Hello, new here!

[NikkiC223]

Hi there, I'm new to this thread and new to the gecko world. My name is Nicole and I'm married with a 2 1/2 year old son. I just purchased my first leopard gecko the other day. She is 5 and is beautiful! I have done a lot of research but am always open to suggestions. Please feel free to give me any good advice on caring for my gecko. I want to give her the best life possible! Thank everyone and have a great day!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Welcome! If you're looking for suggestions, try posting pics of the gecko and its setup. We can give you any suggestions on any tweaks you could make.

~Maggot

 

[firecracker]

Hi Nicole! Welcome to Gecko Forums!

 

[NikkiC223]

Thanks! I'll post pics when i get home of our new family member and of her home! I'm definitely open to any and all suggestions and advice! thanks again

 

[NikkiC223]

Here is our new family member and her setup. The coconut is her dry hide and the green tube is her moist hide...although she hasn't gone in there yet, is that ok? I used peat moss for her moist hide so if she doesn't go in there after a few days, I might just try wet paper towels to see if she likes it better. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

1) What's the substrate?
2) What's in the grey dish?
3) Get rid of the strip thermometer. They're known to be off. Get a digital one. Also, measuring the temps up that high is pointless, because heat rises, so the temps up there will be higher than where your leo is.
4) You should have more than one dry hide. There should be a minimum of one on the warm side and one on the cool side. They move around the temperature gradient to regulate their internal body temperatures, but if they don't have a place to hide, they will stay in a place that isn't the proper temperature in order to stay safe.
5) It's fine if she hasn't used the humid hide yet, but I would personally suggest moving it to the middle (assuming you have a warm and cool side). That way, if she needs to use it, it's at medium temperatures and won't raise her body temperature too much.

~Maggot

 

[NikkiC223]

The substrate is like a gravel type...its looks a lot lighter in the pic. Its like a dark grey. The grey dish has calcium powder in it...I heard they will just eat it whenever they need it and to have it available for her. Ok I'll get a different thermometer. She is able to hide under the big branch looking thing as well as the coconut. Ok I'll move the moist hide to the middle and maybe she will want to go in. Anything else? Thanks for your advice!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

The substrate is like a gravel type...its looks a lot lighter in the pic. Its like a dark grey.

Gravel? Like fish gravel?

The grey dish has calcium powder in it...I heard they will just eat it whenever they need it and to have it available for her.

What kind of calcium powder? As far as I'm aware, you can't have it with D3 in the enclosure, but they still need it, so you'll need to have both.

Ok I'll get a different thermometer. She is able to hide under the big branch looking thing as well as the coconut. Ok I'll move the moist hide to the middle and maybe she will want to go in. Anything else? Thanks for your advice!

What are the temps on the warm and cool sides?

~Maggot

 

[NikkiC223]

No, not fish gravel...hard to explain. Its safe for reptiles (beardies and leos) and he has had it in his tank with his previous owner and he never had any problems. I'm actually thinking about getting tile to put on the bottom instead. Its fluckers calcium powder, is that ok? The temp on the warm side is between 85 and 90 and on the cool side between 75 and 80. Is that ok?

 

[Ghostoftangerine17]

If it's 5 years old it may be OK to use a loose substrate. Very cute little guy!

Temps sound alright to me

 

[NikkiC223]

Yeah thats what he came with and he seems to like burrowing in it when he goes into his coconut shell. But it needs to be changed and I can't seem to find the same stuff that he has now. I might change to tile or slate. It would be easier to clean and probably be nice for the heat on the warm side.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

No, not fish gravel...hard to explain. Its safe for reptiles (beardies and leos) and he has had it in his tank with his previous owner and he never had any problems. I'm actually thinking about getting tile to put on the bottom instead. Its fluckers calcium powder, is that ok? The temp on the warm side is between 85 and 90 and on the cool side between 75 and 80. Is that ok?

Well be careful about what's safe for them. I don't have experience with this, but I know calcium sand is called "safe for reptiles," and it's definitely not. But it might be okay. If you're gonna switch, my personal suggestion would be a rocky soil (you could get it even from outside), especially if your leo digs. It's a natural behaviour for them. But that's just my personal preference.

Do you mean this?
Fluker's Calcium Supplement l dietary supplement for reptiles
Or this?
Fluker's Calcium with D3

Are those temps on the floor or up where the strip is? Of course, you can't be really sure until you get digital thermometers, but if that's what it is at the leo's level, that's fine.

~Maggot

 

[NikkiC223]

The Calcium does not have D3 in it I actually just ordered a digital therm to double check the floor temp, so I should be getting that soon!

Oh, and I have actually switched to slate tile since then so he is all good now. That stuff he came with was smelly...not sure when the previous owner actually changed it so I knew it was time for something else!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

The Calcium does not have D3 in it I actually just ordered a digital therm to double check the floor temp, so I should be getting that soon!

Make sure you get another supplement that has D3 (if you don't have it already), because they do need it. I'd recommend Repashy Calcium Plus for leopard geckos. You can use it every day without worrying about too much or too little, and still leave the calcium dish in the enclosure.

Oh, and I have actually switched to slate tile since then so he is all good now. That stuff he came with was smelly...not sure when the previous owner actually changed it so I knew it was time for something else!

Whatever floats your boat.

~Maggot