LindsayMayer
New member
I've had my leo, Randall, for about six months now, and I must say he's come a long way. From being extremely skittish, skinny and on a diet of mealworms. He was housed on sand, had no UTH, and no water dish or no moist hide. His heat came from overhead lamps and was nowhere near the right temperature. He came with a 20 gallon tall tank, which I have yet to upgrade tot a 20 gallon long. I ended up investing about $150 in new housing and equipment for him, in addition to the $70 I paid. There were mealworms burrowed into the sand... ew!!! It was disgusting. Here are a few pictures of him when I first got him. I could barely pick him up without him trying to dart away, frightened. The only time I handled him for a while was to help him shed by giving him warm baths. As you can see he was in deep shed when I first got him. He was even too lethargic to hunt when I first got him, so I had to hand feed him. I got all the help I needed for being a gecko mom from this forum 
Now, six months later, Randall is active, happy and much more relaxed. He's still not super social in the way that he doesn't like to be stroked or petted, but I can pick him up and he will sit on my legs or shoulders or climb my shirt, and once in a while if the weather is nice we'll go out and sit in the sun for a little while together. He's really a great little gecko, really curious, and an enthusiastic feeder.
Here are a few pictures from today.
You can see a huge difference in just his tail alone. He's going to be about 3 this August, which makes him on the small side. My main question is, should I fatten him up a bit? His body isn't really that plump. Since his growth was probably stunted from malnutrition, is it anything to worry about? Or will he always be this small? I'm feeding him 10-12 crickets every other day, and dust them with a calcium supplement every other feeding. Thanks!
Now, six months later, Randall is active, happy and much more relaxed. He's still not super social in the way that he doesn't like to be stroked or petted, but I can pick him up and he will sit on my legs or shoulders or climb my shirt, and once in a while if the weather is nice we'll go out and sit in the sun for a little while together. He's really a great little gecko, really curious, and an enthusiastic feeder.
Here are a few pictures from today.
You can see a huge difference in just his tail alone. He's going to be about 3 this August, which makes him on the small side. My main question is, should I fatten him up a bit? His body isn't really that plump. Since his growth was probably stunted from malnutrition, is it anything to worry about? Or will he always be this small? I'm feeding him 10-12 crickets every other day, and dust them with a calcium supplement every other feeding. Thanks!