bow 2.5 aquarium), so I'm guessing I'd have to sit the tank right on the heating pad? Would a reptile heating pad melt an acrylic tank?

And this is a stupid question, but I have to ask... do crickets jump?

 

[fickle]

you could just go to te pet store and get a care sheet for leopard geckos because their ways of life in captivity are just about the same thing

 

[fickle]

if you buy your crickeets the card board stuff they come on i just look to se how many are on it and shake it into the tank till they fall out and yes crickets jump run and occasionally get away from you and your new lil gecko

 

[Kairi]

There's a tiny cardboard thing they came with, but they weren't on it. Fishing for crickets is harder than fishing for fish! I got the last three into the critter keeper though. I suppose a loose cricket is better than a loose roach

How much is a week's supply of crickets? Could I keep a week supply in the critter keeper with some food?

Oh, and they gave us a care sheet on leopard gecko's today... still don't feel it gave me enough info to really take great care of this little fella.

 

[gbhil]

1 - beautiful crowntail in your avatar.

2 - I would buy 2 -3 dozen crickets per week, depending on their size. 3 dozen small crickets will live fine in a small kritter keeper, they like to be slightly crowded. Don't over do it (6 dozen, or some other huge silly number) or they will die off quickly.

3 - Yes crickets jump. By now I'm sure you found that out lol.

4 - Put an empty toilet paper roll in the cage with the crickets. They'll congregate inside it. When you need a few for feeding, grab the tube and shake them into a small butter dish right from the tube. Dump calcium/vitamin on them and shake until covered. Tap them out into the cage.

5 - If you have to go out and buy hides, get small terra cotta plant saucers. Chip a hole on one edge, and put them in upside down. He will love it.

6 - Don't ruin your Minibow by sticking a heating pad to the bottom of it, they make a mess when you pull them off. Get a 6 quart rubbermaid shoebox for a nursery instead. A small reptile heating pad should not melt it, just get a very small one - they're often marketed as a hermit crab heating pad and they're about 4" square.

7 - Keep asking anytime you have a question. An informed keeper = a happy and healthy gecko. Good Luck!

 

[gbhil]

I suppose a loose cricket is better than a loose roach

Wanted to comment on this a little more in depth. Any tropical roach used as a feeder is actually BETTER loose in your house than a cricket. Both have the potential to carry disease and other nasties, but the roach will not be able to reproduce in the dry conditions inside a home. Crickets OTOH will gladly use potted plants, moist areas of tile grout or sink caulking, fiberglass insulation, etc etc to lay eggs and make many lil babies in.

In your case though, you're better off with the tiny crickets for the gecko's sake.

 

[Kairi]

Thank you for the comment about the crowntail- that's Pan my resident show-off (well, one of them).

24 crickets in a 1/2 gallon critter keeper? That's a lot, but I suppose it won't be too hard. They are kinda tiny... hopefully they can find me more tiny ones

The crickets *did* jump around, but once I figured out how to catch them with the net, it wasn't too hard. They still creep me out a little though, I suppose I'll just have to get over that.

He's got a terra cotta pot that he sleeps behind. I can chip it and put it in there upside down though. Hubby rooted through some old fish stuff last night and we found a log decoration with a few hidey holes- Henry seems to like it. He climbs up over the entrance and sits with his tail dangling down. Perhaps not the best hidey place, but in such a small tank- for now it seems to work.

The heating pad has a cover on it, and so far it and the mini bow seem ok. I am going to check out mat today though that won't melt the tank. The pet store said they carry some.

Thanks again for answering all my questions. I know I'll have more, but I feel a little bit better prepared now

 

[gbhil]

Thank you for the comment about the crowntail- that's Pan my resident show-off (well, one of them).

24 crickets in a 1/2 gallon critter keeper? That's a lot, but I suppose it won't be too hard. They are kinda tiny... hopefully they can find me more tiny ones

The crickets *did* jump around, but once I figured out how to catch them with the net, it wasn't too hard. They still creep me out a little though, I suppose I'll just have to get over that.

He's got a terra cotta pot that he sleeps behind. I can chip it and put it in there upside down though. Hubby rooted through some old fish stuff last night and we found a log decoration with a few hidey holes- Henry seems to like it. He climbs up over the entrance and sits with his tail dangling down. Perhaps not the best hidey place, but in such a small tank- for now it seems to work.

The heating pad has a cover on it, and so far it and the mini bow seem ok. I am going to check out mat today though that won't melt the tank. The pet store said they carry some.

Thanks again for answering all my questions. I know I'll have more, but I feel a little bit better prepared now

Crickets - This might just be perfect for you - (Mods please excuse this link to a sales site...at least let it stay long enough for Kairi to read it )

50 Count Cricket Tube - C_Tube

50 crickets any size, to your door for 6 bucks. Tailor made for one gecko. And will do just fine in a little kritter keeper...they need to be crowded enough to be touching each other when they nest.

