Does diet reflect skin color?

[Tkohlbre]

Hey so i've noticed that everyone elses leos are much brighter than mine! i still know that it is still fairly young but im worried that my leo isn't getting enough nutrition! Before i put it on a diet of mealworms with a mix of assorted bugs from my back yard (wild crickets, pill bugs etc.) it did fine with those. then it got bigger and i started it on superworms. Which was ok but eventually it he started to have trouble digesting them! One time she made a poop the looked like it didnt even bother trying to digest the superworm...looked painful too. So when i saw that i stopped feeding superworms to it immediately and went to crickets. I new try to gut load all my crickets and i occasonally dust them too for it. i dont think it likes them dusted..:main_no:

i know it might be a different kind but im not exactly sure that's the case. i really just wanna make sure it's getting enough nutrition to be a happy leo.

 

[Mel&Keith]

The feeders don't really affect their color but their temperature and stress level or an illness can. When you see worms that look like they haven't been digested, more than likely they were regurgitated (which can also be a sign of illness or stress). How is your tank set up? Temps/type of heat, substrate, etc? Also how much and often are you feeding?

And I guess it goes without saying that genetics play a big factor in color.

 

[JordanAng420]

One of my females completely changed color when she started ovulating. It was like, night and day. So i'm pretty sure hormones have a lot to do with it also.

 

[Tkohlbre]

well..

The feeders don't really affect their color but their temperature and stress level or an illness can. When you see worms that look like they haven't been digested, more than likely they were regurgitated (which can also be a sign of illness or stress). How is your tank set up? Temps/type of heat, substrate, etc? Also how much and often are you feeding?

And I guess it goes without saying that genetics play a big factor in color.

well this was about 2 years ago, she hasn't had a problem since, the new cage i just put her in is a desert type terrarium. (fine sand substrate from the pet store, bits of moss here and there, lots of safe wood to climb on, and water is always available.) Also i provide her with a night light, a day light, and a heat rock. But she never really uses the heat rock so i don't think it's an issue. I also feed her 2-3 crickets every other day and she hungrily crunches them up. She seems to have no problem with the crickets, just with the worms. I hand feed her to avoid impaction.

Might be genetics/hormones then?

 

[JordanAng420]

This is way off topic, but please remove the heat rock. It's in your gecko's best interest. Those rocks are WAY too hot and the animals just don't know to move. In fact, out of curiosity, I shot one that a customer brought into my work with a temp gun and the reading was over 150 degrees!!! Instead, try an UTH. The goal is to have your warm side around 93-97 degrees and the cool side around 80. Even though the gecko hasn't had a problem that you know of with the rock, trust me. 90% of the reptiles I see with skin problems are from heat rocks.

 

[JordanAng420]

And yes, i'd tend to believe that it's age and or genetics playing a big part in her color.

 

[Tkohlbre]

hmmm..indeed

This is way off topic, but please remove the heat rock. It's in your gecko's best interest....

Ahh yea i've taken it out anyways so it should be ok. I've been looking at the UTHs im my local pet stores but always shunned away from them for some reason. Anyways, when i get one of these, im assuming ill keep the hide house on the cool side and the lamp and the UTH on the warm side, right?

 

[JordanAng420]

Ideally, you want at least two hides and a moist hide. If it's a smaller tank, you can do one hide on the warm side and one hide on the cooler side and make the cooler hide the moist hide. They don't bask, so if your temps reach 95 with just the UTH, then you should be good with just that.

 

[got spots?]

I found an interesting idea out a few days ago. Too see if sand is fine enough(though I dont recommend it period) use vinegar on it. It shows how much a mild acid brakes it down.

 

[MiamiLeos]

firs off, most of the leos you see on this forum are from quality breeders. did you get her from a pet store? theyre never really the best quality animals to say the least..

ok no ones going to say this so i guess i have to.. PLEASE do not EVERRRR feed wild insects. insects from your backyard are exposed to highly toxic pesticides and they also ALWAYS carry parasites. yes i say always because at some point in that insects life it ate or came in direct contact with something (feces, rotton food) that contained parasites or its parents or grand parents etc did. pesticides and parasites can easily harm and kill a leopard gecko. if you have seriously been feeding outside bugs to your leo then she is probably carrying a host of internal parasites and could be suffering from a toxic poisoning. for her health, she needs to be seen by a vet and have a full exam and a fecal check. please, dont feed outside bugs again. her dull color can very easily be due to poor health and parasites. i dont mean to be so harsh, but i am wondering how much research you did before acquiring your leo...

 

[Mel&Keith]

This is way off topic, but please remove the heat rock. It's in your gecko's best interest. Those rocks are WAY too hot and the animals just don't know to move. In fact, out of curiosity, I shot one that a customer brought into my work with a temp gun and the reading was over 150 degrees!!! Instead, try an UTH. The goal is to have your warm side around 93-97 degrees and the cool side around 80. Even though the gecko hasn't had a problem that you know of with the rock, trust me. 90% of the reptiles I see with skin problems are from heat rocks.

