Help please!

[Laura Lehr]

So- I had been posting on here earlier to get info about leopard geckos because ive been thinking about getting one.

My boyfriend came home from work today with a Leopard gecko. He thought it would be a nice surprise as I had expressed interest in one. Except I am by no means prepared.

I rushed out to the store and got the things I thought I needed immediately (he didn't think of any of that..lol) but now im trying to get the tank set up and worried I am doing it wrong.

The under tank heater says not to use with paper towels, the fear being that the leo will get under and get burned. I found some tiles that have never been used and am currently cleaning them up. Are these okay to use? Should I put paper towels on top of them?

What temperature should the two sides be at?

I got the mealworms for her for now- do they need to stay in the fridge?

Thanks so much

Laura

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Honestly, I use an inch or so of dirt, so I can't be of help with the tiles. I know you don't need paper towels on top of them though.

The hot side should be about 85-95, with the cool side about 70-80. As long as your house is a reasonable temperature, you can get away with just heating one side. Be sure to elevate the bottom of the tank where the UTH is, or a buildup of heat could cause the glass to crack (assuming you're using a glass tank).

I keep the mealworms in the fridge. I believe they live longer that way. Though I'm not really familiar with mealworms, so I can't say they have to be.

Just make sure to offer three hides so that he/she can thermoregulate properly - a hide on the cool side, one on the warm side, and a humid hide to shed. And the commonly suggested leo supplement is this: T-Rex Leopard Gecko Calcium Plus Supplement Reptile Food Supplements

~Maggot

 

[Lindz0518]

I use paper towels with UTH for the little ones, I take a paper grocery bag and cut it to size of the tank and then put the paper towels over that. That way if they go under the paper towels the paper bag is there. A lamp dimmer is an easy way to control the UTH, you want to measure floor temps, not air temps. Mealworms can go in the fridge, just make sure you let them warm up before you feed them so they are squirmy and will attract the leo.

 

[Laura Lehr]

Thank you so so much for the advice!

The under tank heater has little things to elevate the tank, so I put those on. Im currently watching the temp on the hot side (I bought a probe thermometer) to see what it does now that we put the tile in. I will then switch it to the cool side. I hope I can get this figured out and get sleep tonight. lol

It was very sweet of my boyfriend to surprise me, but I was so not prepared- I barely made it to the store before they closed. Thank god I did or else I dunno what I would do!

I need to get hides still- for tonight I put a tupperwear container with a door cut out on the hot side (I read they were good for moist hides, so eventually thats what it will be). I put a paper towel role on the cool side for now. I am going to look for hides online that are cheaper. it was $15-20 a hide at +++++- that just seemed absurdly expensive.

So far the baby seems settled in- he/she is super cute and seems really docile so far. I have 4 mealworms on the cool side of the tank, in a little dish and a little dish of water.

Also, I bought a calcium/vitamin combo sup- is that okay? They didnt have many choices. I read somewhere not to use calcium plus d3? Is this accurate? I am going to search online for whatever else I need, so if the supplement I have is not ok, I will purchase another.

Thanks so much!

 

[Laura Lehr]

Thanks so much for the reply!

I am trying to just scramble together and get all the info I can. I was trying to do lots of research and get prepared before getting a leo- and I had been talking to a breeder with plans of getting from him- woops! It was a nice surprise- im just hoping I didnt make any mistakes in my scrambled together set up!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Thank you so so much for the advice!

The under tank heater has little things to elevate the tank, so I put those on. Im currently watching the temp on the hot side (I bought a probe thermometer) to see what it does now that we put the tile in. I will then switch it to the cool side. I hope I can get this figured out and get sleep tonight. lol

It was very sweet of my boyfriend to surprise me, but I was so not prepared- I barely made it to the store before they closed. Thank god I did or else I dunno what I would do!

I need to get hides still- for tonight I put a tupperwear container with a door cut out on the hot side (I read they were good for moist hides, so eventually thats what it will be). I put a paper towel role on the cool side for now. I am going to look for hides online that are cheaper. it was $15-20 a hide at +++++- that just seemed absurdly expensive.

So far the baby seems settled in- he/she is super cute and seems really docile so far. I have 4 mealworms on the cool side of the tank, in a little dish and a little dish of water.

