Hi I just got a leopard gecko two days ago. I got him from a family that had him for 2 years and didn't want to take care of him anymore (I also got him last minute so I didn't have time to research anything, all my research was done yesterday). He came with a tank, hides, water bowl, heat pad, mealworms, and sand substrate (though I changed that because I read that it can be bad). My gecko hasn't eaten since I've had him, and though I suspect it's because his cage is too cold (I don't think the heat pad is big or warm enough for the tank I have, the warm side is only 70 degrees but I'm going to get a better one today), just want to make sure there isn't any other problems 1. What substrate are you using? The family I got him from was using sand (and used it for 2 years I think) but I switched it to paper towels 2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in? The tank is 30 in x 12 in x 12 in 3. What are your warm side temperatures? about 70 4. How are the temperatures measured? I have thermometers on the hot and cold side 5. What are you using as a heat source? I have a heat pad and heat lamp 6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperature? Besides turning off the lamp or pad, no 7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they? I have three: a rock on the warm side, a humid hide near the warm side, and a log/tree thing in the middle/cold side 8. What food have you offered? crickets, mealworms, and a waxworm but he hasn't take anything 9. How often do you offer food? I've offered him food everyday but like I said he hasn't taken anything. The family I got him from told me they fed him 10 crickets once a week and mealworms every day or every other day. 10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often? I have calcium dust but he hasn't eaten crickets yet to ingest it. I don't know if the family had been supplementing him. 11. How old is your leo? about 2 years 12. How long have you had your leo? Just two days 13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also. He seems bright and attentive, if I put my hand in the tank he'll investigate or climb on. He's fairly active, especially at night, but even during the day he'll move around his enclosure and climb on his hides. I've handled him and he's tame and active, moving around on my hands and looking around. I'm pretty sure the reason he hasn't eaten yet is because his tank is too cold and maybe also because of his new environment (the tank and hides are the same, but new home and new people). I just want to make sure there aren't any other problems or any other reason he hasn't eaten. What size heat pad should I get for a 30x12x12 tank? Also, his tail doesn't seem as fat as other leos I've seen, just wondering if this is a problem. Here's a picture of him Another thing, I noticed he has some left over skin from the last time he shed on his toes and a little on his arms, what's the best way to get rid of them? Any more tips for a new leo owner would be much appreciated. Is paper towel fine for substrate? Do they need UV light or a night light? Anything else they need?
Welcome to the boards Anshky = ) Congrats on the new addition! By what you've described, it sounds like you've hit the nail on the head in that it may simply be an adjustment and temperature issue. The gecko's behavior is that of an otherwise healthy leo and his tail looks OK to me. I think you'll find that as he begins eating again he'll add a little bit of weight on. To combat stuck sheds - you can try giving baths with just enough water to cover the feet. Then use a damp Q-tip to carefully roll the skin away (if you are confident in your abilities, you can use tweezers to carefully pull loosened skin away as well). You can also turn a bath into a sort of 'sauna' by placing the gecko into a container with some water and closing the container to hold the moisture in for ~20min. Be sure to always supervise the gecko when doing this... water should be just warm to the touch of your forearm. There are also some products sold at pet supply stores that can be useful for stubborn sheds, but these products are rarely necessary after a couple of baths or sauna runs. UV lighting is not necessary for these geckos - but be sure you have a calcium supplement that contains D3. Paper towels are a perfectly fine choice for substrate, totally safe and cost effective. If you want something that is safe and more aesthetically pleasing, go with non-adhesive shelf liner or slate tile. Ideally you want those temperatures bumped up so that the warm end can reach 88-90 degrees give or take. Make sure you are measuring temperatures with a digital thermometer w/ probe or tempgun and not with a plastic analog "stick-on" thermometer as these can be inaccurate. Many reptiles can take a couple of days or even a couple of weeks to adjust to a new home and begin feeling comfortable enough to feed. I think you'll find that once you get the temps and husbandry squared out, he'll begin to feed regularly for you. Also keep in mind that depending on where you live this time of year, food intake may be slowed some due to the winter season. Here is a link to our leopard gecko caresheet: http://reptileboards.com/threads/leopard-gecko-caresheet.59997/ Let us know if you have any other questions! We'll be happy to help!
Thanks! This is very helpful. I just took a look at the heat pad and it's 8 in X 6 in which isn't very big compared to the tank. Do I just need a bigger pad? Also I found a better spot in the house that has more sun and is warmer than it is in the area he is now. Where can I get more accurate thermometers? The ones I have right now are just the stick-on kind. Also, I haven't noticed if he's peed or pooed anywhere.
I'm not very familiar with the outputs of different Under Tank Heaters (UTH's), I've always used flexwatt heat tape for these purposes. Ambient house/room temperature will also play a factor in the effectiveness of your heating element. Be sure not to place the cage in direct window sunlight also as it will overheat very quickly. Personally - I would buy a larger heat pad and a lamp dimmer (rheostat) from a home improvement store. Lowes and Home depot sell these things for about $10. If the UTH is too hot, you can simply dim it down to the appropriate range. This will be a useful temperature control device for seasonal house temperature fluctuations in the long-run as well. You can pick up a digital thermometer with a probe from most general stores: Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, etc. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but these are far superior to any analog/plastic thermometer. You can also purchase these online, or purchase a tempgun online or from a reptile show. I wouldn't worry too much about the not pooping and eating just yet. Give him more time to settle in and once husbandry has been touched up I'm sure he will be a perfectly happy and healthy little leo. These guys are incredibly hardy - and keep in mind that their metabolisms are quite different than that of us mammals. A few days without food or a bowel movement does little to phase a healthy gecko.
