Newbies got a few more questions...

[theturvs]

So all of your advice on my last posting is very much appreciated. :biggrin:

I've read like, fifty web pages, a lot of postings on here, and a few books, and now I just have a few more questions as I get my home set up for my leo.

For one, I understand that I need to gut-load my crickets, and then dust them in calcium before i feed. I've noticed some places also say to put a dish of calcium in the vivarium. Are both necessary, or is it a one or the other type of thing?? Also, if i put a calcium dish in the vivarium, how often does it need to be in there and how much do I give them?? Is it the same product that I am dusting the crickets with, or is it something entirely different??

For two, I've read a lot of different accounts on how to heat my leo. I've bought an under the tank heating pad that accounts for a little less than a third of the size of the tank, and have propped the tank up to allow air flow underneath with rubber feet. I've bought a Fluckers ceramic heat emitter (a standard light) to put over the cage, and the different accounts I've seen as far as what lightbulb to put in is staggering. I've read that a 40-60 watt red bulb is perfect for night and day, and I've also read that different light bulbs are good for night and day, and at this point in time, I have absolutely no idea what kind of lightbulb to put in this thing.

Last but not least, the horrid substrate conversation. lol. My plan is to use paper towels when my leo is young, and graduate to a clay/sand mixture. However, with my under the tank heating pad, they recommend not using paper towels soley because without a substrate, the floor may become too hot. Can I use a clay/sand base, and carefully cover with paper towels??

Thank you so much for all your help, guys.
-The Turvs :yahoo:

 

[Holly12]

So all of your advice on my last posting is very much appreciated. :biggrin:

I've read like, fifty web pages, a lot of postings on here, and a few books, and now I just have a few more questions as I get my home set up for my leo.

For one, I understand that I need to gut-load my crickets, and then dust them in calcium before i feed. I've noticed some places also say to put a dish of calcium in the vivarium. Are both necessary, or is it a one or the other type of thing?? Also, if i put a calcium dish in the vivarium, how often does it need to be in there and how much do I give them?? Is it the same product that I am dusting the crickets with, or is it something entirely different??

For two, I've read a lot of different accounts on how to heat my leo. I've bought an under the tank heating pad that accounts for a little less than a third of the size of the tank, and have propped the tank up to allow air flow underneath with rubber feet. I've bought a Fluckers ceramic heat emitter (a standard light) to put over the cage, and the different accounts I've seen as far as what lightbulb to put in is staggering. I've read that a 40-60 watt red bulb is perfect for night and day, and I've also read that different light bulbs are good for night and day, and at this point in time, I have absolutely no idea what kind of lightbulb to put in this thing.

Last but not least, the horrid substrate conversation. lol. My plan is to use paper towels when my leo is young, and graduate to a clay/sand mixture. However, with my under the tank heating pad, they recommend not using paper towels soley because without a substrate, the floor may become too hot. Can I use a clay/sand base, and carefully cover with paper towels??

Thank you so much for all your help, guys.
-The Turvs :yahoo:

Yes you should put in a calcium dish in the cage just incase that your leo wants to have some and dusting the food with the same calcium is okay and as far as lighting is a red bulb is great I have my girl on a red bulb for day and night and she does great with that and for your substrate papper towels are good you can use news papper or reptile carpet or tile all of the things I have said that will be okay for substrates are safe for your leo but the best substates to use is reptile carpet I use it for my girl and if you can help it I would not use any sand because they can become impacted very easy even when your leo is fully grown if your leo becomes impacted it is fatal to them your chance of your leo making it is down to zero so I hope I have help you in some way and good luck with your new leo.

 

[acpart]

Many people put a dish of calcium without D3 in the cage and dust the feeders with calcium with D3 so the leo gets some D3 but doesn't overdose on it.

There is a good chance that your UTH will keep the floor of the tank at the correct temperature with no need for overhead heating or lighting, especially if you use a thermostat to keep it from getting too hot. The thermostat will also keep the floor from getting too hot with paper towels. The alife or ESU thermostat is generally under $30 and very serviceable

The substrate debate is eternal. I have been happiest with ceramic tile which holds heat well, is easy to clean and, if you stay away from flamboyant colors, gives the enclosure a natural look

Aliza

 

[theturvs]

I got a lil guy...

And his name is SoCo!!
I found a local breeder with happy, healthy looking little hatchlings and I grabbed one up!!!
I've had him for just a few hours. I picked him up (gently) to get him from box to tank and he was not at all unhappy to be held. In fact, he seemed quite calm about the ordeal.
I put him in his new vivarium and he ran into his humid room (the closest thing) then proceeded to poke his head out for a few minutes until he felt comfortable, then cautiously explored his new home.
After a few hours, I dusted one small cricket and put it in his home, and he was ALL over it. His aim is horrible, but I held the cricket in my feeder tongs by the butt so it would wiggle, and he "stalked" it and ate it. ADORABLE. lol. I gave him three more tiny ones and he still kept looking at me like "we're having more, right, mom??" I cut him off after that. So now I have my questions...sorry, had to brag a bit first!!

