Just got my first leopard gecko and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right.

[Aeo]

So I bought a leopard gecko from pet co 10 days ago. I read a lot of forums and articles about them (I've always wanted one and I've had many different pets in my life but have never had a reptile and I thought a leopard gecko would be a great start) and before I bought it I made sure I had all the supplies I needed, including food, vitamins/calcium, UTH, 3 hides, thermometer and feeding tongs. Substrate is paper towels.

I felt very bad for most of the leos in with my guy (half had pencil tails) but the one I picked had a nice fat tail and a healthy attitude. I probably did the rest of them some good taking out the bully, as much good as leos at pet co anyway. I informed the staff that the leos were starving but I doubt they will do anything.

Anyways this is my boy Arrow, named after a marking on his neck I think it's a boy because it has prominent bumps at it's cloaca indicating the hemipenis. He hissed at me day 1-3 but has since tolerated me picking him up and loves to explore outside his cage and on my bed.

He weighs 50 oz, has hot side of 92-95, cool side at 75-80 depending on how warm my room is and shed perfectly on day 3. Arrow ate some small crickets a few hours after I bought him home and continued to eat every day till day 5 when I tried to switch him to superworms. He has 0 interest in them and I read that in order to wean them off crickets you have to give them some tough love and starve them till they eat. Well he hasn't eaten in 5 days (i have offered him superworms everyday but still no interest) and I'm starting to worry about him. Those pictures were taken today and as you can see his tail is still fat but he has lost some of it since day 1.

I've decided to switch to Dubias but they don't arrive for another 4 days. I had one cricket left over which i offered today but he ignored it like the superworms. I've soaked him for 30 mins in warm water up to his belly for the last 3 nights hoping it would help if he is having digestive/blocking issues.

Am I doing something wrong? I could really use some advice.

This is my first reptile so I am unsure of any odd behavior.

 

[indyana]

What a great little gecko. I love the arrow marking on his neck!

The warm side of his cage might be a little warm; I've heard of a target of 88-92 for the actual floor of the cage. You didn't mention whether you were taking the temperature of the surface with a temp gun (preferred) or just using a thermometer that would measure the air temp. If the air is 92-95, I'd be worried that the surface temp is too hot.

As for the digestive issues, when was the last time he pooped?

I'll let someone else comment on using superworms, as I've never used them. I have used mealworms though, which are a little less intimidating. Not sure what size gecko is appropriate for a superworm... I just got dubia a few weeks ago and l love them so far. It can be a pain to catch ones the right size if you have a mixed batch, but they seem to be much more filling for my gecko.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[NikkiC223]

Awww what a little cutie! I agree with the hot side temps....if you can get them down between 88-92 that would be good. I use superworms for Teak and he loves them but he is older. Maybe your leo is still too small for them? The superworms I tend to get are pretty big and my leo only eats 1 maybe 2 every 3 days. His previous owner would dump about 30 crickets in this cage at once and when I rescued him, his cage was filled with dozens of dead crickets. When I got him, he wouldn't eat anything until I introduced him to super worms. Now he is happy Congrats on your new little guy!

 

[Aeo]

The therm has a probe (sorry forgot to mention) and when its cold in my room it is 90-92 and when its hot in my room its 92-95. The thermos that gauge the air never go above 80.

He poops everyday, and since he hasn't been eating the solid dark part of his poop has become less and less. Todays poop was just white stuff.

The superworms I had gotten were the smaller ones and should be the proper size for him. It's just strange that he hasn't eaten and won't eat a cricket that he was very happy to eat a few days ago.

and thank you for the warm welcome

 

[NikkiC223]

The whitish/yellow stuff is urinate, not poop. Hmmm, maybe he is still adjusting? Do you handle him every day? Maybe, back off a little and let him be alone for a week to get used to his new home. I know they usually say to leave them alone for up to 2 weeks (not handling them). Just make sure he has fresh water and keep offering food, but if he looks healthy, has a good size tail...I wouldn't be too worried. My leo didn't eat for almost 3 weeks when i adopted him but I had completely changed his home. All the previous owner had in there was a piece of climbing wood, and an empty water dish but I made his new home pretty awesome and it took some time to get used too. Maybe just let him be and then in a week, try again and see how he is doing.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would agree with letting him alone for a few days. He may be stressed over all the moving, handling, soaking, etc. Sometimes too much care can be harmful with these guys. They also tend to go off food when they shed and they don't need to eat everyday (although its a good idea to let them until they're at least 15g or so). Their feeding response (i.e. how fast and aggressively they go after their food) will decrease if they have food available all the time. Personally, I weigh mine every week or two to make sure they are gaining and not losing weight. This way, even if they stop eating completely for weeks I don't have to worry a whole lot. I start to worry when they've lost more than 10% of their body weight (unless they were overweight to begin with). Scales are cheap, you can get a pocket digital scale on amazon for about $8 that will work perfectly for weighing all but the biggest leos.

 

[Aeo]

I'm going to clean out his cage today and catch any superworms that escaped then leave him alone until I get the Dubias, does that sound right?

The reason I'm worrying so much is because it's my first reptile and he's still a juvi (at least everything I've read says he is) and I also read that they are supposed to eat every day. He ate some crickets the day after his shed and hasn't eaten since. I just worry lol.

(DrCarrotTail i have a scale and he weighs 50 ounces )

 

[Ozy]

Don't worry over him so much. When I got my leo (from the same place you got yours) she was the smallest one in the enclosure. The only difference was, I didn't handle Ozy. I just let her settle in and left her alone, other than offering pinhead crickets by tweezer. Leave him alone (other than offering food, cleaning the cage, changing water) for a couple of weeks. Dust all of your insects with Repashy Calcium Plus. My thermometer is set at 93 degrees. Here are a couple of pics. The first was Ozy the day I brought her home, the rest were taken about 1 minute ago.