leo moist hide/ fertility question

[veronzi]

Hi! I have been the mom of a very happy leo for over a year. When we first got her I did not set up a moist hide right away. When I finally did she became very stressed so i removed it. Over time i realized that any time the humidity went above 30% in my tank she seemed stressed. We have never have problems shedding and i have never replaced the moist hide. So now my girl is 50 grams and has been slowing down alot in her eating. She has not lost weight, but over the last few weeks she only takes a cricket or 2 every few days. Sometimes a mealworm and will not touch a waxworm which were once her fave snack. She is on slate, temps are maintained, she has calcium, food is gut fed, yadda, yadda, yadda. So although i do not see eggs in her belly and she has not been with a male, could she be getting ready to lay eggs? I put a moist hide back in her tank j.i.c. , but once again i know she is not happy about it and humidity level went up to 60%.
We did recently get another baby girl leo but she is in a seperate tank and they cannot see each other? Is it possible she senses the new baby? I have handled my new girl and then handled the "old" lady without washing my hands...could she possibly smell her?
Sorry this is so long... I do appreciate any help I can get, thanks!

 

[lindsaydo]

Well you should have fully quarantined the new gecko, washing hands in between holding each of them, because if the baby has got anything, the adult is possible to have it too.
She may be ovulating, and leopard gecko's can lay eggs without being with a male, but they will be infertile.
If she has got eggs, she will need somewhere to lay them, like a damp box. It only has to be a tub that big, filled it with vermicullite. You would rather have eggs on the outside than eggs stuck on the inside - believe me.

Although I have said that, there could be many different things, like worms, heat problems etc

 

[veronzi]

Thanks for the info. I dont see any eggs but i will get the box with the vermiculite today j.i.c. Both of my leos have vet appts. to see whats up, but I want to go in there with some good advice from experienced pet owners. (Although my vet specializes in reptiles, I still prefer to educate myself first) . def. My bad for not washing hands in btwn. And the baby did have a runny stool today but that is the first time in a month that has happened.
I will be setting up a moist hide for my new leo, as she did have a bit of a problem with her toes on the last shed. Any suggestions? How moist should I keep it? With my other gecko every time the humidity goes past 30% she becomes lethargic , but I can already tell my new leos needs are very different, she even eats diferently. Thanks! :biggrin:

 

[lindsaydo]

You just get a tub, I use a normal plastic tub used for food, put in some kitchen paper and spray it everyday. Make sure they can get in and out of it. I use kitchen roll as one of my leo's ingested vermiculite and got impacted, but for laying eggs you need to used something loose as leopard gecko's like to dig.
If they get stuck shed on feet give them a shallow bath in warmish water, not too warm.
The only problem with your other leo not having a damp box is they don't just get stuck shed on their toes, they can have build ups all over their body and in their eyes, and if you're inexperienced you won't be able to tell very easily until it causes some problems.
If you don't bother giving your leo a damp hide, I would give her a bath once a week, just for 5 minutes, to condition and moisten the skin.
Oh yeh, I use that anti bacterial hand sanitizer gel in between handling my gecko's, and I always handle my male last, as his scent can be smelled by the females.

Hope this helps