Getting a Leopard Gecko!

[SDCowboy]

Yes, you're arguing with him when we told you to get one from a breeder when you were on your second sick gecko. But you insisted on buying yet another one from petco.

If he gets this gecko and it ends up being sick, then you have every right to tell him that he should skip the store bought geckos and get one from a breeder, but you're being awfully hypocritical right now.

It's not hypocritical at all. I'm not calling him a fool for it. I'm saying don't make the same mistake I did. And Petco gave me a full refund plus a $15 gift card so why would i NOT let them replace the leo for me for free?

 

[Coby78]

It's not hypocritical at all. I'm not calling him a fool for it. I'm saying don't make the same mistake I did. And Petco gave me a full refund plus a $15 gift card so why would i NOT let them replace the leo for me for free?

I used to buy my budgies from petco, but after one of them turned out to be pretty sick (she was coughing and wheezing), I got the refund and used the money NOT on another budgie from them.

So, I would think that you should have not got a replacement since you knew the geckos were sick. That's only my opinion though.

 

[Gecko977]

I finally got the 10 gallon tank and plants clean. They were for my hermit crabs but there was a mold outbreak and it was never cleaned. I emptied everything out and managed to keep 2 plants and a water dish. I cleaned them and the tank with soap,salt,and clorox wipes. In the end I let all that set in that mixture and blasted it all with the power washer to make sure no soap or clorox residue was left. Is this clean enough?

 

[SDCowboy]

I finally got the 10 gallon tank and plants clean. They were for my hermit crabs but there was a mold outbreak and it was never cleaned. I emptied everything out and managed to keep 2 plants and a water dish. I cleaned them and the tank with soap,salt,and clorox wipes. In the end I let all that set in that mixture and blasted it all with the power washer to make sure no soap or clorox residue was left. Is this clean enough?

You might want to pick up "Wipe Out" from the petstore also and use that to help. It's great for your regular cleaning anyway. You can try a bleach solution also.

 

[Gecko977]

Okay.Do you think what I did got it clean enough though?I already dried it so I don't want to get it wet again. I'll post a pic when I get setup what I have so far. Is this a good place to buy geckos from? Here is the link to the place and gecko I like: http://www.reptmart.com/p-1872-high-colored-leopard-gecko-for-sale.aspx

 

[Gecko977]

What I have so far...

Ok here is what I have so far. Reptile mat,water dish, and two plants. What I'm still gonnna pick up is 2 hidey huts,a UTH,and a food dish. What do you guys think? Be honest.

 

[SDCowboy]

Ok here is what I have so far. Reptile mat,water dish, and two plants. What I'm still gonnna pick up is 2 hidey huts,a UTH,and a food dish. What do you guys think? Be honest.

You need to put in a humid hide also.

 

[Gecko977]

Ahh thanks for reminding me. For a humid hide, can't you just use the bottom part of a container,cut a hole out, and put a damp piece of paper towel in there? Anything else I'm forgetting?

 

[Franklinj480]

Repti carpet can snag toes and teeth, paper towels, brown lawn bags, newspaper, tile, slate are all solid alternatives.

Thank god you have a secure lid, an escape free enclosure is just as important as the UTH.

Your two hides, one should be above the heater and the other should be on the cool end. You should get a tupperware container to use as a humid hide with papertowels.

Do you have a digital probe thermometer? They're only about $10 and you need one to get accurate surface temp readings.

 

[Gecko977]

I might have a digital thermometer around my house somewhere. Could I just use one of the glass ones for aquariums and lay it on the reptile mat? Oh and about the toes snagging, I will see what happens with that but it was only $4 and paper towels or bags would be even better as far as availability for me.

 

[Franklinj480]

The stick on aquarium thermometers take the ambient air temp, they don't measure surface temp. Its stressed that you should get a reptile digital thermometer with a probe otherwise you won't know if you're too hot or too cold. I got mine at PetSmart for $10. Its worth it.

I'd go with paper towels in your situation, once you get a probe thermometer you can add extra layers to get the temp perfect

 

[Gecko977]

Okay.Let me get everything setup and see what happens first. Does anybody know what kind of leo was at the pet store today? I had never seen one with these colors. They considered it albino but it had a black and white back and tail with feet that are a greenish color. I had never saw one like this before does anybody know what that pattern is called?

 

[Franklinj480]

This is what you want:

http://www.petco.com/product/109784/Zilla-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

 

[Gecko977]

Thanks I'll pick on of those up Tuesday.

 

[Gecko977]

As for a diet for the gecko,should I feed gut loaded crickets?

 

[Franklinj480]

I used to do crickets, but then I realized how much I hate them. They stink, they die, they escape, the hide from and stress your leo out.

Mealworms are the way to go. Stick them in a container of oats with a carrot for moisture and put them in the fridge. You can load up a food dish with mealworms too so your leo can have free access whenever its hungry.

 

[Gecko977]

Crickets stink? Well I'll definitely be going with meal worms

 

[Adinar]

With the digital thermometer James linked, make sure you tape the prob to the bottom of the tank above the UTH so you get an accurate reading. The cord tends to kink up and will lift up so it won't give a true reading. Good old scotch tape will work.

 

[Gecko977]

So tape the probe directly on the glass inside the tank?

 

[Adinar]

Yup, right to the bottom to the tip of the probe touchs the glass.

OR

Depending on what substrate you are using (I saw you have a reptile carpet in your photos, I have that for my tanks) you can tape it to the top of newspaper, brown paper lawn bags, tile since they act like a buffer. The tape doesn't stick the the reptile carpet.

If you stick with the carpet is is washable! I wash mine once a month. Throw it in the washer with no detergant and let it air dry.