Baby Gecko (I think) Housing/Care Question.

[Pookachu]

Ok, this weekend with the intention of picking up 2 gecko's I somehow ended up with a 3rd.

The 2 larger already adult ones I think I am good to go with them as I just set them up in separate 10 gallon tanks with the paper towels, humid hide, regular hide, UTH, UV light, water bowl, etc.. etc..

The third surprise was a tiny gecko probably only 2 1/2" - 3" in length (head to tail) and pretty skinny.

I say surprise because I had originally went to an individuals house to pick up the adult female gecko including her tank. It was not until later that this little one just popped out out of nowhere (from inside the same tank) running around.

Apparently according to the owner she

a) had both that little one and full size adult in the tank. stated that there were no problems with the two of them together.

b) had the little gecko for 2-3 months.

-- -- -- --

I was a little confused from this because I always thought that adult gecko's may eat the baby ones.

Also this baby gecko looks like its still an infant (screams and hisses like one) rather than a 2-3 month old gecko.

I would figure a 2-3 month old geck to be a lot larger than 2". So I am assuming that it either IS an infant or is NOT a leopard gecko.

I will post pics once i get my camera charger issue resolved.

-- -- -- --

Anyways, until I can get a picture up. I setup a 3rd tank (10 gallon) similar setup to the other 2 adults and put a couple small crickets and a bowl of phoenix worms in the middle.

Is this setup too big for a gecko that size? especially if it is an infant? Should I put it in a smaller setup until it gets a little bigger?

My concern is that I noticed for the most part the little one just hides in either one of it's hide boxes while the few crickets I have in there are all in hard to reach places of the tank.

So I have no idea if it is eating or not.

If this is indeed an infant gecko is there something I need to know as far as care is concerned compared to caring for the adult ones? (outside of smaller crickets).

--

Any information/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Gene

 

[Ccrashca069]

A picture would definately help. I think a 10 galon set-up for the little one is fine.

 

[Ipsl]

Maybe to calm her down you should cover up the sides of her tank for a while

 

[moosassah]

A whole lot of TLC. Maybe some smaller crickets? I'd definitely put a little dish with a set number of mealie worms in there so you know when it starts eating them.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

If the baby is that small and kept in a large tank, a 10-gal is probably fine, although it might be better to keep it in a shoebox type enclosure until you can make sure it's eating. I'm surprised it wasn't eaten itself, and perhaps it is so tiny because there was nothing the right size for it to eat and/or the adults intimidated it so bad it was afraid.

Good luck, and please post pics when you can!

 

[Pookachu]

interesting point and good tips. Thanks everyone.

At work now, but heading home in a few and will try to get some pics of the new posse tonight.

 

[Ipsl]

I wouldnt even go to take pics of him.. Id cover him all up and just leave even a couple waxies with the mealies just to get him eating again.

 

[Leopardbreeder]

No we need a pictures to be sure. It might be a hatchling and then we can age it..

 

[Ipsl]

true

 

[rhino43grr]

i wanna see, i wanna see...

 

[MSMD]

Hehe. Me too! I just love babies! :main_yes:

 

[Ccrashca069]

yes!!!!!!!!!!! babies are cute no mater what they are

 

[Pookachu]

Here are the I think it;s a baby pics. The lighting may look weird because I didnt want to use a flash and enhanced the picture afterwards.

Actually .. now that I have him next to a ruler he/she is closer to 5"

Click on thumbnail for larger pic...



-

I think it ate 3 phoenix worms today so thats good... but I guess it still is adjusting to the new habitat.

 

[rhino43grr]

i changed my mind from what i said in your other post about it being a pictus gecko... i think the little one's a banded gecko now.

http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/june/papr/du_wbgecko.html

http://www.lizards.com/learn/westernBandedGecko.jsp

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

...Now, this may be a stretch, but it honestly looks like a Yucatan Banded gecko to me. The colors on the Western Banded are too light, yet when you compare the colors and the eye shape and coloring it more closely resembles Yucatan Banded. EDIT: The first two photos/links show guys that look a little lighter than the baby you have, but after looking at lots of pictures of them there seems to be a brightness variation.

http://www.thelizardwizard.co.uk/coleonyx_elegans_001.htm

http://www.thelizardwizard.com/Coleonyx_elegans_gallery.htm

http://www.thefriendlygecko.com/Yucatan Banded Geckos.htm

Again, I'm no expert... But they just looked really similar...

Maybe going through and looking at different types of banded geckos would be your best bet.

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

...Now, this may be a stretch, but it honestly looks like a Yucatan Banded gecko to me. The colors on the Western Banded are too light, yet when you compare the colors and the eye shape and coloring it more closely resembles Yucatan Banded. EDIT: The first two photos/links show guys that look a little lighter than the baby you have, but after looking at lots of pictures of them there seems to be a brightness variation.

http://www.thelizardwizard.co.uk/coleonyx_elegans_001.htm

http://www.thelizardwizard.com/Coleonyx_elegans_gallery.htm

http://www.thefriendlygecko.com/Yucatan Banded Geckos.htm

Again, I'm no expert... But they just looked really similar...

Maybe going through and looking at different types of banded geckos would be your best bet.

Another gecko that looks similar is the Central American Banded Gecko ( C.mitratus).

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=8670&highlight=mitratus

 

[Pookachu]

Neat .. thank you for the references Hannah. I just got to the office so I will take a better look into it later during my lunch break.

Edit: Added
Taking another quick glance .. he/she looks very similar to that C.Mitratus pic... will have to do some research on them and the other geckos you mentioned when I get a break.

Again, thank you for the info ^_^

 

[MSMD]

Definitely not a leo, but very cute nontheless!

 

[Leopardbreeder]

Definitely looks like a banded gecko to me. That is neat how he just some how showed up lol. You have yourself a miracle baby. I cant believe it didn't get eaten!

 

[Gecko]

It's a C. mitratus.

If it were me I'd do a shoe box set up with a plant lid flipped for a hide. I relatively moist substrate like soil or coco fiber. At least until you know it's eating.

The tail looks a little thin for a banded gecko, but if you keep it by itself and feed it every other night assumeing it's eating it should bulk up.