This girl needs some guidance!

[ARobles420]

I am kind of lost but figuring things out here and there. I just started today on this forum because I want to learn more about my new babies. I just recently adopted two leopard geckos, Lilo & Stitch. I don't even know exactly what kind they are or how old they may be. So I really hope some friendly people can help me out. This is my first time ever owning any type of reptile before so I am a little nervous. But I do already adore them and I think they are pretty happy with me. They like to sleep in my hair while I do my homework Anyways, feel free to send me a message if you can help. I would first love to just identify what type of leopard geckos they are. I have a small album posted on my profile page so you can take a look.
Thanks for reading this!!

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF and to the world of gecko -owning. I can't really tell what morph (that's the word for "kind of leopard gecko") you have because I need a shot of the whole gecko from above. Also, I suspect the colors are off due to the lighting. I suspect they are "normal" leopard geckos, but more photos would help.

I notice that one or both of them have some shed skin stuck to them. You will need to pull it off. It won't hurt them.

If you haven't done so already, read some care sheets (google "leopard gecko care" and you'll find plenty). here's mine: https://geckcessories.wordpress.com/leopard-gecko-care-sheet/

In general, the most important things for gecko keeping are:
proper heat
safe substrate (i.e what's on the bottom of the cage)
correct supplementation

Focus on those issues. There will be some differences of opinion. If anything is confusing you, ask about it here.

Aliza

 

[ARobles420]

Thank you so much for responding. I have been googling so much and I will read two completely different opinions on caring. But I'm going to check out the link you gave me. I'm also going to take some new photos of my two babies out of the cage. The food is another concern I have because they always both seem super hungry. Right now they are each getting about 8-10 small meal worms every other day. Also I'm not sure if I have over-crowded their cage. I want to do everything right so they feel comfortable. As you can see I have a lot of questions, so that's why I'm here.

 

[JessJohnson87]

What size tank are they in? A 20 gallon long is best for 1 or 2. Most use paper towels, carpet, tile or slate for substrate. Loose substrate is a controversial topic. Aliza's caresheet is a great one and I recommend reading it and don't get too stressed out, took me a while to get my 1 Leo's tank ideal to his standards.

 

[ARobles420]

I have a 10 gallon right now, everything was just given to me. I haven't changed anything myself accept the light because the one they had was burning the geckos. My husband was suggesting we look into buying a 20 gallon as well so they have more room. This is the set up I have right now, Ill post the picture. I read her care sheet today, so much information but very helpful. I have only had mine now about a week and a half, I just care a lot i guess haaha

 

[JessJohnson87]

Yeah, the most important thing is getting a bigger tank. You can look on craigslist or check some of the big box stores for $1 per gallon sales, also a bunch of pet stores are going to have black friday deals to. You can use a heat pad to heat up the tank, they don't need a light. I use a flukers 11x17 for my 20L, it's reusable but you can use heat cable as well. To help get the stuck shed off, you can use a wet Q-tip to help coax it off gently, it won't hurt but she might not like it.

 

[ARobles420]

Yeah tanks are pretty expensive! I will check out for the sales you recommended, and the under floor heater. My male was an easy shedder and let me pick off the small parts left. My female today still seems to have her whole body shedding, only a tiny piece at her ankle has came off. I will try the Q-tip trick. She is really calm and likes to just sit on me so could be easy. Is it normal for my female to be so much fatter then my male?

 

[JessJohnson87]

Tanks are expensive, I lucked out and got my 20L at +++++ when they had a $1 per gallon sale, so I seized the opportunity to buy it then. Having a moist hide with help with shedding but it doesn't look like you have much room for one. You can also put some water, 86*, in a container to soak her in to help ease the skin off. As far as her being fatter, she could be ovulating and if you don't want babies, I would separate them. Some geckos will gain more weight than others.

