New gecko with a black tummy? (PICTURE)

[MercyM]

I just got this gecko today. I've attempted to feed it mealworms, and it wouldn't eat them even when I left in case it was a shy eater. I got this gecko(it's a little bitty baby) from petco(I know not the most reliable place but it's the only place that had them around me) and they also fed it mealworms NO crickets. I moved the repti-carpet thing a little so I could see its underneath to see if it was a boy or a girl. And I noticed it had a black tummy. Could this be an obstruction? I don't have a heatmat currently so it couldn't be a burn from that(petco doesn't use them either)

 

[Allee Toler]

Okay, many things I'm seeing here.

1. Get a UTH.
2. Leave the gecko alone and let him/her settle in before feeding. You said you just got it. It's not comfortable enough to eat yet. Give it time. Do not touch the gecko. Do not walk up and stare at it. Leave it alone and adjust to it's new environment.
3. Reptile carpet can house bacteria. Paper towels or slate tiles are recommended for sanitary purposes.
4. It's way too young to tell it's gender.
5. It's awfully skinny, so the added stress of you moving it around and checking it out isn't helping it any.
6. Thermometers belong on the floor where the heat is to read the floor temps. Digital thermometers are most accurate. Dials can be as much as 10 degrees off.
7. The big black smudge is it's liver. If it's fed a fatty diet, or not fed enough, it will swell up. The little black dot is it's kidney.
8. Make sure you keep your Petco receipt. They have a 15 day guarantee.

Further information is also needed, so I'll include it. Do you have any supplements for the little one? Calcium without D3, Calcium with D3, and a Multivitamin. Rep-Cal is my preferred brand, phosphorus free. Calcium without D3 placed in a calcium dish in the tank 24/7. The other two are used to dust the feeders. Rep-Cal suggests mixing it's brand's calcium w/d3 and multivitamin 50/50 and used every other feeding.

Do you have three hides? A humid hide (tupperware with moss, or wet paper towel, placed on the warm side), a warm hide, and a cool hide.

What are your temps? What are you using to heat the enclosure? How BIG is the enclosure? 90-95F on one side (warm side) and 70s on the other (cool side). 10gal long MINIMAL. 20long is ideal for a full grown adult.

 

[MercyM]

Okay, many things I'm seeing here.

1. Get a UTH.
2. Leave the gecko alone and let him/her settle in before feeding. You said you just got it. It's not comfortable enough to eat yet. Give it time. Do not touch the gecko. Do not walk up and stare at it. Leave it alone and adjust to it's new environment.
3. Reptile carpet can house bacteria. Paper towels or slate tiles are recommended for sanitary purposes.
4. It's way too young to tell it's gender.
5. It's awfully skinny, so the added stress of you moving it around and checking it out isn't helping it any.
6. Thermometers belong on the floor where the heat is to read the floor temps. Digital thermometers are most accurate. Dials can be as much as 10 degrees off.
7. The big black smudge is it's liver. If it's fed a fatty diet, or not fed enough, it will swell up. The little black dot is it's kidney.
8. Make sure you keep your Petco receipt. They have a 15 day guarantee.

Further information is also needed, so I'll include it. Do you have any supplements for the little one? Calcium without D3, Calcium with D3, and a Multivitamin. Rep-Cal is my preferred brand, phosphorus free. Calcium without D3 placed in a calcium dish in the tank 24/7. The other two are used to dust the feeders. Rep-Cal suggests mixing it's brand's calcium w/d3 and multivitamin 50/50 and used every other feeding.

Do you have three hides? A humid hide (tupperware with moss, or wet paper towel, placed on the warm side), a warm hide, and a cool hide.

What are your temps? What are you using to heat the enclosure? How BIG is the enclosure? 90-95F on one side (warm side) and 70s on the other (cool side). 10gal long MINIMAL. 20long is ideal for a full grown adult.

Okay. I got a uth but the one I got wouldn't turn on.
I have left it alone.
I know it can it's just what came with the tank the tank I have isn't permanent
I know it's skinny. This is the first day I've had it. I can't help that it's so skinny
I know that too yet again it's just what the tank came with
I am keeping it

It has calcium and calcium with d3. It has a multivitamin. The tank temp is 85 during the day and 75 at night the tank is ten gallons it has 2.hides I'm getting another tomorrow I don't have a humid hide yet

 

[Allee Toler]

You stated in another post you felt you knew enough to get a gecko and "I got everything for it, and spent most of my money." (http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...aris/53054-brand-new-leopard-gecko-owner.html), yet you didn't get any of the proper supplies and a complete set up prior to purchasing a gecko. When you went to purchase a gecko you picked out a skinny one. When I told you the proper supplies you gave the excuse "came with the tank".


Good luck with the gecko. I told you what you needed to do, the proper set up, proper supplies needed, and I can't further assist someone who doesn't want to hear constructive criticism on how to properly care for an animal.

