New leo owner!

[GeckoManiac91]

Yes Steve, quarantining any new gecko is something I believe we can all agree on

 

[DrenneRvc]

Yes Steve, quarantining any new gecko is something I believe we can all agree on

Agreed, and I do wish I would have known that before hand. Bad move on my part for sure ! ;[

Should I still take from the main tank into a different one now then? Its 2 days he has been in with niklaus now, what you think?

 

[GeckoManiac91]

Agreed, and I do wish I would have known that before hand. Bad move on my part for sure ! ;[

Should I still take from the main tank into a different one now then? Its 2 days he has been in with niklaus now, what you think?

I personally would... Not sure if its too late and if any damage to have been would have been done already :? Ill let someone else answer that one!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Agreed, and I do wish I would have known that before hand. Bad move on my part for sure ! ;[

Should I still take from the main tank into a different one now then? Its 2 days he has been in with niklaus now, what you think?

Steve ~

I don't know the answer to the question whether quarantining is too late now after 2 days with Niklaus. You may wish to ask a vet. Better safe than sorry.

The quarantine advice is, and has been, right at the beginning of my Leopard Gecko Caresheet. There could be other vital details you may have missed. We cannot repeat the whole caresheet every time.

"PRELIMINARY ADVICE
(1) Quarantine Recommendations
Any new gecko should be quarantined for a minimum of 60 days prior to introducing her/him to the other geckos in the same cage. 60 days gives adequate time to check for parasites, cryptosporidia, and the beginnings of coccidia plus. 90 days is even better. 3-6 months of quarantine are recommended if your new gecko is imported or wild caught.

(2) Never keep two male leopard geckos together
A 36 x 18 x 12 inch long tank is recommended for one "normal" adult leo 9 inches total length. Giant morphs NOT included.

(3) Best to Keep Leopard Geckos Alone
Leopard geckos are solitary creatures. They do not benefit from either a mate of the opposite sex or a "friend" of the same sex.

This photo shows the grave condition of a female leopard gecko the morning after the pair had been introduced for breeding. The breeder assumed that this male-female pair would get along. Clearly this wasn't the case.

Caution: graphic photos!
Housing 2 geckos together: Agressive behaviour, badly injured female, pictures

(4) Sexing Leopard Geckos
Sexing Leopard Geckos

(5) Posting Photos/Links...Embedding Photos/Links on GU
You can sign up for a free photobucket.com account, upload your pictures there. Grab the link they provide you for your pictures, and when posting on GU click on "insert image", which pastes the link.

vBulletin FAQ

(6)
Herp Vet Link
Herp Vet Connection

LocalVets.com -- just type in your zip code
Find a Veterinarian - Local Vets and Veterinary Clinics, Vet Services

Canadian Vets
Canadian Reptile Veterinarian listing (lizard, snake, turtle, tortoise, frog, salamander, amphibian)"

All links quoted here are "active" if you click on the actual caresheet linked below in my signature

 

[Conched]

The benefits of quarantining animals should be fairly evident. It is one of those things where a little bit of preventative measures can save allot of heart break down the road. A reptile skirmish might only last for a few seconds. The damage can be severe. The effects of intimidation are difficult to quantify but lets just say that without 24 hour observation and data collection there is no good way to measure this without allot of time and energy and the unknown side effects are not worth the risk. I could have typed a page or two here but I don't want to highjack the thread.

I am going to start a new post in housing about my observations about reptile growth rates and how that ties back to housing.

Congrats on the purchase. Be sure to post some pics !!!

 

[Mardy]

100% agree on always quarantine new geckos. It's not too late, as some parasites are spread through feces. Best to still quarantine the new gecko, and observe for a period of 60 days to make sure everything is ok. A fecal exam will help determine if all is well within your collection. This is very helpful when you get a new gecko, that way you don't have to guess.

I'll stay away from the size debate as well (nice one Merissa lol). I'll just say that I support larger is better idea. Anybody who can and have the means to provide a larger enclosure should. However I don't subscribe to the notion that a gecko will not think about escaping if they are given 40+ gallon tanks with the perfect husbandry. Feel free to experiment by installing a rock wall decor that go up to the top of the terrarium, then leave the top off for just 1 night. I can almost guarantee the gecko will not be in the tank the next day. Leopard geckos function on some of the very basic instincts, and one of those instincts is to get out and explore, and be free.

I know some people that use those extra large exo-terra terrarriums, and those things are 36" tall. When given the means to allow them to climb that high, their leopard geckos will always climb to the very top. You can be sure that if the top was open, the geckos wouldn't hesitate to get out. So, larger is better, check, I agree. But I don't think people should feel bad if their geckos try to escape or attempt to swim up the glass. You can't train a leopard gecko to not want to escape by instinct, and this has little to do with how large the enclosure is, or how perfect the husbandry is setup.

 

[cricket4u]

100% agree on always quarantine new geckos. It's not too late, as some parasites are spread through feces. Best to still quarantine the new gecko, and observe for a period of 60 days to make sure everything is ok. A fecal exam will help determine if all is well within your collection. This is very helpful when you get a new gecko, that way you don't have to guess.

