New gecko, should enclosure be changed?

Hello everyone! I am new to the site and just got my first leopard gecko. I would estimate that he is about a year old based on size (65 grams) and the fact that he has no banding and only spots. He is in quarantine right now and is being housed in an approximately 15 gallon tank with a screen lid. It is the short (about half height) style tank since they are supposed to benefit more from floor space than height.

His heat is coming from a UTH covering about a third of the floor regulated by a thermostat and set to run between about 88-93 degrees. Unfortunately since it is the on/off type and not proportional I can't seem to get it to stay any more consistent. The temps and humidity are being measured by a digital combo thermometer and his humidity is between 30 and 35%. He has one hide over the UTH and two hides on the cool side, one of which is a Tupperware container with moist paper towels in it.

His substrate is paper towels as well since I have read lots of horror stories about sand and impaction. He has a large shallow water dish and a bowl of mealworms (which he has yet to touch). I offered him crickets last night and he watched them but did not eat. I am hoping this is just because he came home only three days ago.

He has a plastic plant in the tank for added ground cover. There is currently no calcium dish as I have read so much conflicting advice on whether calcium should be available at all times or only dusted on feeders (Any direction on that topic would be great). I have ordered a bottle of reptivite with D3 which will be here tomorrow (though until he eats it won't be of much use) and I have pure calcium without D3 on hand.

I'd there anything additional I should be doing? He is in the living room right now, which is not ideal since it is a central location but we have limited options in the apartment we live in. The bedroom is occupied by a ball python so until quarantine is done the living room is really the only option. Thanks for any help you can give me, this little guy is amazing and I want to do everything I can to ensure that he lives a long happy life with me. =)

Your setup sounds excellent. It's always good to keep it simple when you're first learning. I hope he will settle in soon and begin eating, but keep in mind that winter is also here, so he may not be very hungry.

If you can move the moist hide more toward the middle, he might like it better. I've noticed my geckos will use it anywhere, but my male really enjoyed it more when I moved it closer to the warm end of the tank. Plus, a little heat will create condensation that the gecko can lick.

You should also pick up a reptile multivitamin like Herptivite or similar to provide additional vitamins and trace minerals. It can be difficult for captive geckos to get all the key nutrients they need from pet store crickets and mealworms, especially vitamin A. You can alternate between dusting with the multivitamin and dusting with calcium+D3.

As for the pure calcium dish in the cage, I have done that with all my geckos. I consider it an insurance against MBD, as dusting the food isn't an exact science. My geckos lick from the dish, sometimes quite a bit, so I believe they sometimes crave the additional calcium.

Another way you can supplement his diet is to gutload the crickets and mealworms. That just means feeding them foods high in nutrients for at least a day before you feed them to him. With the mealworm dish, you can also keep a small piece of carrot or hard squash in the dish to keep them lively and hydrated. Here's a link to a page with a list of good foods to use for gutloading insects:
Much Ado About Chameleons: The Anatomy of Gut-Loading | Ingredients & Nutritional Info

I hope this is useful, and let me know if you want to discuss anything else.

Reptivite is great. Just be sure you mix the calcium and vitamin powder in the right proportions. There is no need for a dish of calcium. Since your gecko is an adult, just dust its food every other feeding and that should be fine. A dusting twice a week in addition to properly gutloaded feeders is all they need. Repashy has a great calcium plus powder that I've been using instead of reptivite for the past 15 years and the geckos love it. All three of my geckos are very happy and healthy . Don't over do it with the supplements. Just like in humans, fat soluble vitamins A, E, D, and K, can easily reach toxic levels when using supplements. As for hides, you should try to have three hides for the gecko. A hot hide, humid hide (with wet paper towel or moss) and a cool hide. If you don't have the space for all three, a hot hide and a humid hide should be sufficient. As for food, try to expose your geckos to a variety of feeders like dubia rocaches, hornworms, silkworms, crickets, phoenix worms, meal worms, and occasionally wax worms or butter worms as a treat every week or two. It may be difficult to get an established gecko to take to any new food but its important to give them variety in their diet. All of those above feeders are available online. Hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know.

