General Leo Questions

[Forte]

So I have had Experience with some reptiles and some not a lot of leopard gecko experiences but i have cared for them in my Environmental ED. class. And i have had mine for about 4 months now and growing well and now they love to held.

When I first got them they were about 1 month old (max) from the petstore (parents got them for little bros b day) and i had them on a stable diet of small crix and mealies for about a month then it was all mealies ever since. And i also started my mealworm farm not long after we got our leo's xD. Since my baby mealies are not fully grown i ran out quick and had to run out and get small crix from the petstore. I put 20 inside their tank and they were all gone in minutes but they were still hungry xD.

My Misc questions

My leo's are about 6 1/4" long but their food doesn't last they both eat about 10* mealies each and both just inhaled 20 small crix the last time. When do you know when its time to upgrade them to bigger (large) crickets?

Is it normal for my leo's to eat between 10-17 mealies at one sit in?


Also I have heard that some leo's associate movement with food. They do not attack my fingers anymore but they attack each other's tail after they finish all of their food is this normal or should i add more food?

Both scratch at their aquarium when they want to be held and it looks like they want to climb out but from what i have noticed they just want to be up high if that makes any sense. So i was wondering if i should get or make them a hammock to chill in xD anybody have any experience with this?


Both are relatives to each other im pretty sure their siblings but its too early to sex them from what i see. But one of my leos has bright orange at the top of its tail is this a hint of the Carrot tail gene? here is a PIC.



I'd love to hear any input and meet some of you guys xD.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Geckos of unknown genders should never be housed together. If they both turn out to be male, they'll start attacking each other before you even realise what gender they are. If they turn out to be male and female, you'll end up with a female gravid too young with serious health problems.

The nipping at each other's tails is not a good sign. That's what they do when they're establishing dominance (males do it to each other, aggressive females do it to each other, and males trying to breed do it to the female). Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty certain they don't ever do it thinking it's food. The scratching at the aquarium is also not a good sign. That's not them wanting to be held as reptiles have no desire to be held. That's probably them wanting to get out of the enclosure, which means there's 99% of the time something wrong with the enclosure. Judging from both those things, I'd maybe suspect you have two males who are starting to hit sexual maturity. Even if you don't, I would still strongly suggest you separate them. If, once they're older, you become certain they're both females, you can try housing them together if you really want to. But the chances are pretty good you've got a different combo, and the behaviour seems to point to that, so I would separate ASAP.

How much they're eating sounds fine as long as they have access to a warm area to digest their food. Juvenile leos eat more than you would imagine they could, but once they hit adulthood, their eating decreases dramatically. The rule of thumb for cricket sizes is no bigger than the space between their eyes.

~Maggot

 

[DrCarrotTail]

My babies inhale food as fast as I can give it. I let the have all they want until 20g or so, 20-25g they get about 10 mealworms (or equivalent in dubia) a night, at 25g they get 10 every other day and over 35g they get fed twice a week. I think a 20g gecko should be able to tackle adult crickets no problem.

Mine also seem to fixate on movement during feeding. They sometimes mistake a limb or bit the mealworm the other has in their mouth but not really the tail. It could be dominance or it could be them still being hungry. They'll know when they're full (or they'll throw up once - more than once and I would worry they're sick) so I don't see an issue in giving them more as long as they're still really small. Power feeding until breeding weight can have negative consequences.

I would also suggest you seperate them until you know they are for sure both female. If they are males they can (and probably will eventually) kill each other. If they are opposite sexes they can (and almost definitely will) breed before the female is big enough to handle the stress. They might be scratching to get away from the other gecko before they fight to the death if they are both males.

I've seen a couple other folks around here with hammocks in their cage. Some say their leos like them. I just wouldn't put it higher than the length of the geckos belly from their front to back legs so they don't fall far when getting out.

 

[lisa127]

I'm not sure about the nipping tails. Like the poster above me, I believe it could be either dominance or it could be that they are still hungry. Most geckos I have raised eat a lot until maybe 8 to 12 months old. At that point they really slow down. 10 to 17 mealworms for a growing gecko is not too much IMO.

As for the scratching at the sides of the aquariums, most geckos do it sometimes. I wouldn't say they are asking to be held as they are reptiles after all. I don't, however, believe it necessarily means there is something wrong with the environment. I have noticed that if a gecko is housed in a habitat with a solid top they don't do it so much. My own gecko once in a while will do it all the while looking up through the screen top.

That being said, I would separate the two leo's since you don't know what sex they are. If they end up being two males, they will begin fighting no doubt.

 

[Forte]

Thanks for the help and recommendations guys . Since the post they have been separated and put in separate tanks with identical setups to minimize any stress that might cause. I went to the petstore today and i noticed the juvenile leo's in their terrarium's and i was in awe because my leo's (were) that size and now they are 3 times that size . it's amazing how fast they grow.