Hello! New here...

[geckoluver4evr]

Hello! Yesterday I went to Petco to get a new pet. I came home with my new baby Pepper, a tiny leopard gecko! Pepper was the smallest one there, and had just arrived at the store that morning. What a stressful day for him/her! So Pepper is setup in a 10 gallon. It has a heat lamp that is on for 10 hours a day, but I am working on getting a heatpad next week. Pepper has a hidey cave that has a washcloth in it to snuggle in if he/she is cold, and a calcium dish and a water dish. Also inside, a large rock for sitting on and a few decorative silk plants. I have been feeding Pepper very small worms, I forget what they're called! But we bought the smallest size and we have about 90 of them. Pepper ate 3 yesterday and 5 today. I was shocked that he/she was already eating for me! At night Pepper is active and in the day he/she mostly sleeps in the hidey hole, but comes out a few times to drink. I do have a quick question! These pics were taken yesterday. Can anyone estimate how old Pepper is? I know that getting them younger, they are harder to take care of, I just really don't want to lose my new baby! And I can tell Pepper is very young. Thank you.

 

[LBsLeos]

Congrats on the new baby. Looks like a hypo tang. Just make sure you get that UTH and a digital probe thermometer so you can get proper belly heat to keep her healthy and happy.

 

[geckoluver4evr]

Thank you! I absolutely will get the UTH, just have to wait a bit. But the heating lamp should help some, yes? At least until then. Other than that, am I doing okay? Sorry, nervous new owner. And is there a way to tell how old she/he is? S/he is only 3.75" long from head to tip of the tail. I know how to tell if it's male or female when Pepper is old enough...

 

[LBsLeos]

Other then the light heat source it looks like you are on the right track. The bright light shining all the time can stress out many geckos. Make sure when you get the UTH that you get a digital probe thermometer and put the probe on the floor of the hot side so that you can monitor the hot side and keep it between 88-95F. You may need a thermostat of some kind to adjust the temp of the UTH and keep it in that range. Just search and research as much as you can there is tons of useful information on the forum.

As far as age goes a more seasoned breeder may be able to tell with a weight and length measurement. They grow at different rates depending on many factors so it is hard to judge.

 

[geckoluver4evr]

Yay! Thank you very much. Well, next week Pepper is getting an UTH. ;P I will also try to get one of those thermometers. And hmmmm... I don't think I have a small enough scale to measure Pepper's weight! But the length is 3.75" with the whole tail. Do you think s/he's pretty? I know nothing about gecko standards, but I think for a lil guy or girl Pepper is very pretty and cute.

 

[LBsLeos]

He/She is very cute I think you got a good one. Good luck!

 

[geckoluver4evr]

Thank you! I think I got a good one too. Thank for the luck, I'll probably need it! After I fed Pepper her dinner tonight, I put my face near the tank, and Pepper saw me and stalked right up to the glass and carefully pressed her nose to the side of the tank. It was the funniest, cutest moment ever! Gecko's just have to have personalities, because that was just too cute and funny.