Leopard gecko hatchling care questions

[aria]

Hi. I recently ordered a tangerine hatchling off of backwaterreptiles.com. (It arrived yesterday at the time i wrote this.) Ive had experience raising two leos before, but not anything this young. Ive done a bit of research beforehand but i still have a few questions that i couldnt find a clear answer to.

When the gecko arrived, I saw that it had pooped in its little container. I read that after this its usually safe to start feeding and its probably over 3 days old. Is this true? the night after it arrived, I offered it some meal worms and it gladly ate them, but when i checked on it the next morning, it didnt digest the worms properly and i saw them in what appeared to be its poop (or maybe it regurgitated it?) Should i be worried about this?

Another question I have is if the enclosure im keeping it in is suitable at such a young age. On every video or web page i read on caring for hatchlings, i see people using these small tupperware bins with a few simple hides and water sources, etc. I have a 10 gallon glass tank with reptile carpet, two hides (one with a built in water dish), as well as a smaller water dish i put down nearer where it likes to sleep for easier access, and a moist hide box. Is this kind of enclosure too large/ stressful for the little guy? Should i move it to a smaller temporary home while it gets settled in and starts eating regularly?

(And a side note, the guy doesnt seem to want to explore the tank very much, or is that just characteristic of baby geckos?)

I'd really like some advice quickly. I get a bit too worried about little things unfortunately, so it would be good to have some closure.

Thanks a bunch

 

[equinelove93]

Hi there,
To start start off your hatchling will be very stressed out from moving to a new home and enclosure. So nevousness and not wanting to explore is completely normal. Give him a few weeks to adjust.

As for the feeding, geckos will eat after their first shed which is a few days after hatching. Normally their first poop will be the shed that they ate.
How big are the mealworms you offered? Do you have an undertank heating pad set to 90 degrees for the gecko to properly digest his food?

Sometimes geckos will over eat when they are young and regurgitate because they dont always know when they have eaten enough. However mealworms are slightly harder to digest for a gecko compaired to small crickets.

A 10 gallon tank should be fine. I would recommend more hides. One warm, one middle and one on the cool end. Humidity is important to babies so a humid hide is a must. The hides shouldn't be too large, as a gecko will feel safer in a smaller hide than a larger hide made for adult geckos.

But after a few weeks, with proper care, feeding etc. You're baby will gradually begin exploring his tank more and leaving hides as he gets comfortable

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[aria]

Hi there,
To start start off your hatchling will be very stressed out from moving to a new home and enclosure. So nevousness and not wanting to explore is completely normal. Give him a few weeks to adjust.

As for the feeding, geckos will eat after their first shed which is a few days after hatching. Normally their first poop will be the shed that they ate.
How big are the mealworms you offered? Do you have an undertank heating pad set to 90 degrees for the gecko to properly digest his food?

Sometimes geckos will over eat when they are young and regurgitate because they dont always know when they have eaten enough. However mealworms are slightly harder to digest for a gecko compaired to small crickets.

A 10 gallon tank should be fine. I would recommend more hides. One warm, one middle and one on the cool end. Humidity is important to babies so a humid hide is a must. The hides shouldn't be too large, as a gecko will feel safer in a smaller hide than a larger hide made for adult geckos.

But after a few weeks, with proper care, feeding etc. You're baby will gradually begin exploring his tank more and leaving hides as he gets comfortable

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for the response. I realize that the mealworms i fed it may have been to large so I'm going to try and feed it small crickets tonight. I also adjusted the under tank heat pad so the gecko can receive the heat easier.

As for the hides, they are quite small. I will add another hide and make a smaller humid hide for it, as the one i have no may be a bit too large.

Again, thank you very much!

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF!
I'm honestly hoping that your gecko is more than a few days old. Some places are known to sell and ship very young reptiles and from what I've heard of the place you got it from, that could possibly be the case. My hatchlings can easily eat medium (3/4") mealworms from the beginning. I agree that it's not unusual for a young gecko to regurgitate if it eats too much and many young hatchlings start off eating just a few mealworms at a time. It's also not unusual for hatchlings and even juveniles to spend most of their time in their hides as protection. Good luck with it and enjoy it.

Aliza