Juvenile acting odd

[Marvb427]

Hello, I just bought my first leopard gecko on Sunday. I brought it home, had the tank already set up, and put it in the tank and everything was fine. Later on that evening, around nine thirty, i decided to try and feed it...i dusted three meal worms and fed it two of them and left the third in the tank in case it got hungry later. The next day after i turned on the daytime bulbs i began to cleanup the tank, i grabbed the third meal worm that was still alive and took it out of the tank and then i found , what looked like, a partial digested meal worm and threw that out. All day the gecko was keeping its eyes closed and not very active. This didn't worry me too much because i know they are nocturnal but then later that evening around nine thirty i tried feeding it crickets that i dusted. I picked up the log that it was hiding under ,which was on the cool side, so that i could drop the crickets in front of it but it acted like it was sleepy or something. It kept its eyes closed most of the time. I thought perhaps the bright lights were bothering it so put in the nighttime light. It then walked around a little and went to the drinking dish to get some water. I left two crickets in the tank. The next morning when i woke the gecko was on the warm side of the tank on its log hide. i turned on the daylight bulbs and then went back to bed. when i woke up i couldn't find the gecko so i assumed it was in its moist hide so i didn't want to disturb it. I removed one cricket but couldn't find the other so i assumed that either the gecko ate it, or it was in the moist hide as well. I then left for work and just got back around nine. When i looked in i didn't see the gecko so im guessing it is still in the moist hide. Should i just leave it in there or should i lift it up to clean the moss under it and re-spray it. Also should i try and get it to eat again? I have done some research and i know that this may just be the fact that the gecko is getting used to its surroundings and all the commotion could be stressing it out. Thats why i dont know if i should leave it in its moist hide our "kick it out" to clean up after it and what not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hpKVLjWiR4

There is a link to a video showing the set up of the tank. I have changed the moist hide...it is now a coconut with a plastic lid on the bottom to help keep in moisture.

 

[Marvb427]

Ok just after posting this i noticed that it came out and is under the log on the warm side...should i still go ahead and clean the moist hide out or wait untill tomorrow?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Leave it alone for at least a few days to get settled in before trying to feed again. They don't need or much like all those lights, it even bothers some gex. Stressing leave it alone.

 

[Marvb427]

Ty..i will leave it alone for a while. I just dropped in a meal worm and it it ate that so i dropped in another and it at that as well ...i decided to dust two crickets and it ate one and let the other one go so i will leave it in there and see if it will eat that too. and i was also wondering about the temps. I had the tank about a week before i got the gecko just so that i could find an equilibrium for the right temps and the guy at the store said that daytime it should be about 95 degrees on the hot side...the past couple of days thatch what i have had it at and the cool side has been reading about 80. At night it is about 80 and 75 . Are these temps ok?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Moist hides don't need to be cleaned daily unless pooped in. Some gex do that, the little buggers. Your temps sound good, is that a surface temp and how are you measuring it?

 

[Marvb427]

I am using a Digital thermometer on the warm side. it has a prob with a suction cup that i have stuck to the right side of the tank in between the moist and dry hide with the probe pointing outward from the glass. Its about half way down the tank. The other Thermometer is just dial that is affixed the wall that was shown in the video.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

The probe should lay directly on the floor. Maybe a piece of your tank decor to hold it in place. I've seen some folks use I think electrical tape too.

 

[Marvb427]

Ok cool, Thank you. i will do that tomorrow. Another question. I am a night person (usually) and latley i havent had any other lights on so that the gecko will get used to me being up while it is up. But i do have my tv on and my laptop on too. I think this makes it stressed and doesnt come out much...will it eventually get used to this and come out?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

It should be fine after settling in. It's only been a few days. We are giants to the littles

 

[Marvb427]

Ok so i put the prob on the floor and turned that light on the setting i normally do and realized that it was a little over one hundred So i turned it down and now it is at about 93 ish. after i did that my gecko came out and spit up the two meal worms it ate last night. Then went back in the moist hide. Then a little while later she came out and went into her dry hide and poo'ed . so i guess that good because it shows she digested something. but i was wondering ...what is the best way to clean up the poo? i have reptile carpet and it seems to stick onto that well. I want to know the easiest and least stressful way to clean it up.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I was hoping she would keep the worms down Let's see if that changes with the temp adjustment. If not, a fecal test by a qualified herp vet is in order. It would be a good idea to call around and make inquiries in case this is needed. After the poop dries, you should be able to pick it up. Once she claims a regular poop spot, you can put paper toweling pieces there to just take out.

Where did you get her from?

 

[Marvb427]

Ok, I purchased her from a petsmart. I have noticed since the temp was turned down she has been out a little more. Tonight I'm going to try and feed her some crickets. Should I dust them or just try plain?the guy at the store said I should be feedimg her about five crickets the one day and then five worms the following day and to just alternate each day with crickets and worms so tonight I will try the crickets. They are rather small.

 

[Spots]

I noticed all your reptile furniture was from pet smart lol. looks like my tank. I got rid of carpet and switched to tile. I read a really convincing debate on here about the dangers of carpet. Plus tiles clean up so nicely . I would also switch to an under the tank heater. I was sold a heat lamp when I got my first gecko but as you do research on this forum you will see that almost everyone suggests a uthand I tend to trust the reputable breeders or caregivers on this forum than I do pet smart employees. Pet smart sold me over 500 bucks worth of stuff I didnt need until I did more research and bought all different stuff. I guess its my own fault for letting them tell me what I needed lol

 

[Spots]

I should correct that. Some pet smart employees know whatthey are talking about. One guy suggested I leave and buy stuff cheaper elsewhere and he had a few reptiles of his own so he was helpful. but just beware of who you ask.

