Help Dark Patch on My Baby Leopard Gecko.

[HairyLemon]

Just purchased this baby leopard gecko and he has a dark patch on his belly, Do I need to be worried? Also unrelated anyone know his morph? Thanks.


imgur: the simple image sharer
imgur: the simple image sharer

 

[indyana]

Replied in the chat box, but to summarize:
- Random dark spots caused by organs/food are common. Probably nothing to worry about, so long as the little guy starts eating/pooping over the next few weeks (if it's not already).
- Normal or maybe Snow for the morph.

 

[HairyLemon]

Ok thanks, What could I do to give him more nutritious food? He was being feed crickets and now I have him on meal worms and crickets every other day. Also pooped on me when I went to check on him about 10 min ago

 

[indyana]

Insects should be gutloaded for 1-2 days before feeding them to him to boost their nutritional content. This means feeding them healthy vegetables/fruit. Here's a great post that lists some ideal gutloading foods for insects:
http://geckoforums.net/f128-feeding-feeders/97677.htm#post782844

Note that the mealworms would need to be taken out of the fridge for gutloading if you're keeping them refrigerated.

In addition, you should have some calcium and vitamin supplements:
- Most people keep a tiny dish of reptile calcium (without vitamin D3) inside the cage for the geckos to lick if they need extra calcium.
- You should dust the insects with a calcium/vitamin combo right before the gecko eats them (put a little bit in a plastic bag with the bugs and shake them around to coat). Repashy Calcium Plus is a great combo dust that has all the required vitamins and calcium in it.

Once you get settled in and have the basic care down, you can also try out different types of feeder insects. A lot of folks, myself included, feel that throwing in some variety now and then leads to healthier geckos that are more interested in their food.