I'll stay away from the size debate as well (nice one Merissa lol). I'll just say that I support larger is better idea. Anybody who can and have the means to provide a larger enclosure should. However I don't subscribe to the notion that a gecko will not think about escaping if they are given 40+ gallon tanks with the perfect husbandry. Feel free to experiment by installing a rock wall decor that go up to the top of the terrarium, then leave the top off for just 1 night. I can almost guarantee the gecko will not be in the tank the next day. Leopard geckos function on some of the very basic instincts, and one of those instincts is to get out and explore, and be free.

I know some people that use those extra large exo-terra terrarriums, and those things are 36" tall. When given the means to allow them to climb that high, their leopard geckos will always climb to the very top. You can be sure that if the top was open, the geckos wouldn't hesitate to get out. So, larger is better, check, I agree. But I don't think people should feel bad if their geckos try to escape or attempt to swim up the glass. You can't train a leopard gecko to not want to escape by instinct, and this has little to do with how large the enclosure is, or how perfect the husbandry is setup.

Don't mock it, unless you've tried it. There's a difference between desperately trying to climb glass than if you have a climbable background,leave the top open and they're just wondering. I've been very inactive for a while due to health reasons, therefore I spend so much time observing their every move. You mentioned a 40 gallon which is smaller than my gecko's enclosure so I'm not sure if that makes a difference, however I would not have mentioned this if I had not personally noticed the difference.

When I first received them it was unexpected because they were rescues, therefore I used 40 gallons as their quarantine tanks. In the 40 gallon, at least I don't recall the behavior at all which was quite a few years ago. Now with their enclosures being much larger I never do. They appear very content.

 

[Mardy]

Oh no no I wasn't mocking it, was not meant to offend. The people I know with those exo-terra extra large tanks always have their geckos doing cliffhanger moves. Since those tanks are so tall, they had to remove those rock wall decor because their geckos always climbed up on top of them. The temperature gradient, hides, and food were always on the floor of those tanks. So those geckos got up there likely due to curiosity and their instinct to want to be free.

I admit I use 20 gallon tanks for mine, so there's no secret to what I view as a minimum acceptable enclosure size (my opinion). As a breeder I have to check on my geckos every day, so I see them a lot, and those tanks were setup that way so I would see my geckos. They remind me why I got into this hobby in the first place. I know you may be tired of me talking about the breeding season ;-) But it would appear the only time I see them attempt to climb the walls is during the breeding season, when the males are wanting to search for a mate. They rub their tail base all over the tank to spread extra scent, they rub them all over the glass walls and also try to climb up at the same time. The females surprisingly get very restless when they are a few days from laying. That's when I see them attempt to climb the glass, they pace back and forth, and they dig...and make quite a mess digging.

Here's one of those scenarios where I totally believe you that your geckos are very happy and content in the enclosures you provide for them. I have absolutely no doubt at all you provide A+ care. But at the same time I notice the same behavior you may view as geckos being unhappy, but they are simply males wanting to search for a mate, or females a few days from laying eggs. They all become a lot more mellow once the breeding season is over, where I don't observe further glass swimming behavior.

So I'm totally with ya, bigger is better

 

[cricket4u]

Well, I've had videos sent to me by people who were concerned about the glass climbing and the leos were of all ages and sex. Sometimes it was due to temperature (too warm) and once they made the correction, the gecko stopped. Other times we ruled out all the obvious issues and moving them to a larger enclosure stopped the behavior.

I've watched your You tube video and I noticed how close the enclosures are to one another. You know they have such a keen vomeronasal organ that there's a good chance they can pick up the females scent. I'm not saying it's a terrible thing, I just wasn't sure if you have ever thought of that. One thing I really do appreciate seeing is the cleanliness and how organized you keep them. It's quite refreshing. I've watched videos in the past that I could not bare to watch past a few seconds.

 

[Mardy]

Well, I've had videos sent to me by people who were concerned about the glass climbing and the leos were of all ages and sex. Sometimes it was due to temperature (too warm) and once they made the correction, the gecko stopped. Other times we ruled out all the obvious issues and moving them to a larger enclosure stopped the behavior.

I've watched your You tube video and I noticed how close the enclosures are to one another. You know they have such a keen vomeronasal organ that there's a good chance they can pick up the females scent. I'm not saying it's a terrible thing, I just wasn't sure if you have ever thought of that. One thing I really do appreciate seeing is the cleanliness and how organized you keep them. It's quite refreshing. I've watched videos in the past that I could not bare to watch past a few seconds.

Thanks! I try, I can't stand dirty living conditions. There are breeders out there that admit to only clean the enclosures when there are quite a bit of feces around. Myself, I can't stand seeing any feces so they're removed and cleaned very often.

And yes they most definitely do pickup the scent with the tanks that close. One interesting behavior I've noticed just this year is I had a female ovulate for a month, but I wasn't quite ready to introduce her to a male yet. During that month she was the one that was being restless, swimming up the glass, pacing back & forth. Then after I finally introduced a male to her, with a successful copulation, she stopped that behavior. It was as if she exhibit similar behavior when she was ready to breed; she wanted to find a male mate.

I thought that was interesting to see. I almost felt bad for making her wait.