 

[Marvb427]

Haha yes. What is the tile? and where can i buy one? and what kind of undertank heater would you recommend? should i buy one on the net?

 

[Spots]

I hate giving advice because I'm afraid if someone's gecko dies they will blame me lol. There is a search bar at the top of the site below the advertisements. There are tons of polls about tiles and uth. Leopard geckos need belly heat and their eyes can be sensitive to the lights so a uth is best. You also wont need to worry about having that lamp overhead. Ive had slate tiles in the past but i couldnt get them cut to size because the stores here wouldnt do it so my tank had some gaps. I have vinyl tiles now and i like it so far. Its easier to cut and the heat goes through nicely imo. As far as uth, i ordered one from the bean farm since i didnt have many options since most sites did not ship to canada lol

 

[Spots]

Pet smart also sells uth but I wanted one that was non adhesive so I could remove it of I needed to. The ...I can't remember the brand but it was at pet smart and not the exo Terra. It was the one for desert animals. Anyways that one, the wattage was too low and wouldn't reach the proper temp. My room is pretty cold too so the uth was only reaching 85 even with insulation .

 

[Dog Shrink]

I remember those conversations Spots

For the op, aside of the lights something else that I noticed reading your conversation is that you leave crickets in the tank for a long period of time for your leo to eat it. You let the crix free roam and are not in an escape proof bowl. The crix will nibble on and harass your leo if you dont leave a food source in the tank for the crix (something larger than your leo can eat like a carrot disc) or have them in an escape proof bowl (some people use a high sided tupperware dish, remove the jumper legs on the crix, and build up with stones on the outside so the leo can get into the dish). Honestly I'd avoid the issue altogether and just remove any crix not eaten with in a half hour. As far as alternating between crix and meal woms... I HATE feeding crix. How old/big is your leo? Mine jsut turned a year and has been eating super worms since he was 6-7 mos old. Crix can carry parasites if ill kept which they can pass to your leo.

Ya know I have a ton of questions about your husbandry but insted could you just take a minute to fill out our care questionaire so that we can see how you're doing it, then if the petsmart dude did mis-advise you we can help you get things right for your new buddy.

About your leo:
- Sex
- Age & Weight
- Morph
- How long have you owned your leo
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly descrive the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate
- Hides, how many, what kind
B) Heating
- Heat source
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

As far as UTH that don't come with adhesive, the only one I know of is the Cobra heat mat either by T-Rex, which you should be able to find locally, or Ultratherm, which you would likely have to order from on line.

 

[Spots]

I was typing on my phone so it was quite hard but now I'm on my computer . I just wanted to add that carpet is a pain to remove poop, even when putting paper towel down on their "washroom area" because sometimes they miss or the urine can absorb into the carpet and just think of how long it stays on the carpet before you wash it. Then even if you wash it, because it is compressed fibres, the moisture does not completely evaporate...leaving a potential breeding ground for mold and bacteria growth. Also, the poor gecko can get their "teeth" (although I've read that they don't actually have teeth but yea...) they can get stuck to the threads of the carpet. This happened quite often with my first gecko when she was fed crickets. It won't happen with worms if you keep the worms in a bowl. Anyways, I had carpet for a long while so I hope I'm not making you feel bad for having carpet because I don't mean to. I'm just pointing out the potential problems with it which I learned from my first gecko.


Also, I know your gecko is new, but try to minimize any extra stress you could cause by moving things around or watching it all the time, etc. Give it time to adjust and don't panic too much about behaviours until you do more research. I've seen posts on here about "OMG my gecko is laying flat on their stomach! help!" when it is a normal behaviour when they are relaxing. lol Mine closes their eyes a lot, even if I'm around. They will open one eye to see what I'm up to but then realize that I'm no threat so they will close them again lol

Furthermore, another thing I should mention from your original post....try not to lift up the hide if he/she is in it. If you keep it up, they may learn to just fear the hide altogether. It's like when you train them to recognize your scent when you handle them. put your hand down and let your gecko smell it on its own before you grab them. They will eventually walk right up to your hand once they are comfortable with it.

 

[Marvb427]

About your leo:
- Sex:not sure. the guy at the store said it was too young to tell
- Age & Weight:i called today and they said that they werent really sure....not older than four months probably
- Morph: I think its a High yellow
- How long have you owned your leo: Five days
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)etsmart

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo:I have not handled it yet
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.:it seems to be acting fine now. She stays in her moist hide for the majority of the day, then comes out at night and basks on her warm hide.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)I guess it looks greenish with a little white...they have been small, but she is still really small yet
- When was the last time he/she went:Sometime yesterday around noon
C) Problem
- Please briefly descrive the problem and how long it has been going on:At first it wasntreally moving around or getting out much. But i think it is getting used to me because it will come out a little more often now

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size:ten gal
- Type (ex. glass tank):Glass
- Type of substrate:reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind:Three, one half log on the cool side, one warm dry hide that is a half long on the warm side, And a moist hide that is a half coconut with moss underneath that is siting on a plastic lid on the warm side.
B) Heating
- Heat source:75W Tight beam sunglow basking lamp for the day, then a moonglow light at night
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)Hot:about 93 Cool: about 76
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps:a dial thermometer on the cool side and a digital one with a probe on the warm side.
- Do you have any lights (describe)I have 25W repti glo 10.0uvb bulb that ihave on during the day
C) Cage mates:none
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much):meal worms and crickets, once a day, three mealworms or three or for crickets
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect):i am try and drop them in near it.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)Flukers calcium with vitamin D3
- What are you gut loading food with:not gut loading, the crickets i bought from the pet store have a green cube in it that they have been feeding from