Brought home two new family members

[Bushido]

This afternoon, picked up two baby Gecko's from Petco here in Waldorf, Maryland. I suspect one is a little older than the other, just by looking at the thickness in his/her tail. I'm still not sure what sex they are, and neither did the lady who helped me. She was a lot of help though.

I named them Gordo and Yoshi, and picked up the Delux Desert Gecko Kit that they sell. I made sure that it had the carpet I read about online, and didn't add sand to make the tank look like a real desert.

Is anyone familiar with this set? It came with the two bulbs, and I picked up a heating pad as well.

I am worried about the one who looks like the runt compared to the other. He hasn't done much since I got him. He hasn't ate, while the other has already ate two worms on his own. He's just sitting in the same spot, while the other walks around the tank (as I type..)

Is this normal? What should I look for?

Here's a picture of one of them in the tank. You can't see the left side of the tank.

http://i39.tinypic.com/umo7m.jpg

Also, the temp/humidity...I can keep the temp at 85-90 with no problems for the tank, but the humidity keeps dipping down to 30 no matter how much I spray. How many times am I supposed to spray a day? How MUCh do I need to spray each time? I read it should always be maintained around 50.

I'm open to any and all suggestions, even stuff I didn't talk about. I want to make sure I keep these guys around for years, and years. I may also get a Bearded Lizard later on.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Welcome! :main_yes: The set-up is good, but you need to quarantine the geckos, especially since one is thinner than the other. Oftentimes, geckos come with parasites, and they can infect each other and then both die or cause vet bills. Just get a 10-gallon fish tank from PETCO (12 bucks or so) and put one of them in there. Especially since you don't know which sex they are, separating them is important. Males would fight and can kill one another.

You need to supervise if the thinner one eats and poops. Stress in the first week of acquisition is normal. However, if the poop looks liquid, he might have parasites, so it's time to take a fecal stain to the vet. If it eats and poops okay, it was just the "runt" and got bullied by bigger cage mates and is starved.

About the humidity: you don't need to spray them at all; those are leopard geckos and not AFT's, and the humidity in your house will be fine. Just make sure they have one dry hide and one moist hide (can be a tupperware container with wet kitchen paper towel in there). They will go in their moist hide for shedding about every three weeks, and also sleep in there occasionally. Females will use moist hides for egg-laying.

Do you have a calcium dish in the cage? A simple lid filled with ReptoCal will do. Then, they have it available at all times, even if you dust the crickets/mealworms.

Good luck with your new friends! Beardies are nice, too! Got my first two for Christmas. They get big and need a big cage, though...

Chrissy

 

[Bushido]

10 minutes before you posted. I read that having two in the same tank was destined for failure. I immediately planted the palm of my hand to my face. :main_thumbsdown:

I have a question about the heating lamp. There's a 75W Day Blue Light Bulb and a 50W Night Black Heat Bulb. Do I put them in the same spot? Or keep one to the left and one to the right?

I will get some tupplewear and put some wet paper towels in it, or can I just stuff wet moss into the hide on the cool side?

Need to go get that calcium stuff you just talked about. I will do that first thing in the morning though.

The lady at PetCo told me to feed them crickets 2/3 a week, and the worms every day, at least 5-6 of them. Is that accurate?

 

[Dimidiata]

You going to want UTH for heat, heat lamps dont really do it for these guys(that box set isnt what it claims to be). I would have the vet check out the smaller guy, possible get a fecal sample. Just to be safe, and if he comes back + for something then the other guy will need a check up aswell. It may be parasites or it could simply be he wasnt getting enough food at the store due to competition.

 

[Bushido]

Is an UTH enough in terms of giving them the heat that they need? I read that they need 85-90 in the day time on the warm side of the tank. I don't think the UTH would create enough heat for that? Or was I supposed to buy two of them?

Can Gecko's smell their food source and water? The only time I got the other one to eat was to drag his food out in front of him and let it crawl past him. I didn't see either drink any water, despite trying to lead them to the water bowl. Admittingly the water was all gone when I woke up this morning, but I suspect it evaporated from the night bulb?

 

[im faster]

im sure you really like these geckos..
however
the one i can see looks days away from death.

im not trying to be mean or anything but i strongly suggest you take it back and get your money back or trade for another..
a geckos tail should have shape to it. that is where the store there body fat and if they are that thin they have big problems.

i recommend buying from a reptile show or a breeder

 

[JeepFreak81]

Some petcos are better than others. The one i got my little guy from takes decent card of thier reptiles, but as im faster said the one in the picture looks quite thin and unhealthy. I believe petcos guarentee on reptiles is only 15 days so if your going to go for a refund i'd do it asap

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[Bushido]

Thanks for the advice. I knew something was wrong with him. I've been trying to coach him to the food/water for over an hour ago. He just has no interest in either. The other one looks completely different however, fat tail, active, was climbing on all the hides last night, etc.

I will probably give them a call today and see if I can return him. I only need one in the tank anyways, since I don't want them hurting one another as they mature and don't really have room for a 2nd tank in this room.

 

[Dimidiata]

They wont eat when you want them too, and dont get any hopes about seeing them drink. Thats pretty normal. They get a lot of moisture from their food and humid hides. Give him some time to settle in.

 

[Bushido]

Does everyone NOT use a heating lamp, and only use the under the tank heating pad?

 

[scm133]

Does everyone NOT use a heating lamp, and only use the under the tank heating pad?

Yup, just UTH.

 

[Bushido]

Yup, just UTH.

Ok, I'm going to try that tomorrow, and monitor the temp. It says on the care sheet that the hot side should always be in the 80's. Right now with the lamp on, it's 85 on the hot side.

You guys have been a ton of help, thanks.

 

[scm133]

Hot side needs to run 90-92. If you need to get another UTH to get the right temps, I would recommend the Zoo-med brand. It only needs to cover 1/3 of the tank, so measure the bottom of tank before you buy.

 

[Bushido]

How big are everyone's tanks here? Is there a cool site that shows pictures of everyone's tank set-ups? I'm trying to build a luxury home set-up for my Gecko for when it gets older and moves to a new tank. Petco's hide options are limited...any ideas where to find some better looking ones?

 

[Dimidiata]

Building them seems to be a favorite, search the forums *points to search function* try searching "DIY hide" Garuntee resaults.