Thanks so much you guys! That is all really helpful information. I am really relieved I found this forum, it looks like it has a very active and educated community. The 24 hour wait to get the activation link before being able to post was torture, lol.

As for the multivitamin, I have the Reptivite arriving in the mail today. I will add a dish of calcium this evening just in case and will use the multivitamin every other feeding as recommended once he starts eating. How particular are they about being fed during standard hunting hours? We have been trying to watch him for a regular hunting pattern but, probably due to the new home, his active times have been somewhat unpredictable. The two times we have attempted to feed him were close to midnight so I am wondering if it may have just been too late at night. Will they usually accept food at odd times or are they really picky about dusk and dawn only? I also have a better second hide arriving in the mail today. I had been concerned that the ones he has allow too much light in so I ordered a gecko cave with just one entrance in hopes that it will be darker and that he will enjoy it more during daylight hours.

I did want to ask about floor space. As of right now with the three hides in there he has very little floor space (I will take a picture to upload in just a moment). Is a more cluttered tank more secure and better for them or do they like to have plenty of open space to walk around? Also, I know with some reptiles like ball pythons that require a hot and cool hide it is recommended that the hides be identical because they have been known to develop a preference for one and often will sacrifice needed belly heat to stay in the hide they like best, or stay in the hot hide excessively if that is the one they prefer. Are geckos typically picky about this sort of thing? I worry that if for some reason he doesn't like one of his hides he will refuse to use it even if he needs to thermoregulate, so I would love to know if this is a valid concern.

The mealworm dish is also pretty tall compared to the worms and they are not visible from his eye level, so I am wondering if maybe a shallower dish would be advisable. Is it possible that he might refuse to eat when we are watching him and the worms, but would eat them on his own timeline out of the bowl if they were not so obscured and he were not being watched? I have been keeping carrots in the bowl with them (I don't have to worry about him accidentally eating any of the carrots right?) and there are ten worms in there right now, but either he hasn't realized they are there or is just not interested. He did poop once since I brought him home, but it was runny and smelly. I am hoping this is just due to stress of the move (it was a two hour drive home from the expo), because the container he was in at the show had a solid well formed poop in it under the paper bedding he was on. So apparently he was at least pooping regularly within the last few days before I acquired him.

Thanks so much for the willingness to help, I am feeling better about things already. I had really been stressing out about how to know what he needs and what red flags to watch for, but knowing there are people out there I can go to for help is invaluable.

So this is a picture of the tank. The hide on the right is the one over the heat mat. He seems to like this hide better since it is darker, and since the ambient temps are not being measured yet (getting second thermometer today) I was hoping he would be inclined to stay where I know it is warm enough overnight. It is just cardboard so I am going to be replacing it with the one I am getting today that can be sanitized. The little bowl on the right is the mealworm bowl and the humid hide of course is up front on the left. Because the entrance is cut into the side I had no way to put it in the middle and still have room for him to enter, but I do have four more of the plastic containers and could cut up one with a front entrance if need be.



Here are a few pictures of the little guy for size reference and introduction. This is Ren.

Aww, your gecko is adorable! It looks like a good habitat with enough floor space .

Feeding time: I usually feed my geckos in the evening, after the sun goes down, but they aren't too picky about time when they're hungry.

Floor space: They do not need a lot of open space. Some space for them to stretch out and climb around is good, but too much open space can be stressful because they like to hide. The pictures of your habitat look fine.

Hide preference: They can certainly develop favorite hides, but unless the warm hide is extremely open or unsuitable, I think it will be fine. My adult male, for example, pretty much lives in his humid hide, but after a meal, he'll always go lay in the warm hide for a while to digest.

Mealworm dish: Do you know if he was used to eating out of a dish? And eating mealworms?

If not, you may need to help him out. For very obvious mealworm dishes, I've gotten small, round tupperware containers and cut down the sides to just tall enough that the worms can't get out. Some folks also use large, shallow ceramic dishes (almost like a cat food dish) or glass tea light holders. The idea is that the gecko can either see the worms through the sides or that the dish is flat enough to walk through. You can also try using tongs to wiggle worms around or lead him over to the dish.

