Leopard Gecko Basic questions

vbrink

New member
I've recently purchased a new Leopard gecko, Wizard...more fondly called Wizzy by myself and others haha. I've been feeding him live meal worms that I've fed carrots and he eats em up. He seems to eat a lot from what I've read...he looks to be about 4 to 5 months old. He eats about 20 before he isn't interested anymore, and i'm wondering if this is a problem?

Also, he does not use his moist hide at all. I haven't seen him go in it once. Is there a reason for this?

Little devil has also bitten be twice, so hopefully my routine placing my hand in for 5 minutes everyday will get him used to me. Any suggestions on getting him accustomed to being handled. I've yet to try handling him besides moving him to clean his tank.

Thanks a bunch! any other input would be appreciated!



General Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: Wizard
Morph: Normal
Gender: not sure
Age: estimated at 5 months
Weight: dont know
Total length: 5 inches
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: 5 inches
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Petsmart
Captive bred or wild caught: Captive

Vivarium
Enclosure dimensions (length x width x heighth): normal 10 gallon size tank
Cage (type, size): glass tank
Substrate provided: paper towels
Types of hiding places provided: 1 moist hide on the cool side, a small plastic container, and one wood log on the warm side ofthe tank, there is also a piece of driftwood with a hiding spot under it in the middle of the tank
Is there a humidity hide? location? moist hid on cool side
Please describe any other furnishings: i have 1 fake plant on the cool side, some sticks and rocks for him/her to climb on and a piece of drift wood
List recent changes in the environment, if any: none...have had Wizzy for 2 weeks almost 3

Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s): only use a 40 watt fluorescent bulb at night to see him
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: 1 foot from window

Heating
Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? yes
What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarim type, other): i use the zoo med humidity and temperature gauge that velcros onto the side of the tank
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: during the day it is approximately 90 to 95, and and at night it is between 75 and 80
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: between 70 and 85
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: between 70 and 85
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, ceramic heat emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): Under the tank heaters, I use a rheostat to regulate how hot it gets
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): sticky feet used
Are you using a thermostat(s)?: I use a rheo stat
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? usually the half log on the warm side
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? yes and to about 70 or 75 degrees

Humidity
Is the humidity measured? yea
Humidity range: between 20 and 40 percent

Diet
Insects and worms, list type: live mealworms
Regular diet fed to the insects and worms: carrots, bananas, or potatoes
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? carrots
How often do you feed your gecko? every night
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? only calcium with d3
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both? Repti Calcium® with D3
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? yes
Multivitamins (include brand name)? none
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:

General Health
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: not sick
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? normal, becoming more active during the day, possibly due to getting better acclimated to the tank
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? normal.. eats alot though
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): a little bit gained, was kinda thin when I got it anyway
Discharge from the eyes or nose: no
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings: no
Urates
---white or yellowish: white?
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: i don't know
Abnormal skin color or shedding: no
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: no
Weakness: no

Previous problems and/or illnesses:

Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household
List other animals that are kept in the same cage: none
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): none
Are any of your other pets ill? no
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? only calcium with d3
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both? Repti Calcium® with D3
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? yes

Are you keeping Zoo Med's Repti-Calcium with D3 in the tank 24/7? If so please remove it right away, due to the potential of overdosage.

Have you been dusting with D3 at every feeding? Best to lightly dust the prey 2x per week.

Mealworms are not a good staple food at all. Too much chitin. Best to feed variety.

Gutloading the Feeders versus Feeding the Feeders 24/7
The term gutloading causes some confusion. Feed your feeders a nutritious regular diet all the time to build strong feeder bodies. Then only feed a special GUTLOAD product to the crickets, for example, 1-2 days prior to feeding the crickets to your geckos. T-REX Calcium Plus Cricket Food is a good gutload food. Top off the crickets by lightly dusting with a multivitamin containing D3/vitamin A acetate and phosphorus-free calcium with D3 no more than 2x weekly total.


http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-feeding-issues/68574-cricket-guidelines.html

In addition, click on the Leopard Gecko Caresheet linked right below in my signature for a huge amount of information pertinent to leopard gecko husbandry.
 
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vbrink

New member
Thanks,

Ive been keeping the D3 in there, but I have removed it. I usually dusted them at every feed but 2 time a week does make more sense.

As for the prospect of crickets, I haven't been able to acquire them, but once I settle into my summer job and living space I will hopefully add them it Wizard's diet.

Thank's for the assistance, it is much appreciated. Any other advice would be great.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
You are welcome :)

A few more details:

Types of hiding places provided: 1 moist hide on the cool side, a small plastic container, and one wood log on the warm side ofthe tank, there is also a piece of driftwood with a hiding spot under it in the middle of the tank
Is there a humidity hide? location? moist hid on cool side
Please describe any other furnishings: i have 1 fake plant on the cool side, some sticks and rocks for him/her to climb on and a piece of drift wood
List recent changes in the environment, if any: none...have had Wizzy for 2 weeks almost 3

Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s): only use a 40 watt fluorescent bulb at night to see him
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: 1 foot from window

How about relocating the moist hide to the warm end of the tank? Actually the warm moist hide and the warm dry hide should both be on the warm end of the tank.

Is your tank susceptible to overheating from direct rays of the sun?
 

cricket4u

New member
Any other advice would be great.

Hi,

Just because you asked and obviously really care I will.:)Do your gecko and yourself a huge favor, buy a longer enclosure of at least 30 inches long. It's just too small for a healthy temp gradient. A 10 gallon is what I call the pet store disaster setup. This will save you from problems and stress in time. Temperatures are extremely important for a healthy gecko. You want to get as close as possible to this temperatures below.

88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the UTH on 24/7. Can turn off overhead heating at night.


A rheostat is no good for a UTH. The temps will increase when the ambient temps raise and it will not shut off the UTH like a thermostat will. So you can use it for an over head heating bulb, but trust me, buy an actual thermostat for the UTH.

I also wanted to inform you that your gecko needs a multivitamin supplement at least sparingly which includes Vitamin A acetate such as Reptivite. Buy it without d3, since you already have a calcium with d3. I suggest that you focus on gut loading and use the MVI a lot less than the bottle recommends.

Good luck with your leo!:)
 
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Berndt

New member
Well you got a messy situation out there..i think for every species it is quite difficult to adjust to the environment. Give him some time and he will definitely improve. Just be patient.
 
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Muffins94

New member
One thing I would definitely suggest is ditching that Velcro thermometer. You an use it for humidity still but a digital thermometer with a probe at the end is a must! You put the probe over the under tank heater and substrate you're using, preferably in the warm dry hide. These geckos need belly heat so you need to monitor that the most. Zoo Med makes one, it is yellow with a white cable and probe, that's what I use. Anything like that will work. Those cheap-o stick on thermometers can be very very off. I had one temporarily when I first got my gecko and the temps were about 15 degrees off. Also a thermostat will help you set the UTH to a specific temp to avoid over heating. Set it between 88-90 I would say, then pair the bulb with the rheostat. It may seem like a lot, but the initial set up is the expensive part. Otherwise geckos are very easy to care for. But you must give them all their needs, they deserve it. As for handling, patience is the key. You seem to be doing the right thing, by putting in your hand. Also try hand feeding, that helps build trust. Good luck! :)
 
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