Hello, new to Geckos

Hello everyone, I'm new to geckos, came from a Blue tongue skink forum.

Just got a new gecko, I don't know much of them, and I would like some advice

This is Kili, my sister bought him at Repticon 4 days ago, here in Florida. I was told he was a Male, High Yellow but I think he's something else because of those dot patterns he has, I wasn't given a birth date so I'm assuming he's about 3-4 weeks old (Surprisingly, he's really calm, he doesn't screech or anything. I have a 20 Gallon terrarium for him with a large chunk of wood that splits into multiple branches with 2 hiding holes, sand gonna change it today to coconut fiber, his water and food bowl, and a small mat heater that covers about a quarter of the tank. Feeding him Mealworms (Today is when he finally ate since April 5, he ate 3 mealworms). I got some questions:

1. What else can he eat other than mealworms and crickets? (I've seen people feed them pinkies, Dubias, Hornworms, Superworms, even a praying mantis)
2. Would it matter if his food is dead or alive?
3. When a week or so passes, how should I handle him without startling him?

Welcome to the forums!

Your setup sounds pretty good, but most people will suggest no substrate other than paper towels, tiles, or the like. A lot of people worry about the geckos accidentally eating substrates like sand and coconut fiber and becoming impacted, especially when they are young. I would also recommend getting a temp gun that can read surface temperatures if you don't have one and making sure the gecko has a hide with a floor temp around 90 F. The 20 gallon tank is pretty big to be warm enough with just a small heat pad.

I'll give you some short answers to your questions, but there are lots of great discussions you can find by using the search bar at the top of the forums too.

1. Geckos are insectivores and can eat any non-poisonous/non-stinging insect the right size for them, which is no wider than the space between their eyes and no more than 3/4 the length of their heads. You have listed many of the popular choices already, and some others are phoenix worms (a.k.a. reptiworms, calciworms, black soldier fly larva) and silkworms. Some people even collect wild insects from an unpolluted area. Make sure insects are dusted with calcium and vitamins (or something like Repashy Calcium Plus that has both), and feed the ones that can eat fresh vegetables to boost their nutrition. Pinkies, which you mentioned above, should be used very sparingly if at all.
There are some quick caresheets available for general info here: Leopard Gecko Caresheets
And, of course, you can learn a lot just by browsing around the Leopard Gecko Forums.

2. Live food works best. You don't want anything dead/decomposing, and dried or canned insects only work for geckos that readily take to tong feeding. Live, well-fed insects will always provide better nutrition and more hydration to your gecko.

3. For handling, start slow. Try just putting your hand flat in the tank and talking quietly before moving on to letting the gecko walk on your hands inside the tank. Here's a link to an old thread that I think has a lot of good info: http://geckoforums.net/f126-general-care-husbandry/94257.htm

Thanks for the information!

Currently this is his setup (I have in on the floor until Tuesday when I get paid to buy him a stand, new terrarium, lid, hide, etc)

I don't think I've seen him drink water, I've seen him eat once just 3 mealworms but that's it. I think he's still getting used to it.
One other problem is I tried handling him, sometimes he's happy, sometimes he's just calm, sometimes a bit startled and just walks under the log. Once I put my palm flat right next to him and he did like a hiss, and he hit his head on my hand, and I just left him alone. What does that mean? I'm assuming he's scared of me

By the way, one reason I used sand was because I had walnut shells on my Skink's terrarium and I had no problem at all (Other than it getting in his water :annoyed

Well, skink digestive tracks are a lot larger too... I also have a blue tongue skink. (small world!)
Some people keep geckos on sand and do not have a problem, but there unfortunately have been incidents with geckos swallowing substrate and becoming impacted.

There's a lot of open space in the tank, so I bet your gecko would love it if you added some more caves/containers/hides when you go shopping. They really like staying holed up during the day.

I almost never see mine drink. Being desert animals, they tend to get a lot of hydration from the insects they eat, especially if you feed those insects things like greens, carrots, or apples for a day or two before you feed them to your gecko.

And yes, the hissing means he's trying to scare you off. Like I said, you'll just have to take it slow. Give him as much alone time as possible after you finish redoing his cage for a week or two. He might go on a mini hunger strike until he's all settled in. After that, you can start getting him used to your hand again. I've heard people say it helps if you associate your hand with putting food for him or try hand feeding him. I'm sure others will chime in with lots of good tips if you ask.

Thanks for you advice, just wanted to ask one more thing.