Leaving a carrot in there is good. Just make certain the chunk of carrot is large enough that it won't be accidentally eaten when grabbing a mealworm.


I second Ben's advice about diet variety. Mealworms, while convenient, are nowhere near the most nutritious feeders out there. Plus, offering different foods can help stimulate appetite.

regarding first time feeding, you may have better luck taking a more direct approach at first. Wait until he's awake and at least peaking out from one of his hides. Grab a single mealworm and place it on the floor a couple inches in front of him. If it wanders away too far, pick it back up and put it in front of leo again. Do this for maybe 5 minutes. If no success, try again the following day.

After he's eating again, then you can suss out whether he's used to taking them from a bowl, or whether he was raised on crickets or whatever the breeder was feeding. Variety is great for health and promotes strong feeding response. I do a rotation of mealworms, then crickets, then superworms, then crickets, and repeat. Occasionally mix in something more exotic like a hornworm if local pet shop has them in. This seems to prevent them from getting tired of any particular feeder insect.

Thanks everyone, I do have both crickets and mealworms available to him. I have tried both and he has a mealworm dish in there in case he gets motivated to eat when I am not watching. He did at least snap at a cricket today, which is more of a response than I had gotten previously, but missed and lost interest. Still the fact that he made an attempt seems good. I have tried dropping them in front of him before but he just watches them, and sometimes moves a foot when they touch him, but doesn't follow them. The vendor I got him from said they were feeding both crickets and mealworms. I am just hoping patience pays off, it is winter and he is an adult. He also may just need a bit longer to settle in. He is alert and active so I think he's alright, just not interested. Still if anyone had any other advice that might help, I would love to get him eating as soon as possible.

Snapping at food sounds like good progress! It really can take a while, depending how hungry he is and his personality. My most recent addition took about ten days, and I heard one person mention having an animal once that didn't start eating for a month! Then again, my other gecko started eating in a couple days.

Yeah I was relieved to see at least that much interest. Had he nailed it instead of missing it he would have eaten, so I will try again in a couple of days. I just changed out some bedding (paper towels) in his tank and gave him a new hide and new water dish, etc so I am going to give him a couple of days to readjust before attempting again.

Floor space is important. You don't want the environment to be too cludered as they need room to roam. If their isn't much space for them to walked around there is another option. Pet-tek makes these realistic looking rock ledges that attach to the glass with magnets. They are pretty awesome. I have two of the small ledges that are 8" x 4" located over my hides to create more floor space in the tank for the gecko to climb. I will attached a picture of one of the ledges bellow. Just make sure you don't put these too high in the tank because geckos are clutzy and can hurt themselves from falls over 6". But based on the pictures bellow there is plenty of floor space for your gecko.

I've never experienced any real issue with hides. As long as the gecko can feel cozy and safe in the hide they will use it. I know that one of my geckos wasn't too crazy about this rock hide I bought him because it had two large openings that let in a lot of light. He avoided for a few days but then got used to it.

Feeding time is an interesting thing. One of my geckos ONLY eats late at night while the other two will eat at anytime of the day. So it all depends on the geckos personality.

As for the mealworm bowl, it might be too deep. But then again it might not. If he is eting out of it at all then its fine. I prefer the shallow zilla ceramic kidney dishes for feeding meaworms since its easier for the geckos to see the food and eat out of. I would not keep carrots in the dish with the worms.

When keeping mealworms, put them into a container with a 1 1/2"-2" of oat bran and a couple slices of apple, potato, or carrot. They will eat the bran and use the apple/potato/carrot for hydration. When its time to feed, take out a bunch of worms from that container and put them in a bag or small container and dust them with vitamins and calcium and them dump that all into the feeding dish. Whatever your gecko hasn't eaten the next day, dump back into the big container with all off the mealworms and pick out new worms and repeat. This way your constantly supplying your gecko with freshly gutloaded food.

When you first get a gecko they will be very shy and cautious around you. It would be weird if they weren't afraid to eat in front of you. Just give the gecko some time to adjust to his/her new surroundings and get more comfortable in their new environment. Mine were the same way when I got them but now they eat out of my hand. It might be a good idea to