Are my Leopard Geckos overweight?

Rose23

Rose23

New member
Hi,
I've had two female leopard geckos for a year and four months now. I got them from PetSmart and they didn't know their age. They were the biggest ones they had and have grown slightly longer since I got them. My guess is that they are at least 2-3 years old now. Olive is 70 grams currently on 3/16/2018 she was 54 g. Ren is 81 g currenly and on 3/16/2018 she was 66 g. Are these current weights unhealthy (70g,81g)? They both live together in a 20 gallon long tank with everything they need. They have a hot, cool, and an extra hide if they want to get some space away from eachother in the center. This doubles as thir moist hide when they shed. I feed them a staple diet of crickets every 3/4 days alternating between dusting with calcium with D3, plain calcium, and their multivitamin. Ex: Monday- Calcium D3, Friday- Calcium, Tuesday- Vitiamin. I put about 10-15 crickets in per feeding. They also have a small dish of plain calcium available to them at all times. It is not with D3. They were originaly fed every other day but I was under the impression they were younger until one month ago when I realized and started this new feeding schedule.
Any help or imput is appriciated! This is my first post so hopfully it is in the right place. I can attach pictures of the geckos if needed.
Thank you!
 
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Rose23

Rose23

New member
No problem. I’m feeding them a stable diet of live crickets. I dust them with calcium with d3, plain calcium, and a vitamin. I alternate between the 3 each feeding. I talked more about it in my original post. Do they look overweight to you?
 
Seth9999

Seth9999

New member
Hello, I'd say they look healthy. Id Try knot get them any bigger. I have male and female. Cecil and Cleo. Cecil is about 115 grams . He grew and grew then stopped and has held his weight right there. He looks healthy to me . He likes he's bed time snacks. Cleo is about 65 grames. Good luck.
 
S

Sg612

Member
Rose23 said:
Olive (70g):
View attachment 46819
View attachment 46820
Ren (81g):
View attachment 46821
View attachment 46822
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Hello rose23,

Ideally you want to see a slimmer waist line. Most of the fat should be in the tail. Unless they are holding eggs?

It may be heat related because 20gallon long is only enough space for one Leo. You don’t want them to have to share a warm area. Each Leo should have their own hides in each temperature zone and you can not fit 6 hides in that amount of space. It would be in their best interest to house them separately.
 
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Rose23

Rose23

New member
Sg612 said:
Hello rose23,

Ideally you want to see a slimmer waist line. Most of the fat should be in the tail. Unless they are holding eggs?

It may be heat related because 20gallon long is only enough space for one Leo. You don’t want them to have to share a warm area. Each Leo should have their own hides in each temperature zone and you can not fit 6 hides in that amount of space. It would be in their best interest to house them separately.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. I took them to the vets regarding their weight 5 months ago and they confinrrmed that they did not have any eggs. Unfortunately for now they have to share the 20 gallon but their hot hide is large enough that they are not on top of eachother or fighting for it. They have enough space to curl up on either side of the hide and still have access to the heat without crowding eachother. I wish I could house them separate but that is not an option at the moment :?
 
S

Sg612

Member
Rose23 said:
Thank you for the reply. I took them to the vets regarding their weight 5 months ago and they confinrrmed that they did not have any eggs. Unfortunately for now they have to share the 20 gallon but their hot hide is large enough that they are not on top of eachother or fighting for it. They have enough space to curl up on either side of the hide and still have access to the heat without crowding eachother. I wish I could house them separate but that is not an option at the moment :?
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Is the heat mat controlled by a thermostat? If so what it the temp over the UTH? Where do they spend most of their time?
 
Rose23

Rose23

New member
Sg612 said:
Is the heat mat controlled by a thermostat? If so what it the temp over the UTH? Where do they spend most of their time?
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Yeah it’s controlled and kept at 88-93 degrees fahrenheit. They spend the majority of their time in their hot hide together. Though they do sometimes explore around their tank at night.
 