Can I add something so he can climb? (I know they don't have any foot pads, but something like a thick branch)

My sister and I wanted to make a naturalistic terrarium that includes, excavator clay, with a tiny bit of sand and dirt, with maybe some little edges like a few inches off the floor. Something like this: http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu129/Jay1967/Leo viv build/45.jpg

If anything, is there any naturalistic ideas for them?

Because they are terrestrial lizards, they love caves, burrows, and other hiding places. For climbing, it's better to give them wide things (ledges, wood/bark pieces that are more shaped like planks, etc.), since they don't naturally climb trees.

I have to stress that most people would recommend keeping the cage simple while your gecko is young. Young geckos are usually kept in very simple cages to allow for close monitoring and easy handling. Adult geckos can be placed in more complex cages. Check out the Housing and the Do-It-Yourself forums to get ideas.

One more question. (I'm probably asking too much)
I just picked up my gecko and he has this strange thing on his fingers. I don't know if it's shed because I haven't noticed him getting dull or even shedding a few pieces off.
I come back from a expo that I was at all day and I see it. (I do know they eat it, but I didn't know they would eat it so quick and not leave a single trace of it) it's rough, barely transparent, looks beige-off white. on his top right hand he has it on 2 fingers and they seem to be stuck together while his bottom right foot has it on one finger and it had like a bunch of it hanging from the side of it. Am I overreacting that is it just shed or is it something serious?

Managed to take a picture:

It sounds like stuck shed, but you will need to get it off for him, as it is likely that he's having trouble removing it himself. If skin gets stuck on their toes or tail tip, it can dry up and get tight and start cutting off the circulation. Worst case scenario is that the gecko eventually loses some toes.

Recommended procedure is to put a very small amount of warm water (like 1/4 inch) and let the gecko stand in it for a bit to soften the dried skin up. Then, try to gently rub or roll off the stuck skin from his toes with your fingers. If that doesn't get it soft enough to remove, you can try putting inside a container with moistened paper towels for a longer amount of time to make it softer (make sure container has ventilation and do this somewhere warm so the gecko doesn't get chilled).

Thanks for telling me for a moment I thought it was something incredibly bad. Is there anywhere I should put him specifically? The tub, sink (Our sink doesn't have any flat surface), small bin? I also have a thing called Shed-Aid, I use it for my skink whenever his scales get stuck. Could I use that too?

I would put in him a small container so he doesn't feel too overwhelmed. Just make sure to leave it open or the lid cracked and supervise so he doesn't escape.

Not sure on the Shed Aid, as I've never used that product. Usually water works well enough, especially if he just shed recently. As a note, they do shed incredibly fast and leave very little evidence. It's easier to just watch for when they get gray/cloudy approaching a shed, and when their color goes back to normal/bright, you know you should check on their face, toes, and tail. Mine goes about every two weeks, but it can range between 10-40 days depending how fast they are growing.

Thanks, I now know that he's about 4 weeks old. I come back too look at him today and his shedding on his toes are gone .
Whenever he eats the shed, does his hunger get off a bit, or get anything out of it?

A lot of geckos won't eat before/after shedding. There are a couple theories as to why they eat their shed skin. One is that they get some nutrients from it, and the other is that it's a defense mechanism, to leave no trace that would attract predators.

Glad he got his toes clean! It can be a real pain to try it get it off, especially if the gecko doesn't feel like cooperating...

I'm starting to have a pretty annoying problem.
The mealworms I put in a plastic container, every day a whole bunch of ants just get inside and tries to eat them, I tried moving them everywhere that won't have ants but somehow they manage to get in everyday. Is there a type of container that ants can't climb on? I also don't know what attracts them, their natural nasty smell or the smell of their food (I feed them corn flakes as it's the only thing I have that they seem to eat)

Hi welcome aboard!

Hmm, that definitely is a problem. I've never dealt with ants inside, but from other experiences with them, I do have a few ideas:

• Create a barrier along the outside, vertical walls. Shiny, clear packaging tape and/or vaseline about 2-3 inches wide should do it.
• Put the bin in a larger bin with a few inches of water and a drop or two of dish soap.

Both solutions are a little messy, but ants are pretty persistent. You might be better off setting out traps and treating your home to keep them from getting inside.

I've tried number 2, so far that's working good. The weird thing is, under on my skink's tank stand it has a little cabinet to store stuff, I would keep any insect under there in a plastic container (Super worms, horn worms and meal worms) I would always have it there without a problem, I bought them from a different salesman and now ants would get under that. So either it's because of the seller or coincidentally the ants finally found it :main_huh:

Turns out I just found out that I can refrigerate the worms without them dying. Done this for 3 days and so far no problem.