I Rescued A Leopard Gecko

[jerrymb]

You can warm the tank with a light bulb from above. It's not ideal, but if just for a couple days, it'll do.

I thought that the bright light will stress him out?

 

[BadKelpie]

I think it would be more important to have heat than no stress. As long as he has a nice dark hide.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, please, this is just what makes sense to me.

 

[acharpenter]

I have a red heat bulb in the left side of my tank - above some faux rocks.

Geek likes to perch himself on the rocks quite a bit.

My thought is, if you can find a light source to heat the rocks that is not blastingly "daylight" - it will help give him a place for belly heat.

Take it FWIW.....I am a new Gecko owner myself. This is just mine and Geek's own experiances:

 

[jerrymb]

I've had my rescued gecko now for about 5 days. He hasn't eaten a thing that I can see. He has barely moved at all. When I lift up his rock he looks fine. I've had lizards before but not geckos. I'm assuming that they don't really do much as far as moving or activity goes? It seems like he's in a state of hibernation. At this point I'm glad that I rescued him but I honestly don't know if I want to continue keeping him. Are there any gecko owners in central Jersey that might to adopt him if I decide that's what I want to do?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Inadequate heat will cause lack of appetite and activity. If you are truly thinking of not continuing to rehab this gecko, I would urge you to at least post an adoption ad on this forum very soon for a local pick-up. His chances of making a decent recovery become diminished over time.

 

[BadKelpie]

Once you get heat on him, he'll get more active and start eating.

 

[jerrymb]

Inadequate heat will cause lack of appetite and activity. If you are truly thinking of not continuing to rehab this gecko, I would urge you to at least post an adoption ad on this forum very soon for a local pick-up. His chances of making a decent recovery become diminished over time.

I really like him or her. I've had chameleons before and they are very easy to care for. Honestly I'm not in a postion to pour any more money into the gecko. Especailly if he gets ill. He's being taken care right now as well as any gecko here on the forum is being taken care of. But if his care requires me spending much more money than I have already spent then his care might suffer.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Perhaps now isn't the time for you to have a leopard gecko. But you still did the right thing in taking him in! Rescues can sometimes become very costly, even if the animal was free. Hopefully someone in your area will be able to take care of him.

Thanks for keeping him from being released to a certain death!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jerrymb]

Some good news I hope. I was assuming that he wasn't eating at all. Last Tuesday I put 2 good size crickets in the tank. Friday 3 days later I put 2 more crickets into the tank. I cleaned out the tank today and could only find 1 cricket left. There were no dead crickets and there were no crickets hiding anywhere so he had to have eaten 3 crickets even though for the last 6 days I haven't really seen any movement at all from him. And it would have been impossible for the crickets to get out of the tank. I don't think they can climb glass?

 

[BadKelpie]

No, they don't climb. Crickets aren't that bright, they have no problem walking right up to Echo's mouth, so he likely didn't have to even get up to get them.

 

[PaladinGirl]

I have a red heat bulb in the left side of my tank - above some faux rocks.

Geek likes to perch himself on the rocks quite a bit.

My thought is, if you can find a light source to heat the rocks that is not blastingly "daylight" - it will help give him a place for belly heat.

Take it FWIW.....I am a new Gecko owner myself. This is just mine and Geek's own experiances:

Where did you get the background for this tank? It's very pretty! I've been looking for something nice like this.

 

[jerrymb]

Now this is really wierd. A few hours ago I cleaned his tank out and put 3 good size crickets in the tank. Now about 4 hours later I only see one cricket left but I never saw any movement on the gecko's part at all. Can they consume an entire cricket without much movement or noise? I'm getting my heat pad tomorrow from Pet Smart but since Friday night I rigged up something which is giving the tank bottom some decent heat. I guess the heat is stimulating his appetite?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Jerry, it takes them a while to become acclimated to a new environment, even if they gave you his tank and all. If his overall health is decent, just a victim of neglectful previous owners, he may pull up and surprise you. When people have gotten tired of their gex, care is minimal at best. It doesn't mean the animal is sick. Especially adults take longer to adjust and don't eat as much as a growing leo, or as often. I've taken in some that were ravenous having been starved to the point that 2 superworms made them regurgitate. Another didn't eat for six weeks. She had been kept cold, with no heat source. As long as you do all you can to insure they're comfortable (environment) and offered appropriate feeders with supplements, all you can do is wait it out. He's eating some, and that's a good sign. Adults that haven't been eating don't need to be offered food daily, every other day is fine and less stressful. Also, crickets harass gex and eat poop (which causes parasites) if left in the tank overnight. You might consider switching to worms at least temporarily. Try not to worry too much

 

[jerrymb]

I just got my heating pad. I don't want to stick it to the underside of the tank. Can I just place it under the tank without peeling off the white paper that protects the sticky side?

 

[houseb]

I just use foil (shiny side out), try to minimize air bubbles. Then I use packaging tape to stick it onto the bottom of my tank. Be sure to test the temp on it. I'm pretty sure it voids the warranty though.

 

[im faster]

Just put it under tank..

 

[bettafish]

The idea is that it goes UNDER the tank, down the road it can come off if you're that worried about it.

 

[acharpenter]

Where did you get the background for this tank? It's very pretty! I've been looking for something nice like this.

That is actually a canvas painting that I put behind his tank until I bought and installed a foam rock background : )

As far as the rescue - it sounds like he is eating well - you could try waxworms but be careful as they are highly addictive for Gecko's

Is he going to the bathroom? This is an excellent indicator of him eating...

 

[jerrymb]

I put the heat pad in the tank this morning and boy did he come back to life! He's coming out of his cave every few hours to walk around and he's eating crickets like crazy now. Can they overeat? How safe is it to buy crickets online?

 

[jerrymb]

I put the heat pad in the tank this morning and boy did he come back to life! He's coming out of his cave every few hours to walk around and he's eating crickets like crazy now. Can they overeat? How safe is it to buy crickets online?

I'm getting a little worried about him. Last week he started eating like crazy after not having eaten the first week I had him. But the last 4-5 days he's not eating. He sees the crickets and he starts to stalk them but then quickly looses interest in them.