First post, with some questions!

[Alison Ferguson]

A few days ago I picked up my first Leopard Gecko, he came from his previous owner with his original wooden vivarium. I did some research and made some improvements to his home, changing his current substrate from sand/gravel to some brown repti-carpet, adjusting temps (which were too low, via a new digital reader) and adding some new hides (cool) and a good reptile friendly cleaning!
Since arriving he started fairly shy, but he responded really well to the carpet and is alot more active. He will sit on my hand very happily etc but I have a few concerns if you could help me answer.

Outside around 4 wax-worms (i know they are treats, had to see if he would eat) he has been ignoring his mealworms/water/calcium or maybe he is drinking but im not seeing it. When should this be a concern?
He passed his first waste, which was fairly green and wondering if this could just be stress related (moving, environment changes)?
Wondering if you could identify this morph, worried it may be an enigma but previous owner said it was a hypo ghost:

Lastly is there any good viv decor, that geckos really enjoy home made or otherwise? Thanks alot!

 

[katie_]

Its an enigma.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

If her waste is green, it would be a good idea to take a sample to the vet. Hopefully someone can give you ideas as to a particular reason why it might be green, but, from what I've found, it should be checked by a vet.

It's not unusual for leos who were just moved to a new home to not eat much or even at all. Unless he starts losing weight, you don't need to be concerned. Also, you should wait a minimum of one week to handle him. He's in a whole new place with new smells and new surroundings, so adding more stress by handling isn't ideal.

~Maggot

 

[Alison Ferguson]

I would have preferred it to be a hypo ghost...oh well. Love the guy, hasnt exhibited any symptoms even with all the stress.
Kind of a weird question, but I have 2 choices to keep the viv and the Gecko. One very active, noise and people or a quiet room with me as the only visitor...which is bettr suited for him? Will too much sound stress him out?

Would a low wattage "moonlight" bulb, be good for him? The cool side at night, gets alittle too cool maybe that would be a decent idea?

Thanks for the replies so far! Really appreciated!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Quieter would be better. Leos are generally not easily stressed by noise (compared to other reptiles), but they still would do better without a lot of traffic.

A moonlight bulb would be fine, though I'd suggest a ceramic heat emitter instead, as it doesn't put off any light. If the warm side temps stay warm enough at night, though, I don't think you really need to worry about the cold side. If it's too cold on that side, he won't go there. Just make sure the warm side is plenty warm enough.

~Maggot

 

[katie_]

lights have been known to trigger enigma symptoms so just be careful

 

[Alison Ferguson]

Will be staying clear of lights if that could affect its health. Changed its location in the house, give it abit of privacy to settle.

My warm side seems to be sitting around 85-88, but the mat is at max...coming in at 92 (directly on the glass above the mat). Im assuming the repti-carpet is blocking some the heat, should be fine?

Good advice so far!

 

[OhioGecko]

I would add an ceramic heat bulb to produce more heat on the warm side. And like Katie_ said above, lights are known to trigger the Enigma syndrome in Enigmas.

 

[Alison Ferguson]

Having cut out an area of the repti-carpet, replacing it with some newspaper I am having more success on the warm side. No problems now getting it to 90-95, but the cool side still drops to 60-70 this is probably due to the very cold temps here in the UK at the moment. Should I look into adding another heat-source, to boost it to 75-80? As he is very rarely in the cold side, which does indicate a problem.

He has started to eat more, chasing down a few crickets but after 2-3 he loses interest...is this normal or should he be eating more? Seems to have no interest at all in his mealworms (24/7 with a pile of calcium). Looking into those dubai roaches at the moment and considering bringing some green poop to the vets (any advice welcomed here too).

He loves to be handled and will climb up my arm, sitting on my shoulder or knee.

Thanks!