Please listen to this. :main_yes: You should really go with an under tank heater to maintain proper temperatures. Do you know what the temperatures are right now with only the lights?

 

[Tkohlbre]

firs off, most of the leos you see on this forum are from quality breeders. did you get her from a pet store? theyre never really the best quality animals to say the least..

i've only fed her a few wild insects from outside..... and if there was parasites/ toxins, she probably would be dead by now. I always quarantined the bugs i got from outside for a couple days before giving them to her to to try and make sure any chemicals were passed through. Also, yes, i did do research before getting my leo... i appreciate your advice...

 

[Tkohlbre]

Please listen to this. :main_yes: You should really go with an under tank heater to maintain proper temperatures. Do you know what the temperatures are right now with only the lights?

Already done!:main_laugh: (well the taking out of the heat rock part at least.) im not quite sure about temp but ill get a thermometer for the cage soon. im kinda strapped for cash right now >_>. im in college! Money doesn't grow on trees for a guy like me! Anyways the lighting im using right now heats the cage pretty well, but its probably lower than it should be.


fhew!

 

[sammer021486]

Already done!:main_laugh: (well the taking out of the heat rock part at least.) im not quite sure about temp but ill get a thermometer for the cage soon. im kinda strapped for cash right now >_>. im in college! Money doesn't grow on trees for a guy like me! Anyways the lighting im using right now heats the cage pretty well, but its probably lower than it should be.


fhew!

That could be a very good reason why your gecko appears dull, if the heat is too low then they do dull, but that may not be the only reason.

Another thing that I have noticed is that geckos that are kept with visible light sources as their heat source tend to be duller than those that are provided with IR or UTH heat sources.

 

[HepCatMoe]

as far as a thermometer goes, it does not need to be very fancy and you can get one pretty cheap at a hardware store. should only be a few bucks.

i would suggest trying to get one small enough so that you can actually put it in the hide and measure the actual hide temp.

 

[MrLeoGecko]

im realli sorry but the things uve said on here realli have made my skin crawl

wild bugs, heat rocks, ive also noticed that u said she/he doesnt like dusted crickets so on that im presuming that u dont dust them

if ude of done your reading on them then u wouldnt of done the things u have im not trying 2 make u feel bad or mock u but the things ive read arnt realli good#

light's arnt going to make the situation beter leo's are nocturnal so lights make no diffrence in the day they hide so light's i.e the sun doesnt get to them only the surrounding area and when they come out at night they stay warm on the heated ground from the remaning heat from the sun which is why u should always use a uth u should only use a light to up the ambiant

 

[Tkohlbre]

im realli sorry but the things uve said on here realli have made my skin crawl

wild bugs, heat rocks, ive also noticed that u said she/he doesnt like dusted crickets so on that im presuming that u dont dust them

if ude of done your reading on them then u wouldnt of done the things u have im not trying 2 make u feel bad or mock u but the things ive read arnt realli good#

I can understand where your comming from with the wild bugs, that probably isnt a good idea and i dont feed her those anymore because i figured its better to be safe than sorry. she's strictly on a diet of gut loaded crickets now-a-days. As far as dusting goes, it just seemed like feeding her 3 dusted, gut loaded crickets was like feeding a baby 5-6 vitamins, seemed like too much.

When i was reading up on keeping leos when i first got her there was nothing on the sheet that said a heat rock is terrible for them. and light is light also so even if she isnt using the actual light, the heat created by the light still keeps her warm. i dont think UTHs were even around when i got her...

Anyways, it sure sounded like were insulting my intelligence with the first post that you made, but i guess that's a personal issue for me. what is importiant is i get the proper stuff for my leo.

 

[STUTFL]

There are apparently vets who say to feed leos grapes - you're going to get a lot of bad advice or a lack of advice, which is why it's good to make posts like this one asking for help from actual owners and breeders of leopard geckos.

Just remember, more research is always better, and if a lot of people here give you the same advice, no matter how it's phrased, it's probably best to take it!
And if you find that the expense of keeping a gecko has been severely misrepresented to you, and you simply cannot maintain the animal properly at this time while still taking care of yourself, you can always try to find a new home for it.

I'm extremely strapped for cash, but I'm very attached to my little leo and I'll cut the corners I need to so he's healthy as long as he lives (he's getting on in years now). :sweetheart:

 

[STUTFL]

Oh, and my gecko was kept with a day lamp and no UTH for seven years before I got him, and he was a significantly muddier yellow-brown than he is now. He brightened right up with the heat.

 

[Jheuloh]

I've never heard of diet reflecting skin color. I've read about vitamin deficiencies creating paler looking animals, however.