`Do I have a correct list of what my leopard gecko will need?

[Elizabeth Freer]

Try hand feeding 1-2 of the crickets or mealworms so that Flynn associates your hand with food.

 

[logan1234]

I hand fed him 3 crickets when I usually tong feed him. He only ate 3 crickets then he didn't seem interested. And also he put his leg in the water then put his face in the water when he was drinking it . Sometimes I get stressed when he wall climbs a little or something else that I haven't seem him normally do like put his face in the water (its the first time I seen him drink while I was there). I also sometimes worry that I'm doing something wrong on accident but its probably me being paranoid.

 

[amsdadtodd]

It's normal to be overly concerned, especially with your first leo. It sounds like you are on the right track and doing just fine. You're going to see all kinds of new behavior over the next few weeks, and the newness will really never stop, so I hope you will learn to relax a little with him. I believe they can sense some level of stress from us and it impacts how they are willing to interact.

Good luck!
Todd

 

[logan1234]

I am still learning, but I want to thank Elizabeth, jess, and todd + EVERYONE else who has helped me so far. Thanks a ton :lol: :yahoo:

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I am still learning, but I want to thank Elizabeth, jess, and todd + EVERYONE else who has helped me so far. Thanks a ton :lol: :yahoo:

Hopefully all of us will always be learning!

You're most welcome, Logan (and Flynn). You're doing a admirable job caring for your first leopard gecko. In addition, you ask thoughtful questions and accept our suggestions. :cheer: :banana: :cheer:

 

[logan1234]

I put my hand in the tank again for a little while yesterday, but he didn't seem like he wanted to go to my hand. He just looked at my hand for a bit, but he didn't walk to my hand.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I put my hand in the tank again for a little while yesterday, but he didn't seem like he wanted to go to my hand. He just looked at my hand for a bit, but he didn't walk to my hand.

Try offering him a cricket or mealworm at the same time so he begins to associate your hand with food.

 

[logan1234]

I finally got a video of him eating . I know it's not the best or anything, but I took it on my Ipod and I'm a little shaky. Also It might seem like I was mumbling sorry about that. At the start of the video I say something like,"I'm going to feed him 7 mealworms today". In the future if I get a better camera I'll post another video of him eating mealworms. (Crickets are too fast for me to record and feed at the same time, for I have to get on a chair to get to his tank, since it's on top of a high drawer.)

ALSO: If It seems like I don't have everything he needs in the tank, Don't worry. I took out the moist hide to spray it, I took out a buffalo skull hide so it wouldn't be in the way, I took out the water dish to refill it, and I took out a paper towel roll I put in there for him so it wouldn't be in the way.

I just took stuff out for the video and to refill/spray (water dish/moist hide).

 

[logan1234]

I put my hand in the tank today to see if he showed any more interest. He looked like he was going to bite me and I sorta chickened out for a second then I put my hand back in. After that he just turned his head from my hand after looking at it for a while. He stays in his warm hide a lot so it's hard to see what he is doing totally. I am gut loading crickets and 1 mealworm tonight like Elizabeth suggested so I can hand feed him 1 cricket and 1 mealworm. I might put my hand back in there later tonight with the lights off and see if he would show any change if he could see clearer in the dark.

 

[logan1234]

We may be getting more crickets today and we have a second tub for them. I'm going to clean it with dawn like before.

My question is would I have to let it sit and air dry any time before putting the crickets in the tub?

 

[JessJohnson87]

You don't have to let it air dry once you rinse it out, the crickets will drink all the water droplets from the sides and the floor. Just don't put any dry food in while it's still wet, the crickets do take the pellets out of the food bowl and scatter them around which could cause mold. With the handling, just keep trying. Mine looks like he wants to take a bite out of my finger sometimes and I just move my hand and then slowly put it closer to his mouth so he can lick my finger. Some are just more ornery than others.

 

[logan1234]

I dried it with a towel, so I should be okay with putting dry food in there. Hopefully they have more crickets today. If they don't it will be okay since he usually eats no more then 4 at a time and we have at most a dozen left. Later I'm going to try to see if I could handle him again.

I'm still deciding how we should clean the tank when it's time. I already know I'm going to put him in a little container I bought him in and I will take the hides out and rinse them with soapy dawn water. The thing I don't know how to do easy is cleaning the tank itself. The method that might work best is getting 2 spray bottles and fill one with dawn soap water and spray it lightly. Then use another full with water and spraying it down to get the soap water off then dry it with a towel. The tank doesn't look dirty yet, but whats the maximum time I should wait before cleaning the tank?

 

[JessJohnson87]

Most do a once a month deep clean and then spot cleanings in between.

 

[logan1234]

Would the cleaning method I said above work maybe? I'll probably clean his cage next time I'm at my dads. I feed him with tongs most of the time since he isn't that good of a hunter and misses when he strikes a lot of the time. Also, It's hard for me to catch them and cut off the backs of the crickets legs since they squirm around.

Instead of tong feeding him like I usually do, I hand fed him 4 crickets and 1 mealworm. (I just gutloaded 1 mealworm to feed it at the same time as the crickets like Elizabeth said a few posts up.)

 

[JessJohnson87]

It would work. It's a pain to clean those tanks out but that sounds like the easiest method.

I used to grab crickets by the leg with a pair of hemostats while they were in the container and pull the legs off that way

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Would the cleaning method I said above work maybe? I'll probably clean his cage next time I'm at my dads. I feed him with tongs most of the time since he isn't that good of a hunter and misses when he strikes a lot of the time. Also, It's hard for me to catch them and cut off the backs of the crickets legs since they squirm around.

Instead of tong feeding him like I usually do, I hand fed him 4 crickets and 1 mealworm. (I just gutloaded 1 mealworm to feed it at the same time as the crickets like Elizabeth said a few posts up.)

As long as Flynn stays healthy, spot cleanings should be fine.

Good job with the hand feeding!

 

[logan1234]

Does that mean as long as he stays healthy full cleanings aren't needed?

 

[JessJohnson87]

Yes. I have yet to do a full cleaning on my tank, I always take out the piece of tile he poops on and wash it very well with warm water and soap.

 

[logan1234]

I put paper towels for substrate and an extra lair for him so go to the bathroom on, so It turns out I don't need to do cleaning besides changing the paper towels. That is unless something gets dirty for some reason.

 

[logan1234]

I would of made another post about this but I don't want to clutter up the forums. Are reptile hammocks good for leopard geckos? It would give them the benefit of them exercising but I'm wondering if it will keep them too cold if they stay there. Or they could fall and get hurt. I read on another forum leopard geckos could use them but I wanted to check with my trusted people here. If they would be good I would probably put it on my colder side maybe above the water dish because if it was on the warm side he might be too close to the CHE.