Ok, for one, can I overfeed him?? Will he stop eating when he's no longer hungry, or should I stop feeding him after a certain number of crickets?? How many is too many? He's very small...his head is roughly the size of my thumbnail. I would bet no more than a month old.

For two, my hubby and I have different ideas of what his tank should be, temperature wise. Right now, I've got him at 90 on the warm side, 80 on the cold. He seems happy as can be, but my hubbys convinced the warm should only be up around 85 at most. He makes me feel like I'm cooking the little dude. Whose on the right track??

Last but not least, he was in a tank with two other leos, one that was ever so slightly larger than him and I think he was picked on a bit. Theres a spot on his tail that is missing skin. It looks like someone peeled off the top layer. Its very small, about the size of his eye. It doesnt seem to bug him at all, and hes otherwise %100 healthy. What should I be watching for it to do, and what, if any, meassures do i need to take on this subject??

Thanks so much!! I'll post pictures soon!:biggrin:

-Proud mama

 

[Allee Toler]

Since he's a baby, feed every day all he'll eat!! He's a growing boy! Sounds like he's a couple weeks old. =]

Your temps are great! I keep mine at 95-97F and 80-83F. I would never go below 90F, but there's plenty of keepers who do, and they're geckos are fine.

As for the scrape, that's a bite from another leo. Keep a CLOSE eye. If another encounter occurs, they need to be separated. If there's more than 1 male in a tank, they WILL fight.

If the cut doesn't stay clean and you're afraid of an infection starting, get Neosporin without the pain killer in it. A little bit on the tail for a week and it should do wonders.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

Since he's a baby, feed every day all he'll eat!! He's a growing boy! Sounds like he's a couple weeks old. =]

Your temps are great! I keep mine at 95-97F and 80-83F. I would never go below 90F, but there's plenty of keepers who do, and they're geckos are fine.

As for the scrape, that's a bite from another leo. Keep a CLOSE eye. If another encounter occurs, they need to be separated. If there's more than 1 male in a tank, they WILL fight.

If the cut doesn't stay clean and you're afraid of an infection starting, get Neosporin without the pain killer in it. A little bit on the tail for a week and it should do wonders.

I agree w/Allee, watch for infection.
When your leo sheds (probably once a week at this age), watch him and help out if shed skin gets stuck around the injury, as it is a common issue with healing abrasions. Your temps sound fine too. My leos have 90-95F on the warm side and 75 on the cool end.

 

[theturvs]

I actually only bought the one, he doesnt have anybody to pick on him anymore.
What would it look like if it turned into an infection?

Also, I have a water dish in the vivarium, which is all the way on the cool side or the vivarium. He doesnt seem to be finding it. Is a water dish important to him? Should I be putting him in front of it to introduce him to it? I mean, I'm not planning to take it away, but I dont want him to dehydrate either. And don't worry...its very shallow because Soco is still a lil dude.

I'm looking for one more opinion on the plan of feeding him as much as he'll eat...
I dont want to make him sick, but he seems like hes still looking for food!!! Yay or nay on dusting more crickets up for him??

 

[Allee Toler]

Give him more. He's still young.

Once he's almost full grown, you'll start limiting it to every other day what he'll eat in 20 minutes.

I have my water bowl on the warm side. If it's on the cool side, she won't drink. At all. She HATES the cool side. I never see her over there. Her warm side has a hammock, plants, humid hide, her strawberry shaped hide, climbing fence, etc. She doesn't need to leave it. She only goes over to the cool side to poo on the glass side. Lol. Literally poo's on the side. Big streak. It's nasty.

I keep it in the front corner of the warm side. The only down side to doing this, on the warm side that is, is that you need to replace the water more frequently. I do it in the morning and at night. The warm water can grow bacteria, or evaporate.

Infection is hard to explain. You'll know when you see it. If it scabs, leave it. Means it's healing.

 

[theturvs]

Ok, I'll be keeping an eye on it. Do their scabs look the same as our scabs?? How long should I give it to scab before I give up and start Neosporining??

So I tried feeding him a bit more, and he wasnt feeling it, so I gave up for tonight. I'll try him again tomorrow.

As for the water dish, I'm going to leave it for a few days I think, and if I dont see him over there at least once, I'll do a bit of a remodeling job.

Also, do you prefer to feed mealworms or crickets, and what do you feed the feed? I got the Flukers gutloading junk, and I'm pretty sure at this point I have more dead crickets than live ones. I'm thinking I'm going to grab some mealworms tomorrow, and some new crickets, but I feel like I need to feed them something else. Your thoughts???