The aquarium log is probably just fine. IMO the only thing that really matters for baby geckos in a hide is that they can find somewhere that their belly and back are both in contact with something. In a month or so you can move him to a home with sand/sandy soil mix so he can dig under his log and make it exactly how he wants it. Be sure to get some advice then, lot's of tricks to a home the gecko AND your wallet will both like

You really seem to enjoy your little guy. Now would be a perfect time to let the neighborhood kids know you would be happy to get 2 or 3 more just like him/her. Not sure of the laws in your area, check first to be 100% sure you won't get yourself or them in trouble first though. you could end up with a very nice breeding trio of them this way.

 

[fickle]

once you get used to catching crix it really gets easier to feed your gecko less hassel but it will take a while and good luck with the lil guy

 

[Kairi]

I do like the little fella... I have a tendency to spoil my pets... fish, dogs, cat... geckos. Can't help it. I give them the best life I possibly can (just ask the bettas in the 5 gallon tanks- haha)

He LOVES the log, hides in there quite a bit. He'll come out, look around, crawl through his water dish (which I emptied but for maybe a tablespoon of water. Hubby likes how it makes the tank look.) and go back into the log to hide some more.

Question: I found a reptile mat that is made for plastic critter keepers. The people at the pet store said it would be ok if I stuck it to the side of his tank where the water bowl wasn't... so I did, but so far, I don't see any variation in tank temp.... how exactly do they work? will it need to be regulated (temperature wise?) How warm is too warm? Can I get it off the tank when he gets into a larger tank?

My mom's helping with his "big boy" set up (as in getting me a gift card for what i need)... so I'll be asking soon what to get so I can start figuring out how much it'll cost and stuff.

Don't they make cricket catchers? That would be SO handy. I have gotten pretty good at catching them once they get on the wall behind little Henry though haha

**edit** I checked the fish and wildlife site for Arizona... it's legal to keep them here that was the FIRST thing I checked.

 

[gbhil]

RE Heat mat -
In this case it would be much better for it to be under the tank. You can probably pull it off, and hopefully it will still be sticky. Lay a thermometer right on top of where the heat mat is, and if it gets over 95 you'll have to use a light dimmer to tone it down a bit. The 95 is my suggestion, some folks like it higher, some lower, but I don't like anything to be hotter than 95 if it's going to touch the gecko. You can buy a specially made rheostat for heat mats, or make one yourself from parts at Home Depot or even Wallymart. But chances are it's not going to get that hot. With it nice and warm your gecko can regulate how hot he wants to be by moving closer or further from the heat. Put his log right over it and he will use the height inside the log to thermoregulate I'll bet. With it on the side, he can't get right up on it if he wants to. If you're really concerned, buy a thermostat with a remote probe (ZooMed makes one) that you can also use in his permanent home when you move him.

RE Crickets -
What I do so I don't have to grab uneaten crickets out of the tank is to only feed 2 at a time. Check after 10-15 minutes or so and if they're gone add 2 more. You'll soon learn how many he/she will eat each night. Another trick is to pinch the crickets back legs at the knee. This makes the back leg drop right off, and they can no longer jump. As a plus, my bettas love the thick part of a small cricket leg lol.

And yes, they do make a cricket catch tube. it's a long narrow tube that crickets will climb in if they get close to it. You then remove the tube filled with crickets. They even make a special kritter keeper with catch tubes built into the lid for catching crickets.

 

[Kairi]

how clever.

now, can i stick the heating mat under the tank? it's raised about 2" off the surface it's sitting on by a decorative thingy... it can get airflow and all that jazz, and i won't have to worry about it discoloring my delightfully cheap TV stand.

i want one of those cricket catchers! i'm going to look tonight for one. i found a place that sells pinhead crickets (yay!) for only a penny more than the small cricket's i had bought by my house (it's quite a drive, but i am going to be up that way anyway)

 

[gbhil]

Stick it right to the bottom of the tank. I've got a few minibow 2.5s and a few 5's here, so I know what you mean about the decorative pedestal. that will work nicely for airflow under the pad to keep it from burning the stand.

I still swear by my DIY cricket catch tube.....cardboard tube that toilet paper comes on...but I'm a miserly old b*stard lol

 

[Kairi]

yeah I tried that tonight and lost about half a dozen of the little boogers. my dog had fun chasing them.

I'm sure I'll get it worked out eventually

 

[Kelentari]

Congrats on your new little baby! He/she is freakin adorable!! :biggrin:

Onto the cricket subject (here's my two cents)......

I just grab the buggers one at a time with a pair of tongs I bought at the petstore. That way I can control the amount inside the enclosure and more closely monitor the amount of crickets my leos eat. At first I was aiming for grabbing back legs but that took FOREVER, plus I ran into troubles with legs breaking off, thus causing too many ecapees and unplanned releases into enclosures (some of my gecko kids are a little slow on the draw). I then discovered that I could pinch the crickets' dumb little bodies with the tongs without killing them, which was what I was afraid of at first. Maybe you could look into that route for your cricket feeding? Anyway, I would be lost without my tongs! I actually have two sets--one for feeding and one for picking up poo. It sounds like you're doing great with Henry! Good luck working out a smooth feeding ritual--you'll get there!

 

[Kairi]

tongs? I haven't ever seen those at a pet store, but I will look! We're taking the dogs up to Petsmart tomorrow... so I'll see if they have some.