Is this normal behavior?

[nikielizabeth27]

My daughter bought a leopard gecko a couple weeks ago. His tail seem sufficiently fat, has an overheadfluorescent light, he has two hides - one humid, heating element underneath has his floor 80 degrees or slightly higher. He eagerly mows three to four crickets a day. I have a few questions...
1) today I went to feed him, he anticipates this and is waiting for me ( hadn't expected that level of intelligence). Today it was taking me a minute and he started open and closing his mouth strangely. His mouth is normal and closed appropriately at other times. Is that normal of should I be concerned? Was that a hurry up with the grub kind of movement? Is four crickets enough daily?
2) He is less active than I thought he would be, are these little dudes typically chill? I am wondering is the warm half of s cage needs to be warmer. He sprawls out on the floor of the cage ( warm side).
What I have read isn't covering these topics for me..thanks.

 

[ballpythoncrazy]

As far as the mouth thing goes, as long as it seemed to close normally and not be bothering him it should be okay. I haven't actually seen that happen though.

But NO, four crickets a day is NOT ENOUGH. Especially if he is just a baby or a juvenile. He should be eating as many crickets as he can eat in a 15 minute period (mine can eat 10-30 depending on their age). If he is a baby or still young he should be eating every day. If he is an adult he should be eating every 2-3 days.

And as far as how active he is, Leo's are definitely very laid back. Mine will sleep all day, get excited for food, occasionally they'll ask to come out. When they're sleeping all sprawled out in their tank like that it just means they are comfy and feel safe with their surroundings!


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[indyana]

Ideal temperature for heating a leopard gecko is having the floor surface 88 - 92 F (as measured by a temp gun or a digital thermometer with a probe laid flat on the floor). The ambient air temperature can be a bit lower than that on the warm side (70 - 80 F). If your floor is only around 80 F and the air is cooler, that may explain why he is not active.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Hmm welcome aboard! First of all, the overhead lighting is not really necessary unless during replenishing the water and food supply & poop spot cleaning as bright lights can only bring stress than more good to leos.

As for food, as i've come to an understanding that they should eat as much as they can on a single go, feeding only until you see the next poop. Once you reach a desired weight/chunky look, you can start cutting back on feeding.

As for activity, some leos are either active or lazier than some individuals. It varies per gecko but overall they should have an active feeding response