 

[Palor]

I wouldn't worry to much about the water dish. I have only seen 2 of leos actually drinking. I know the others drink, I just never see it. If the dish is too high for him to drink comfortably, you can buy little slate tile rectangles and build up stairs to it. I get mine from Home Depot, 8 in a little pack for about $3.

For feeders I prefer turkistan roaches over crickets. They don't die easily, don't smell, are better healthier prey items and they don't make noise. Also try and feed him some Phoenix worms, they are the most nutritious feeder bug around. Some leos like them and some dont.

Enjoy you new pet

 

[cat_named_noodles]

I feel the more varied the diet the better. So far as keeping crix healthy-feed the Flukers stuff (you can also feed a mix of dog food, rabbit pellets, chicken feed, etc.) and provide water crystals or water pillows for hydration. Crickets will die without proper hydration. They will also die if the container they're in is too humid.
Mealworms are also good staple, though a little fattier. Make sure they aren't too big. Gut load them by putting them in wheat bran at room temperature for at least 24 hours before feeding. If you feed them within a couple weeks, usually they won't turn into beetles.
I also feed Turkistan Roaches. They are lower in fat than mealworms, yet are pretty fast for younger geckos. I feed mine in a dish, as they can't crawl out. The geckos love them.
I have seen Athena drinking from the water dish before too, and it's on the cool side.

 

[theturvs]

I'm pretty sure his water dish is accessible to him...Its pretty low to the ground and very shallow.

As far a Turkish Roaches and Phoenix worms, I'm going to get on it and give it a try, but I dont know if its going to happen. I have one pet store in the town I live in (a petsmart), and even their supply of crickets and mealworms is not so hot!!!

My hubby (an outdoorsman) pointed out the fact that the bait store sells some of the things I need, such as crickets and mealworms. He said I probably shouldnt buy mealworms their, since they tend to store the things they eat for longer, but that crickets tend to eat and excrete, so as long as I gutload for at least a day, when Soco is big enough to eat their crickets that might work. Do you think they would have Turkish Roaches and Phoenix worms? If not, does anybody have any ideas. I live in a small town called Adrian, MI.

What are your opinions on the difference in health of your crickets if you are feeding them flukers, or feeding them crystal water and lettuce and carrots?? I Think you are all right about me dehydrating the Crickets. I just gave em the flukers...I thought that was all I needed. Oops. Oh well, I'd rather accidentally kill the crickets than Soco!!
Last but not least, did I hurt Soco last night by (possibly) feeding him dehydrated crickets?? As I've said previuously, he has access to water at all times.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that this forum and you guys are all awesome. I could not have done it without your help. Thanks so much.

 

[Holly12]

How many times will a juvil shed thire skin? and could they be doing it at night when Iam not looking?

 

[theturvs]

thats a good question, and I'd love to know the answer on it, as well.
Anybody who has some idea what theyre doing have any input? lol.

 

[Allee Toler]

Try ordering the worms in bulk online, and start your own colony! It's cheaper than buying them constantly. And roaches are easy to breed, plus they produce live young.

As for the shedding, juvies shed when they grow. I remember GiGi shedding every 3 days or so during a growth spurt. Now it's once every other week or so since she's full grown. She'll shed twice in a week if she gets really fat because she'll run out of room to grow. Lol. Juvies, for the most part, shed once a week. They may shed at night when you're not looking, or when you're not home.

 

[theturvs]

I may have to look into ordering all the feed. The only thing I can find within an hours drive is meal worms. All the crickets I've come up with are way too big. When I bought the original ones, I was an hour away from here.
I went to pet supplies plus and they had boxes of crickets, and the ones small enough to feed SoCo were all dead. delicious.

 

[Allee Toler]

Google LLL Reptile

They're pretty well priced with feeders, and shipping is included in the price. =]

I go to my local store, but they're not very common.

 

[theturvs]

Thanks, I'll check that out.

 

[hyposhawn]

juvies will shed one - three times every 2 months.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

I bought 1,000 crickets from, hehe, ebay, over a month ago, and I still have hundreds of them left! I started a meal worm colony a couple months ago, as well as a B. lateralis (Turkistan Roaches) colony too. I haven't had to go to a store or order any feeders since then. Saves me ALOT of money! 1,000 crix for $18 (w/shipping) versus $0.12 each at my lps, and $0.10 each at PEtsmart!!! One problem though is they grow FAST, and soon I may have to give the extras away.
My lil' ones shed about 1x a week. Usually I'll see them dull for a day or two, then bright white, then back to "normal" (usually brighter than before they started shedding). It's a good idea to check and make sure none of the shed stuck anywhere too.