General questions about care, heating, etc..

[mdforthree]

Hi everyoone! I am new to leopard geckos and lizards in general, although I have kept a corn snake before. I just recently (about 1 week ago) got a juvenile male Leo named Ajax. I wasn't sure where to post a thread with questions on a lot of different topics so I just put it here. Ill just list my questions I guess.

1. Is it ok to have some nights where the temperature in the cage drops to about 73 degrees? In the day I keep the warm side at about 85 degrees while the cool side stays at about 73. Here in New Hampshire it is hard to keep the night temperatures warm. In the day I keep on a blue day heat light on and an UTH both on the warm side. I have a black night heat light that I keep on at night and sometimes in the day when it gets cold in my room. Is this ok or is there another method that could be better than what I am doing?

2. I keep mealworms in a dish in the cage with Repashy Calcium Plus at the bottom so that when I put the worms in front of him (he hasn't found the dish yet!) they are covered already. I also feed crickets that I coat in the Repashy to him along with mealworms. He doesn't like the crickets a lot, so every day he usually eats about 3-5 mealworms and about 1-3 crickets. Is this an ok diet?

3. I didn't begin to handle him until about 5 days after I got him. When I pick him up he likes to crawl up my arm and hide in my hood or sit on my shoulder. Is he hiding around up there because he is afraid of me or he just likes it up there? Also, how long can I hold him before I should put him back in the cage?

4. When feeding him/picking him up, is it ok to pick the hide up that he is under so he can get at the crickets and mealworms easier or is it bad to pick his hide up? I just don't want him to be stressed all the time that he is under there!

Thank you so much for reading the WoT. Sorry for any dumb questions I just want to make sure I have a healthy, happy gecko. Thanks again!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

1) There are a few people who don't heat their geckos at night, but I would say that's something that should only be tried by someone experienced with how absolutely vital heat is to their well-being. The generally agreed temperatures are 88-93 during the day on the hot side, ~75 on the cool side during the day, and at least 80 on the warm side at night. If you have trouble with temps, a UTH and a ceramic heat emitter should be sufficient. You may need to play with wattages a bit, but proper temperatures are essential for keeping your gecko healthy. And remember that you can't have one temperature for the enclosure. There needs to be a gradient.

2) If your gecko is a juvenile, most people allow them to eat to satiation. Crickets are a better staple than mealworms, but as long as you make sure your temps are warm enough (more than what they are now), it should be fine.

3) New reptiles should have a minimum of two weeks to settle into a new environment. Reptiles aren't really advanced enough to "like" things or experience positive emotions, but it is difficult to attribute a specific reason for everything they do. Be careful, however, with him being so high up. They are known to jump when startled, even if it's several feet down.

4) Leave the hides in. He can catch his food on his own. If you happen to drop a hide by accident, the result could be disastrous. I just saw someone who had done that to her gecko that exact same way, and, frankly, I don't know how the thing is still alive. You don't even want to see those pictures.

~Maggot

 

[acpart]

Hi, welcome to GF. Here are my answers to you questions. Other people may have different opinions; there's more than 1 way to do things:
1. Temperatures: I assume the temperatures you're referring to are air temperatures. The floor temp should be in the low 90's on the hot side (that's different than the air temp). In my opinion, as long as the gecko has a hide on the warm side, it will have belly heat in the hide and the air in there will also be warmer. I'm near Boston and I never worry about the temps in general as long as the floor temps are correct.

2. Feeding: You're doing it right. He may eat more one day than the next.

3. Handling and hiding: leopard geckos naturally seek out warm, dark places, so your hood is perfect and this is normal. Some geckos are happy to just hang out on someone's shoulder or in the hand (where it's especially warm) for quite a while, so as long as he isn't getting cold, keep him out until you or he starts feeling impatient.

4. Picking up the hide: I think it's fine to pick it up for those reasons and I do myself, but other people may differ.

Aliza

 

[mdforthree]

Cool thanks for the info guys! :main_cool3: