Hello. I am new and need help for my leopard gecko.

[DeadPoet]

I own a leopard gecko (her name is Orla). I have had her for about a month and I am worried about if I am doing everything right. This thread is my attempt at gleaning any possible mistakes I may be making from people more vetted in the field to correct me in. The cage is 18in x 18in x 18in, the flooring is a personally cut ceramic tile. The cold side is 21-22 degrees Celsius (70 -72 Fahrenheit), and the hot side is 27 Celsius (81 Fahrenheit) with the top of the hide on the hot side being 33 Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) which I consider a basking spot, these were measured with a temperature gun. I turn the heat light off at night which leaves the tank at 21-22 degrees Celsius (70 -72 Fahrenheit). The gecko is 6-7 months old and 7 inches long, I feed her crickets dusted in calcium and multi vitamin powder. I don't know how many crickets I should be feeding her, but currently it has been ten crickets every day to every other day. I have a moist hide filled with sphagnum moss that has been wetted and rung until wet but not dripping.

I noticed she has some shorter toes on one of her back legs, which I believe were present before she entered my care but I have heard that it can be due to issues while shedding and want to make sure it is not something that would happen again.

Her limbs appeared a bit sunken in to me but I am not sure if that is just be me being paranoid. In that same she has a white patch on the tip of her nose, which might be nothing but it did get my attention.

Images below for reference:

Sunken limbs?


General full body images:


White spot on tip of nose:


Both back legs and feet (one set of toes definitely looks shorter):


General cage set up (hot hide usually in the back right):


All help and advice is greatly appreciated.

Edit: What should I do if I think my gecko is too skinny? I think they may be too skinny, and they aren't eating what I offer, but they did shed their skin about two days ago, so I don't know what to do. I would really benefit from a proper method to assess health, I can't find any good references of a healthy 6-7 month old leopard gecko. I've think looking at the size of the tail is a method. Mines tail is narrow, no real curve, but not conventionally skinny.

 

[acpart]

Your gecko looks pretty reasonable to me. It is missing a few toenails probably due to stuck shed. This isn't a big problem for a terrestrial gecko. Next time it sheds, make sure there's no retained shed on the toes. If there is, use your fingernails to get it off (you can soak the gecko briefly in warm water or spray a little water on the feet to make removal easier). The tail doesn't look unusually skinny to me; the gecko looks pretty much in proportion. I usually feed my adult geckos about 4 crickets each (though usually I end up getting more in there) twice a week. Yours is still technically a juvenile, but ultimately you should aim for twice a week. Some geckos eat less in colder weather. The spot on the nose appears to be a normal absence of pigment and the legs look fine to me.

Aliza

 

[DeadPoet]

Your gecko looks pretty reasonable to me. It is missing a few toenails probably due to stuck shed. This isn't a big problem for a terrestrial gecko. Next time it sheds, make sure there's no retained shed on the toes. If there is, use your fingernails to get it off (you can soak the gecko briefly in warm water or spray a little water on the feet to make removal easier). The tail doesn't look unusually skinny to me; the gecko looks pretty much in proportion. I usually feed my adult geckos about 4 crickets each (though usually I end up getting more in there) twice a week. Yours is still technically a juvenile, but ultimately you should aim for twice a week. Some geckos eat less in colder weather. The spot on the nose appears to be a normal absence of pigment and the legs look fine to me.

Aliza

Thank you for your input.