Advice appreciated

[dmuehl]

I'm new to raising Geckos. The adults that we purchased had been bred so we had eggs early in the year. I read as much as I could and did the best that I could. When reviewing the container in the incubator earlier this week I was startled when something was coming out at me. After calming down .. I opened the container in a larger container as I wasn't sure what to expect. There were 2 babies moving quickly.

I transfered them to a tank that I had ready to go. I have foam log hides one on the cool side and one on the warm side. I have on order caves for a moist hide as well as regular cave. I have a water dish (very shallow) and a ceramic dish for mealworms (not sure if the dish is too deep). I use the Leopard Gecko vitamins in the worm dish with the worms. I raise the worms at the house so we have an abundance.

With evething else in life, there are learning experiences. What am I missing and what should I be looking for.

When can we start to hand tame the babies? I have two kids who would love to play with them ..

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[acpart]

Congratulations on your hatchlings. Here are some pointers:

1. the hatchlings will not eat till they poop and shed and even then they may start very slow.

2. before they shed, mist the cage several times a day so they can lick water drops and hydrate

3. start them with a shallow water dish (someone on here had a lovely hatchling drown in a too-deep water dish) and a shallow dish (I use jar lids) with mealworms and some gutload to make the mealies happy

4. clutchmates can often be kept together but should definitely be separated if and when:
a sig. size difference develops
one seems to be bullying the other

5. tiny geckos protect themselves by screaming when alarmed, and hiding a lot. It may take quite awhile before the kids can really play with them. I recommend keeping handling at a minimum for at least the first few monoths and then, encourage the kids to set up a "gecko playground" in an open tub or box so they can handle them in the box and not worry about them jumping off their hands.

Welcome to GeckoForums.

Aliza

 

[fallen_angel]

Great advice from Aliza, the only thing I would like to add is that you yourself can start hand-taming the babies from day 1, then by the time the gecko is a month old or so, it will be more used to handling and better with the kids when it's their turn to handle

 

[dmuehl]

Thank you for your advice.

I've put the water in a ExoTerra food dish so it is extreemly shallow. I'll look for another container (jar lid) for the mealies. I always include a piece of carrot in all the other dishes for the mealies. Keeps the mealies active and plump and which catches the attention of the geckos. Would there be a problem with this approach with the babies?

Everytime I open the top and move the log I hear them "screaming" so I thought something was wrong. Now that you explained it I know what they are doing.

I usually keep a continual supply of worms in the tanks they can eat if they want. Is that the same approach I should use for the babies?

 

[acpart]

Yes, I keep worms in there all the time.

Aliza