Here's how his enclosure is set up right now On the right is the warm side with his humid hide, on the left is his water dish. Does this look fine? I put in a new, larger heat pad but it's still only 75. I'm thinking it's in a cold spot in the house. Is there anything else I can do to make it warmer? What's the best spot in the house to have the tank? Do I leave the light on all day?
What you can do if you are having difficulty increasing temperature is run the undertank heat 24/7 and run a light for 12hrs a day. You can use a simple household incandescent bulb for heating, no need to get a fancy 'basking bulb' or some other ripoff item from a petstore ; ) If you want to go with a UTH and light combo - I'd buy a timer from a home improvement store. They are often sold at discount prices this time of year because people use them for their Chritmas lights. It will automatically turn your light on and off for you, making a routine day/night cycle for your leo and making life easier for you so you don't need to be home every morning and night at the same time to turn the light on and off. You could also run a Red Bulb + a UTH, but I still don't particularly trust these for use at night as some herps can see the light contrary to common belief. They are fine for daytime heating purposes though or temprary nocturnal viewing which is nice during feeds or if you want to watch your leo while he is active. As long as daytime temps on the warm end reach the appropriate temperature range of ~88-90 degrees F give or take, the nighttime temperatures can drop. If you can only get up to 75 with the UTH on alone, I'd just run the UTH 24/7. Quick question: Does the tree have a hide area inside for the gecko? And can he use the rock hide on the warm end well? The key decor inside a leo cage is simply a water dish (check), a humid hide (check) and two other hides (check?). Be sure he has adequate hiding places so he can feel comfortable in any part of the enclosure = )
I moved the tank to a warmer spot in the house and I have the heat pad on 24/7 and the lamp 12hrs. The temp right now is around 82 (though it is one of those stick-on kinds so it's probably not very accurate). Right now he's scrunched up right next to the glass (like, he moves around right next to the glass) so I don't know what that means. I did buy one of those fancy basking bulbs, but it's in a regular lamp, I didn't buy a lamp from the pet store. Last night he didn't seem very active, he walked around but hung out near the heat pad (though I don't know what he was doing while I was sleeping). He did poo last night though. He can hide in both the tree and rock hide (I did change the rock hide to a different one that is a little taller and also made of concrete, I think, and the other one was foam or something weird so I thought the concrete one would retain heat better). But yeah, he can hide (and has hidden) in both.
Sounds good Anshky - we'll check in on the temperature again once you get the digital thermometer to confirm temps so we can adjust accordingly. Otherwise, it sounds like everything is going pretty well = )
I still don't have a probe thermometer (it is in the mail though), but I'm still worried about him, he doesn't move much, just sits squished against the glass or in his hide on the warm side above the heat mat, even at night he doesn't move much, and he still hasn't eaten yet.
Don't fret too much just yet Anshky, its been less than a week and I'm sure the little guy is still adjusting. It isn't all that uncommon for them to slow down a bit during the winter season (both as a result of temperature and barometric changes). It can often take upwards to a couple of weeks before a new herp gets settled in and may be willing to eat. We'll know if temperature is the culprit once that thermometer comes in. No worries though, geckos can go a longggg time without food and show no ill effects. A few days, and even a couple weeks without eating will not phase a healthy leo much. Also - Merry Christmas! = )
Ok thanks so much! And Merry Christmas too! When I get the thermometer I will update on the temperature
Ahhh sorry I keep posting here, but I just now noticed his tail is skinnier than it was when I got him on Wednesday. I haven't weighed him, and I didn't weigh him when I got him
No worries! I'm just pleased to see that you are such are caring and concerned owner... Its refreshing to see that this gecko is in great hands with someone who truly wants the best for their pet. Lets do this for now - It sounds like the major issue is likely still the temperature since your husbandry checks out clean otherwise. Would it be possible for you to increase the wattage of the heat bulb just a bit? Maybe 10-20 watts for now just be safe. This shouldn't be enough to cook the gecko, especially this time of year and in a glass enclosure of this size but it may be enough to bump those warm end temps up to make the gecko more comfortable. Remember - You can use regular household incandescent bulbs for heat if don't want to spend a load of money on the reptile basking bulbs sold at petstores... all those are are re-packaged incandescents or halogen bulbs anyway ; ) Try to get the same type of bulb as before and increase wattage some. Another recommendation I didn't really think about before: He is in a nice, spacious enclosure. This is excellent (the 30" x 12" x 12" is a 20 gallon 'long' aquarium) but if he came from anything smaller it might be slightly overwhelming as a new addition which will add a we bit of time to his adjustment period. Here's a recommendation that is more successful with snakes, but couldn't hurt to try with the leo. You could tape construction paper, brown paper bag, or a nice background around the outside of the back and sides of the enclosure to create a sight barrer. This can make agorophobic herps a little more comfortable by reducing much of the room they can see through the glass. In addition, you can try placing some artifical foliage or something to that nature in the enclosure as well. A couple of fake plants and vines can add both sight barrier and even double up as additional hides...and they also act as a tangible surface to feel in the enclosure. This is particularly useful for snakes who feel security by having something physical touching them. It may be worth a shot... I still think temps are probably the ticket here, but these slight modifications could only help some = )
My mom had the same idea of putting a barrier in the back so we have some cloth on the outside for a barrier. Right now I have a 75 watt bulb so I could see if there's anything higher lying around my house. Thanks for the suggestions!
Oh hey just wondering if maybe he's starting to shed? His colors look a little dull. How can you tell when they start to shed?