S

Sg612

Member
Rose23 said:
Yeah it’s controlled and kept at 88-93 degrees fahrenheit. They spend the majority of their time in their hot hide together. Though they do sometimes explore around their tank at night.
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A whole 5 degrees, 🤔 What type of thermostat(brand)? What do you set it to?
 
Rose23

Rose23

New member
Sg612 said:
A whole 5 degrees, �� What type of thermostat(brand)? What do you set it to?
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It’s a Century Digital Heat May Thermostat. I set it to 88 degrees. It typically stays at around that maybe one degree more or less. It rarely fluctuates the whole 5 degrees.
 
S

Sg612

Member
Rose23 said:
It’s a Century Digital Heat May Thermostat. I set it to 88 degrees. It typically stays at around that maybe one degree more or less. It rarely fluctuates the whole 5 degrees.
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Have you ever tried setting the temp up any higher? Some Leos like the ground warmer than other and so you have to play around a bit to see what works for them individually. Another reason to house separately. Under heating is detrimental to their health, so perhaps raising it a bit may be a good idea. Increase it to 90f and just observe for a few days. If you notice they avoid the area, then you know it’s too hot and will have to decrease it again.
 
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Rose23

Rose23

New member
Sg612 said:
Have you ever tried setting the temp up any higher? Some Leo like it higher than other and so you have to play around a bit to see what works for them individually. Another reason to house separately. Under heating is detrimental for their health so perhaps trying to raise it a bit may be a good idea. Increase it to 90f and just observe for a few days. If you noticed they avoid the area, then you know it’s too hot and will have to decrease it again.
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I’ll give that a try! Thank you so much. I’m looking into separating them I started another thread in the husbandry section. I’ve got an extra 20 gallon long tank but it used to house hamster so it’s been in contact with rodent cage cleaner. Is there any way to clean it to make it safer for reptiles?
 
S

Sg612

Member
Rose23 said:
I’ll give that a try! Thank you so much. I’m looking into separating them I started another thread in the husbandry section. I’ve got an extra 20 gallon long tank but it used to house hamster so it’s been in contact with rodent cage cleaner. Is there any way to clean it to make it safer for reptiles?
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Name of the rodent cage cleaner?
 
Rose23

Rose23

New member
Sg612 said:
I would just spray the tank down completely with hydrogen peroxide 6%. Let it sit for an hour(to be on the safe side since I don’t know your room temp) and then rinse it thoroughly with water.
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Okay, thank you so much for the help! The hydrogen peroxide is safe to use, I wouldn’t have thought of that. I was also wondering what your opinion is on having a UVB light. I currently use one but if I seperate them I don’t think I’ll have the space for another lamp and bulb for the second set up.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Rose23 said:
Okay, thank you so much for the help! The hydrogen peroxide is safe to use, I wouldn’t have thought of that. I was also wondering what your opinion is on having a UVB light. I currently use one but if I seperate them I don’t think I’ll have the space for another lamp and bulb for the second set up.
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I feed them a staple diet of crickets every 3/4 days alternating between dusting with calcium with D3, plain calcium, and their multivitamin. Ex: Monday- Calcium D3, Friday- Calcium, Tuesday- Vitiamin. I put about 10-15 crickets in per feeding. They also have a small dish of plain calcium available to them at all times. It is not with D3.
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Hi Rose ~

When using UVB I think leos need 36 x 18 x 12 inch long enclosures minimum and plenty of hides to dodge UVB rays if necessary. Even when using UVB, veterinarian Fran Baines (lighting guru, too) recommends 1 backup dose of D3 calcium per month.

Which brand UVB bulb are you using now? Are your leos taking advantage of the UVB rays?

Your 2nd leo will be fine without UVB. She will enjoy a 20 long by herself.

May I ask which supplements you use: brand, name, & frequency? They are all different. Your leos may benefit from a slightly different schedule.
 
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