milii pic... my 1st gecko!!

[purpleblockhead]

hi every1 this is my 1st gecko!! ms.houdini!! she got free within 20 minutes of picking her up and disapeared for 7 +hours, my daughter decided she wanted 2 hold her while i was payin 4 gas and poof she was gone!! i checked the car late last night after taking out all seats and carpet and she was just sittn on the seat!! thanks 2 every 1 who gave me advise especially elizabeth!! and thanks 2 marcia at golden gate geckos for selling me my 1st gecko!

more 2 come!!!! ill have 3 d.galeatus next week!! IM HOOKED!!!!!

 

[giglamesh]

very nice how old is she?

 

[purpleblockhead]

shes right around 8 months old and very tame, im shocked at how easy she is 2 hold i think im more scared than she is

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Nice to meet Ms. Houdini. Glad that her experiences during those 7+ hours lead to her capture!!!! That is totally cool, Darren.

You're welcome for the advice I could give in her absence. I do what I can for geckos .

What type of substrate did you decide upon?

Keep GU updated, please :banana:.

 

[purpleblockhead]

i ended up using jurassic sand mixxed with sifted moss, the exact same substrate that marcia used, i was going 2 use just a carpet but i seen that she had all of hers even the tiny tiny 1s on jurassic sand and she said that theyll be just fine on it, she said never mist when i feed and theyll be fine!! im still waiting for her 2 eat i put 3 dusted crickets in there and she hasnt touched them!

is there a easy way 2 make my heat pad adjustable?? i seen the zoo med adjusters online but i dont want 2 wait for shipping, i need 2 get my temp down like 6 degrees ASAP!! i had 2 put 3-4 inchs of sand in there 2 get it where its at

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi ~

I think it is a little too soon to worry about Ms. Houdini not eating, especially due to her post purchase escape experiences in your car :lol:.

What kind of Jurassic Sand is that? link? How does it check out under your 30x magnifier? Just curious.

So did you order the medium UTH instead of the large one? Maybe somebody else can advise you on the settings?

 

[Hilde]

You probably won't need 2 heat pads, milii don't like things much over the mid-80's. I keep the hot spot between 80-85, the rest is much cooler. Even though they're tropical geckos, they tend to hang out in cooler spots than we think.

Mine are on dry coco-fibre with a couple of humid hides - a warm and cool one. The heat cable is on a timer. In the winter it's on for 6 hours, spring and fall for 4, and in summer it's all room temperaure - summer heat even here in Canada is more than enough for them.

 

[purpleblockhead]

i bought the jurassic sand from a reptile pet store who said its pure quartz he had it in red and white i bought 3 pounds of each, im not sure the maker he had 50 pound bags in garbage cans and took mine from those, he garenteed me that its was the best sand 2 use and the only sand hes uses, he said most inpaction cases hes seen have been on lepord geckos and that milii's need 2 be on sand, im still worried but im puttn her food on top of her hide i flick the cricks untill there nocked out, my fingers are crossed!! ill keep you guys posted

 

[geckonamedspot]

is that an african fat tail???

 

[purpleblockhead]

she a nephrurus, underwodisaurus milii, i like her alot!! my 10 yo son just seen her for the 1st time and asked what does she do and my 8 yo daughter said she hides and sleeps, lol!!! poor kids want 2 play with her

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

For most of my geckos I use small feeding dishes. To keep the crickets from hopping out, I amputate their two back legs at the "knees". Crickets stay alive (for the motion attraction) yet the gecko does not have the chance of getting a mouthful of sand.

Thanks for the details on the sand. It might be Jerry Bergosh's. He is a geologist. Have only seen his sand in reddish orange.

i bought the jurassic sand from a reptile pet store who said its pure quartz he had it in red and white i bought 3 pounds of each, im not sure the maker he had 50 pound bags in garbage cans and took mine from those, he garenteed me that its was the best sand 2 use and the only sand hes uses, he said most inpaction cases hes seen have been on lepord geckos and that milii's need 2 be on sand, im still worried but im puttn her food on top of her hide i flick the cricks untill there nocked out, my fingers are crossed!! ill keep you guys posted

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Kid perspectives on geckos

Well, now it seems like your kids maybe need a leopard or a northern velvet to hold. But I'm not sure, because of your son's expectations. Not like a pet dog who can be trained to do tricks!

she a nephrurus, underwodisaurus milii, i like her alot!! my 10 yo son just seen her for the 1st time and asked what does she do and my 8 yo daughter said she hides and sleeps, lol!!! poor kids want 2 play with her

 

[starreys]

as long as the sand is very fine like play sand or the red reptile sand and its clean and free of chemicals or any other additives it should be fine , the sand if they take any in will pass through, a lot of the top breeders here in Oz keep theirs on sand. As for geckos being handled they are not really the type of reptile that likes being handled they can loose their tail.

 

[Hilde]

Next time save a lot of money and get play sand - the type sold for sand boxes. I find it at Home Depot or Toys-R-Us. I've kept milii on it from hatching and had no problem, but it's not a 'knee deep' layer, just about half an inch or so. They do seem happier with some dirt to kick around, but dont need a deep layer of it. The only reason I changed to coco fibre is that the flying sand scratched the acrylic tank, making it hard to see inside in some places. I do have a few juvies on sand in glass tanks, no problems at all. I know they can hunt the crickets on sand without a problem.

 

[purpleblockhead]

shes finaly eating!!!!!! THANK GOD!!!!!! she ate 4 lil crickets last night!! i was worried about her because she hadnt came out or ate in over a week, last night i checked on her at 3am and she was out moving around

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Darrren ~

Good to hear that Ms. Houdini has settled in! She must be acclimating to her new home.

 

[purpleblockhead]

elizabeth i was wrong!! i just gave her fresh water and all 4 crickets were hiding she still hasnt ate anything but she has used the bathroom so i guess thats a start, my fingers are crossed!!!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Darren ~

See the PM I sent earlier.

 

[diplodactyla]

my 1.1 milii made me wait more than two weeks to start eating :-( so don't worry, if the temperatures are ok she'll start eating like a pig ;-)

 

[Hilde]

Milii are not big eaters. Compared to something like leopards, milii hardly eat anything. Mine might eat a dozen crickets each per week, have full tails, not underweight at all. Considering how little they eat and yours has just been relocated, it could easily take a few weeks before you see any real appetite.