Also, I bought a calcium/vitamin combo sup- is that okay? They didnt have many choices. I read somewhere not to use calcium plus d3? Is this accurate? I am going to search online for whatever else I need, so if the supplement I have is not ok, I will purchase another.

Thanks so much!

It doesn't all need to be perfect right away. They're very forgiving reptiles. Mine was a bit of a surprise too. I had (not seriously) asked my dad to bring me home a gecko when he asked if I needed anything from the pet store, but I didn't think he'd actually do it. So I've been there too. But it all turned out alright.

As a note, it's best not to handle them for the first week or so unless you have to. They're under a lot of stress with the move and such, so it's best to let them settle in. And if she doesn't eat right away, that's alright. Sometimes the stress makes them skip a few days of eating.

I believe the problem with the D3 is that sometimes people can give too much. I'm not an expert on supplementation, so hopefully someone else can give you a better answer. I like the Repashy stuff because it's meant to give every feeding, so you don't have to worry about them getting too much or not enough of anything.

~Maggot

 

[Lindz0518]

You need a supplement with d/3 to give 1-2 a week to help with calcium absorption. As far as hides check amazon and ebay for cheaper options, that's where I get most of my stuff.

 

[Lindz0518]

I also use Repashy Calcium Plus, you can also find that on amazon. You just dust every feeder and Maggot is right, I just took in a new leo as a rescue and I am not handling it for a week. I wasn't prepared either but they are very hardy and it will be fine while you get everything in order and fine tuned. The important thing is that you want to get all the information and do things the right way. Good job!

 

[Laura Lehr]

Thanks so much!

I wouldn't normally handle a new animal at first- but since he/she came home with no tank set up and seemed very cold, I had my boyfriend hold him while I went to get things. We then swapped back and forth holding him (or her..no idea) until everything was done and I could let him settle into the tank.

I must say, he/she seemed perfectly content to snuggle into my hands. He came out and peeked through my fingers, seemed curious about what was going on. He/shs so cute!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Thanks so much!

I wouldn't normally handle a new animal at first- but since he/she came home with no tank set up and seemed very cold, I had my boyfriend hold him while I went to get things. We then swapped back and forth holding him (or her..no idea) until everything was done and I could let him settle into the tank.

I must say, he/she seemed perfectly content to snuggle into my hands. He came out and peeked through my fingers, seemed curious about what was going on. He/shs so cute!

That's understandable. No one's perfect at first - even me. I wanna see pics of this little guy now!

~Maggot

 

[acpart]

It sounds as if you're getting good advice. Two more small points: tile makes a good substrate. I find that the UTH gets close to its final heat level in about 6 hours but it can take as much as a few days to stabilize.

Aliza

 

[Laura Lehr]

It sounds as if you're getting good advice. Two more small points: tile makes a good substrate. I find that the UTH gets close to its final heat level in about 6 hours but it can take as much as a few days to stabilize.

Aliza

Ok! Thanks for the info! I will keep a close eye on it for the next few days and see what the temperature does! I hope it stabilizes quickly!

 

[Ozy]

The UTH's heat needs to be regulated or it will get too hot. You can get a HydroFarms thermostat on Amazon for $20-30. That's what I use on mine. I have the probe in her hot, dry hide and have the temp set at 93. I also use tile.. Natural Slate Tile is best and it's really cheap. The way I did my tile was I got it, had it cut to fit the tank. Then came home and scrubbed the tiles with a new toothbrush and diluted Dawn dish soap, and rinsed them REALLY well with SUPER hot water. I stood them vertically to air dry. While they are drying, take a couple of bags of hermit crab sand and spread it on the bottom. When the tiles are dry, put them on top of the sand. I don't use any kind of sealant or grout or anything. this makes cleaning REALLY easy. My leo has ONE tile she likes to poop on, so I just pop that one out, scrub it off, and put it back in. With mealworms what I do is take out about 20 at a time and put them in a little bowl (the rest go back in the fridge). I feed them Repashy Bug Burger and Fluker's High Calcium Cricket Diet for 24 hours prior to feeding them to my leo. Gut loading is JUST as important as supplements if not more so. The BEST feeders are roaches. I feel mine Blaptica Dubia roaches and Giant Mealworms. You can also do crickets for variety.. Phoenix worms and Silk Worms are also nice treats. Stay away from Waxworms. If you have any questions feel free to PM me

 

[Ghostoftangerine17]

Have no advice to add (the awesome GF regulars have covered basically everything), but I'm waiting for some pics!