 

[MercyM]

You stated in another post you felt you knew enough to get a gecko and "I got everything for it, and spent most of my money." (http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...aris/53054-brand-new-leopard-gecko-owner.html), yet you didn't get any of the proper supplies and a complete set up prior to purchasing a gecko. When you went to purchase a gecko you picked out a skinny one. When I told you the proper supplies you gave the excuse "came with the tank".


Good luck with the gecko. I told you what you needed to do, the proper set up, proper supplies needed, and I can't further assist someone who doesn't want to hear constructive criticism on how to properly care for an animal.

I thought I did know enough to get a gecko. I knew enough, but I didn't know the BEST. You can use repti-carpet, but its not the best idea. You can use dial thermometers, but they're not the best. I didn't pick out my gecko, it was the only one they had. And they wouldn't be getting another shipment in for 2-3 weeks. I got what I could, even though I knew some of it wouldn't suffice. Except the mealworms. I thought those would. I never said I didn't want to hear constructive criticism, I'm completely fine with it. But you assumed you knew every reason for why I got the things I did. The petco we have here sucks, and it'd be a week before I can get to an actual pet store not petco or petsmart.

 

[Allee Toler]

Sometimes hold out for a healthier animal is best. You never go in and settle on a pet. I don't go apartment hunting and settle on the first apartment I see just because it's available right when I need it. I may have to hold off and stay in a motel for a couple weeks until a better apartment is available.

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more
Reptile Supplies, Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates, Cages, Feeders, and More
- The Bean Farm
Reptile Basics - Top Quality Reptile Supplies and Caging

Those sites are your friends. If you're going to rely solely on your petco (I volunteer at a Petco, fyi. I go in two days a week and see this constantly) then you'll never provide what your gecko needs. I suppose you could reply on petco, alone... after you pay out the ass for the over priced items, listen to their crappy advice that are given to push sales on items too small, inaccurate, or unnecessary, that some managers tell their employees to do. Not the employees fault, that's the world of a franchise. Sales sales sales, even if it's at stake of the animal.

I was short with you because I'm fed up of people not joining a forum and I apologize (I hate when people use excuses, and "it came with it" is clearly an excuse, so is the "it's the only one they had and I didn't want to wait" crap), or looking for a professional prior to purchasing an animal. You've spent money already on things you're going to have to replace.

I suggest searching through these forums for information. You can learn a lot. And click through those links to find supplies cheaper than your pet store.

 

[MercyM]

Sometimes hold out for a healthier animal is best. You never go in and settle on a pet. I don't go apartment hunting and settle on the first apartment I see just because it's available right when I need it. I may have to hold off and stay in a motel for a couple weeks until a better apartment is available.

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more
Reptile Supplies, Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates, Cages, Feeders, and More
- The Bean Farm
Reptile Basics - Top Quality Reptile Supplies and Caging

Those sites are your friends. If you're going to rely solely on your petco (I volunteer at a Petco, fyi. I go in two days a week and see this constantly) then you'll never provide what your gecko needs. I suppose you could reply on petco, alone... after you pay out the ass for the over priced items, listen to their crappy advice that are given to push sales on items too small, inaccurate, or unnecessary, that some managers tell their employees to do. Not the employees fault, that's the world of a franchise. Sales sales sales, even if it's at stake of the animal.

I was short with you because I'm fed up of people not joining a forum and I apologize (I hate when people use excuses, and "it came with it" is clearly an excuse, so is the "it's the only one they had and I didn't want to wait" crap), or looking for a professional prior to purchasing an animal. You've spent money already on things you're going to have to replace.

I suggest searching through these forums for information. You can learn a lot. And click through those links to find supplies cheaper than your pet store.

I'm not allowed to order things off of the internet, I have to go to a store and see the product myself to get it. Which is why I settle. I live in a small suburb on the Illinois side of st.louis, MO. I have to go into the city just to get to a decent pet store. It doesn't bother me to replace things, it may bother you, but not me. I'm completely fine with it. I'd love to be able to order things that are of a better quality, but I'm 15 and so what my parents say, goes. And they say I can't order things.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Mercy ~

Just a bit of tweaking here. It is much easier to establish a thermal gradient (about 70ish on the cool side to 90F on the warm side) if you have a 15 or 20 gallon long tank. A 20 gallon long tank (30 inches long) will be good for your leopard gecko, and maybe even a pair, or two females, for life. At night you can turn off the lights/heat if the temps don't fall much below 70 F. If you use an UTH, you need ventilation under the tank. Alternatively, you could heat solely from above the tank.

Here's a link which may help you out: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...ntly-asked-questions-caresheet-info-plus.html

Stick with GU. We can probably get you set up. We like to recommend that all the calcium and vitamin supplements are one brand. I use the Rep-Cal brand too: pure calcium, calcium with D3, and Rep-Cal's herptivite.