Biscuit!

Seirye

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Oregon
I got my first-ever leopard gecko yesterday! Someday I hope to figure out his/her morph, but I know better than to ask (besides, probably just normal). S/he came from a pet store where all of the leos looked to be in good condition and good health, though I think his/her tail might be a little thin? I'm not sure, because I think s/he is fairly young, and I don't know anything about young leos. Oh, and as an aside--that's a sand mat, not actual sand or rock or anything of the sort.

I actually have no idea how old s/he is, though. Does anyone have an estimate just based on size? The pet store said they'd had him/her for a week.

Anyway! Not a question forum, I know! Mostly I just want to show him/her off because I think s/he's adorable! I named him/her Biscuit. If anyone has any tips for a first-time leo owner, I would love to hear them, because you never really do stop learning! I want to provide the best home I can for the little guy/gal!

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Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
Welcome to GF. =)

Your gecko looks a tad on the thin side, but doesn't look unhealthy. Feed him/her well and all will be well.

Your gecko is a wild type.

He/she looks less than 2 months old.

I would very highly recommend replacing the sand with something solid. Sometimes people get away with housing adults on sand, but hatchlings and juvies carry an especially high risk of impaction (which can be deadly) on sand. Some other options could be tile, slate, paper towels, reptile carpet, linoleum, sand mats (has adhesive so the sand is actually glued to the mat and not loose).

If you'd like to tell us about your set up, we can troubleshoot it for you.
 

Seirye

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Oregon
Thanks for the welcome! I thought he looked thin myself, but he ate all of the tiny crickets I gave him last night (I am so proud!) and he has some little mealworms in a dish in case he gets peckish before I throw more in tonight. He's so active and curious, and doesn't seem like he has any issues with energy, but I do want to fatten him up a little. (I guess I'm defaulting to him for now hah.)

Thanks for the age and morph stuff! I figured he was less than a couple months old, just because he's so dang small, but that's okay with me. I want a long-lived pet, and if I can raise him from a baby myself, I feel like that will go even further in really cementing some sort of bond between us. I've been handling him, gently, for a minute or so at a time a couple times since I got him just to sort of get him used to me. But I'm trying not to bother him too much while he settles in.

As far as the sand, it is actually one of the solid sand mats where the sand isn't loose! I didn't want to risk impaction with him, and I liked the look of it better than repti-carpet or paper towels/newspapers. He seems to get around on it great, but when I move him into a bigger tank I'm thinking I might go with slate because it looks cool.

On that topic, I have him in a 10 gallon tank currently (long, of course). My friend is upgrading her snake's soon, so she's going to give me the 20 gallon, and I'm excited about that because it will give Biscuit a little more space. I've got day and night lights on a timer for 12 hours of day and 12 of night, with the lights on one side to create the hot spot/basking area. The other side is cooler. Both sides have their own thermometer and there's a hygrometer in the middle.

Cool side is around 79 right now, hot side is around 88, but I'm finding it difficult to keep them properly balanced in such a small area if you have any tips! He has a bowl of water, a bowl of calcium powder, a bowl for mealworms, two hides (one hot one cool/wet with moss because of space). When I get the bigger tank I'm getting him a third hide.

I think that's about it for his set-up... But definitely no loose sand for him to eat!

Edit to add: There's an under-tank heater on the hot side of the tank as well, and also this picture!

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indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Cute new baby!

I'd save up some money and buy a temp gun to take temperature with, if you don't already have one. Those things are incredibly useful and perfect for checking the temperature of the ground inside hides where geckos like to lay. My favorite reptile tool!

Another tip is to gutload your crickets and mealworms with nutritious foods. I usually use squash/carrot and some premade bug gutload, but there are plenty of other fresh veggies and fruits you can use too.
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
Oh gosh, I'm sorry! You have a very convincing sand mat!

Good advice from Rachel.

I would also like to add a few things. You say both sides have their own thermometer. Do you mean the dial ones that stick on the wall? I ask because in my experience, a light and UTH is often much too hot. The ground temp on the warm side should be 90 and the ground temp on the cool side should be no higher than 75.

I also want to say that I recommend not moving him into a 20 gallon just yet. Very young geckos like this can be overwhelmed by that much space. They tend to do better in smaller enclosures until they are at least 25 grams.

Another thing. I advise against using a night light. Leopard geckos can see all of them (blue, red, whatever) and it's my opinion that is is disruptive to their circadian rhythm. There are mixed opinions here, though.

One more. What is your current supplement regime? It's important for a young gecko to have calcium (no D3), calcium with D3, and vitamins. People often use a vitamins once a week, calcium with D3 twice a week, and calcium without D3 the rest of the time. Or you could get an all-in-one supplement such as Repashy Calcium Plus to make life easier.
 

Seirye

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Oregon
Thanks for the advice, Rachel! I gutloaded the crickets I gave him yesterday with some cricket feed, and the mealworms got some of the cricket feed and some carrot slices. I let them eat on those for about 10 hours before I fed him. I read that it's good for the leo because it also helps them get some moisture? I'll definitely look into the gun, because I would love to know how warm it is inside his warm hide. He really likes it in there, I don't know if it's because of the heat or because it's a safe space for him. He sleeps in there all day, and I haven't seen him go in the cool/wet hide yet despite the hot side being around 87-90 at all times.


Neon, that's okay! When I saw it I got pretty excited because I like the look of it so much more than a carpet or something, without it actually being something he can accidentally eat. I straight up refuse to put any kind of sand in there just because I don't want him getting impacted.


I do have the sticky dial kinds, put pretty low on the tank wall so I can keep track of the heat on both sides near the ground where he is. When I left for work the cool side was about 74 and the hot side was 86, but that was not inside his hot hide. I picked really weak heat bulbs (I think 50w) to avoid overheating him, but my house is pretty cool (usually about 67) so I needed both to bring the temp in his tank up appropriately. I didn't buy a basking light because I thought it might bring the temperature up too high for him.


It's good to know not to move him yet! I don't think I'm getting the tank for another few months, but it's something I'd like to have for him when he's older. As he is now, I can see why too much space might be a problem! He's so little! I also need to invest in a scale so I can keep track of his weight. I don't know what he's at right now, but I would like to so I can keep track of it and make sure he's healthy.


I'll definitely look into the nightlight thing. I've got a super low watt blue light in there now, mostly to help keep the nighttime temperature from dropping too low, though the UTH does most of the work. Again, I think the temp gun will go a long ways in helping me make sure everything is as it should be for him.


Right now, he has a bowl of calcium with no D3 available at all times in his tank, and I've watched him crawl right through it several times (messy bugger, I love it). I have calcium with D3 that I plan on using a couple times a week as you say, but I read that too much is toxic for a gecko, so I didn't put any of that in the tank for him. I dusted his crickets and mealworms with the non-D3 last night before feeding them to him. I haven't yet picked vitamins because I wasn't sure what to get--do you have recommendations? I don't really mind doing it all seperately, it makes me feel like I'm actually doing something for him rather than just dumping stuff in his tank and calling it good. ;3

I'd show another picture if I was at home, but I'm at work for the moment! Thank you guys for all the advice and stuff, I really want to provide the best home I can!
 
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indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
As for the heat, you don't have to worry about it cooling down a bit a night as long as your house is not too much colder than 65 F. It can be nice for them to have a break from the heat, and if you have a heat mat, it should not get too cold.

For vitamins only, Herptivite is a well known reptile brand. Exo Terra brand also makes a multivitamin. If you want to go with a vitamin-calcium combo, ZooMed makes Reptivite.
 

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