 

[Laura Lehr]

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone!

I have been mainly keeping the probe on the hot side and watching to see what it does. Last night it seemed to settle around 96 and when I woke up after a couple of hours of sleep, it was still right around that temp. I moved it to the cool side for a while to get a temp check, and on the far end of the cool side, it seemed to settle right in the low 70's.... 72/73. Is that okay for the cool side or too low? I am going to do another cool side check later. For now I put the probe back on the hot side to see what it does.

She/he (I really need to sex this baby already but I dont wanna cause any stress- so oh well lol) has been hanging out in the hide on the hot side, and behind the hide on the hot side since late last night. Seems content over there right now.

Last night I placed the tile that I had in my house down, so thats on the floor of the tank....and I placed a layer of paper towels over it for easier cleaning- so that's what I have at the moment. It seems to be working ok?

I ordered some hides and stuff on petmountain last night- hopefully they wont take long to get here. I also ordered a piece of wood, another probe thermometer, a hydrometer...I dont remember what else. lol What else can I get readily cheap to make him/her feel at home?

Also, right now I have the UTH plugged directly into the wall (no surge protector or anything)- is this a fire hazard? (sorry- I dont know much about electrical things!)

I am going to look into getting a thermostat for the tank- I wish I had figured all this out before my boyfriend showed up with her! lol

I will get pictures asap! Shes hiding a lot right now, which makes it hard, but as soon as I can get some I will!

 

[Lindz0518]

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, if the temp gets any higher put a couple layers of paper towels under the tile until you can get a thermostat. Cool side temps seem ok. I am excited to see pics as well. With hides just make sure you have a hot, a cool and a humid. I'm sure if I missed anything that someone will cover it. Most people on here know their stuff!

 

[Laura Lehr]

Thanks so much!

So, I just went down to check on her, and the temp was only 85? It didn't appear to be climbing and the probe had been sitting there for a while. I moved the prob and all the temp did was go down, not up. I ended up gently moving the baby so I could try to adjust paper towels and see whats going on and she felt cool to the touch (not cold...but not warm either). I had had paper towels over lapping ever so slightly, so I smoothed those out so they dont overlap to see if that makes a difference. The temp went up to 88 after that. Im gonna keep an eye and see what happens. It confuses me that one minute its 96 and then its 85? When I used to use heat lamps, I never had this issue. I'm confused.

I just want to make sure that the baby is gonna be ok. The worst thing is I have a couple of deadlines to meet for classes im taking online this semester and tons of other work to do (end of the semester rush) but I can't concentrate on it cause im worried about her. :/

 

[lisa127]

Get a temperature gun!!

 

[Lindz0518]

I do love my temp gun. The good thing is about leopard geckos is they are very resilient. She won't start going downhill if everything is not perfect now, I am currently using a regular heating pad as belly heat for a rescue I got while I wait for the UTH to get here. She shouldn't feel hot to the touch, 88 is not a bad temp they usually say 89-95 floor temp. Just keep an eye on it, get your school work done ( I am also in the middle of finals, so taking in the rescue kinda preoccupied me as well) and try not to stress. Sometimes air pockets under the tile cause uneven heat distribution. Maybe sometime in the next couple weeks, take a look at some of the cages posted in housing and maybe go get tiles for the whole cage and put a thin layer of sand (just not calcisand) under the tiles and that will help distribute heat more evenly. The initial set up seems like a lot of work but as soon as you get it up and running then it really is a breeze to maintain.

 

[SC Geckos]

The BEST feeders are roaches. I feel mine Blaptica Dubia roaches and Giant Mealworms. You can also do crickets for variety.. Phoenix worms and Silk Worms are also nice treats. Stay away from Waxworms. If you have any questions feel free to PM me

Giant mealworms are a feeder I would avoid. They are pumped full of hormones to make them large. I would recommend switching to regular mealworms or superworms. IMO your gecko will be a lot better off.