 

[ARobles420]

You have been so helpful thank you a ton! This morning I was able to get a good lift of the dead skin on her body so I've now taken most of it off. Once I felt her getting annoyed I stopped. Will try again later tonight during their exercise time. Are you good at telling what morph they are? I know Aliza said they don't seem to be any special kind of morph but I'm curious. I wish I knew exactly how old they are. The picture below, male is the yellow one and female is the fat one with all her dead skin still on, so she looks pale but again this was from last night.

Thank you again for helping me out, I appreciate it.

 

[JessJohnson87]

They seem like normal's to me, I'm not great with morphs because I don't breed and have always gotten normal's with the exception of an albino years ago. You're welcome, these guys are fairly easy to care for once you get the initial set-up done and temperatures right. They also have some unique personalities.

 

[ARobles420]

Update! I bought a 20 gallon long tank and the under tank heater. I'm still using a wt basking light because its very cold in my home, and we don't have a heater. Going to pay close attention to the temperature and see how it goes with everything. Do you recommend gut loading meal worms? I also picked up a calcium supplement to start dusting the worms as well. Here is a picture of the new home, I think they like it.

 

[JessJohnson87]

It looks amazing! You can add a warm moist hide to help with shedding.

This is what mine is, just a food container with moss but you can use paper towels. You can gut-load the mealworms, just put them in a dish the day before feeding with a good quality gut-loading food and a piece of carrot then send them to their execution. I gut-load my dubia roaches 24/7 so I don't worry with gut-loading my worms. I would suggest getting a lamp dimmer for the light and turning it down to about 50% power so it's not as bright and when it takes a dump, you can get a ceramic heat emitter with a 10" dome and ceramic bulb housing. They usually don't like bright lights, it can hurt their eyes. You can also put some black construction paper on the sides of the tank to help with privacy. I notice one climbing the side of the tank and that's normal until they get used to having a new home.

 

[CrazyLeopardGeckoLady]

Quick question are they both female? It's best not to keep a male and female together if your not anticipating on eggs


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ARobles420]

They are male and a female, brother and sister. The person who gave them to me said they have never been apart since they were babies so I plan on keeping them together. I've only seem them try to mate once, she was willing but my male never did the full act. I'm comfortable with keeping them together right now cause they are very close.

 

[ARobles420]

I gut loaded my mealworms with some apples and they really enjoyed it! I even felt a little bad when I feed them the next day to my geckos. I also dusted the worms with calcium d3. The geckos both really grubbed and now with the bigger tank they both could eat comfortably together. I'm really happy with my new setup. I want to make the moss hide today, so how do i prepare the paper towels?
And I have a dimmer on the lamp I have, I had it high so i could heat up the tank quickly since I don't have a thermometer for my UTH. But i took your advice and dimmed it down a lot lower. Can i drop the light bulb use completely if I only monitor the UTH? Or i thought about getting a smaller UTH to stick on the side of the tank as well for extra heat?

 

[JessJohnson87]

Just put the paper towels in the container and spray them with water, but not to the point to where they're soaking wet. If you want to ditch the light you can, they need more belly heat than overhead. Most use an overhead heat source to help keep the air temperatures up, mainly in winter depending on where you live. Buying another heat pad to stick on the side would be a waste and I would monitor the UTH to make sure it doesn't get too hot, those things can get over 100* depending on the brand. I keep my thermostat set at 93* now and mine doesn't seem to mind the higher floor temperature.

 

[ARobles420]

Cool I will be making that for them shortly here. I will need to buy a thermostat then for my UTH, i have been putting my hand against the flooring of their tank and it doesn't feel too hot. My female gecko loves to lay right where its placed and her belly feels at a perfect even temperature. My male seems to prefer to be right in the middle of the cool/warm side. I will plan to use the light for winter because we don't have a heater in our apartment. But here in the central valley is super hot in the summer so i really doubt Ill need it then. The light bothers my husband a lot when we sleep since the geckos our in our room :main_laugh:

 

[JessJohnson87]

Those basking lights don't last that long, once it dies you can get a ceramic heat emitter. Just heat and no light. I use this thermostat Amazon.com : Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat for Heat Mats : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden and it works great. Sometimes they can have a +/- 3 degree temperature difference.