New Owner - Need Info

ryanvan9

New Member
Messages
4
Location
idaho
I love forums, there are a lot of knowledge here. I have learned a lot so far.

I do have questions.

1. How many crickets do I feed them, and what time of the day? (I have 1 baby - probably 4")
2. When can I feed them worms?
3. I heard that we shouldn't take them out of the tank for 2 weeks until they acclimate. Is that accurate?
4. Is Calcium necessary? I have heard yes and no
5. Is a humid hide necessary?

I think that is all for now. We have a total of 2 Leo's, in 2 separate cages for each of my son's. They are the boys Leo's, but I am getting in to this, it's pretty fun. We have never had a reptile pet before.

I am thinking about building our own hides, that looks fun as well.

Thanks for reading and responding!
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,118
Location
Somerville, MA
Welcome to GF. Here are my answers to your questions:

1. How many crickets do I feed them, and what time of the day? (I have 1 baby - probably 4")
Put about 4 crickets in during the evening (it will probably spend most of the day sleep). If it eats all 4, put in a few more. You will figure out by trial and error how many it needs. When it gets to be about 25 grams or so, it may seem less hungry and then you can feed it every other day.

2. When can I feed them worms?
Any time. I feed my new hatchlings worms.

3. I heard that we shouldn't take them out of the tank for 2 weeks until they acclimate. Is that accurate?
It doesn't hurt to leave them alone so they can acclimate, but exactly how long is a matter of opinion.

4. Is Calcium necessary? I have heard yes and no
They need calcium for bone development and vitamin D3 to metabolize the calcium. They don't need huge amounts, though and it's possible for them to overdose from what I've heard. Best bet is to get a product like "Repashy calcium plus" and dust the crickets every other feeding.

5. Is a humid hide necessary?
Generally it's recommended. However, in the book "The Leopard Gecko Advisor" which I just reviewed for Gecko Time (Book Review: The Leopard Gecko Advisor - Gecko Time - Gecko Time) the author recommends instead to put a crumpled damp paper towel in the warm hide when the gecko seems about to shed.

Hope that was helpful.

Aliza
 

ryanvan9

New Member
Messages
4
Location
idaho
Thanks Aliza, it seems like there are different ways to do things...I just have to figure out which is best.

What most people agree on is that Leo's are super easy to take care of.

We have been feeding in the morning, I guess we need to change that to the evening. I put in 3 crickets this morning and they both ate them right away. I only had 3 crickets left. I am getting Calcium today (amazon).

My son is 10 and he is dying to hold him. We do put in our hands in so he gets used to it. The Leo freaks out and runs all over the place. I assume that will get better as time goes by.

Thanks for the info.
 

JennyBeen

New Member
Messages
87
Location
Denver, CO
1. 4-5 crickets is usually a pretty good meal for an average adult gecko. Just make sure you don't put in too many/leave them in with the gecko, as they often bite and otherwise disturb the lizard.

2. Some leave mealworms in all the time in an escape proof dish. Personally, I find it healthier for them to have actual meals and stay a better weight by not having food available all the time. Because I hate crickets, I feed around 8-12 mealworms one by one every other day. We also have trained the gecko that he eats out of his cage, so he eagerly climbs up our arms when he's hungry and given the chance. It has made him very tame, very quickly.

3. I'd do at least a week, but yes, this is a matter of opinion and really depends on the gecko (age, personality, etc). Ours was very outgoing, but we still left him be for 5 days before putting our hands in the cage much.

4. Calcium is extremely necessary. We adopted our gecko with Metabolic Bone Disease, which occurs when they are not given enough calcium; his owners never dusted his food or gutloaded his insects. We were able to stop the progression of the disease, but he'll forever have a gimpy arm as result. Always dust and/or gut load with a calcium enriched food at every other feeding. Doing it this much will not overdose, as overdosing is much more uncommon than MBD. You can also try phoenix worms if you'd like the convenience of a ready-to-go feeder, and we are fortunate that our MBD gecko tolerates the phoenix worms and will eat a few each feeding to ensure calcium intake. You can find them at rainbowmealworms.com for a reaonsable price.

5. Humid hides are more or less necessary depending on where you live I think. Here in CO, the air is extremely dry, and even with the moist hide, our gecko has had slight issues with sheds (getting tiny bits stuck on his toes). Needless to say, I think he'd have severe issues if we didn't provide him one at all. You can go without, until you see the gecko start to change color, so maybe make sure he has moistened towels for at least that one week out of the 4-6 weeks in the shed cycle. Personally, I find it easier to just make it routine to spray the paper towels every other day or so in case I miss his color changing. It's easy enough to do and can prevent a lot of problems.

Good luck on your new pet! We look forward to seeing future posts and photos :).
 

ryanvan9

New Member
Messages
4
Location
idaho
thanks JennyBeen...AWESOME! info.

I need all the info I can get. These are pets for my kids, but I am totally getting into it and really like it. I am looking forward for them to grow and be able to hold and play with them.
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,118
Location
Somerville, MA
Check out the leopard gecko care sheet on my website (http://geckcessories.wordpress.com). It's pretty long, but towards the end there's a section with observation questions for kids and activities kids can do with their gecko.
I'm hoping to run an article in Gecko Time with short essays by pre-teen and young teen kids about their geckos. I have some guiding questions and am still waiting to get enough submissions. If your son is interested let me know and I'll send the questions.

Aliza
 

ryanvan9

New Member
Messages
4
Location
idaho
Aliza,

We have only been owners for 5 days...LOL! but I am sure my boys would love to be involved.

Thanks everyone for the great comments/suggestions.

Last night was my first time putting worms in a bowl for them. They didn't eat them...is that normal. I put some crickets in there at about 11pm, and they ate them right away. I gave them 3 each. Also last night was the first time I introduced Calcium. I put them on the crickets, and of course the worms.

I do have a humid hide, but they have never been inside of it (that I have seen anyways).

Before last night I had the lights shinning down on them for heat. I got the heating pads for under the cage installed, and a thermostat. It's at a nice 90 degrees now.

I am having fun with them...hope we can hold and play with them soon. They are both pretty scared it seems.

Thanks again for all the advise...I will keep reading and learning all I can
 

Nektonic

New Member
Messages
16
Location
New York City
Unfortunately there is also a lot of misinformation out there. ACPART is spot on with the advice. Leopard gecko's are often sold as the "easy pet" but just like any living thing they have a variety of requirements that they need to live a happy and healthy life. All I can say is listen to the sound advice on this forum and ignore the rest. Especially ignore the idiots at pet stores. I've only been a member of this forum for about a month but I can tell that this is a community of passionate and knowledgable reptile enthusiasts.
 

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