Leopard Gecko Newbie

[maniacmama]

Just got a Leopard Gecko from a friend. "He" is several years old and came with a 10 gallon tank, under tank heat pad and sand. They also had a toilet paper roll in there for him to hide. Since his arrival, I've changed the sand, added a log, and a humid hide. Food wise, he was been fed super worms twice a week. He has a nice fat tail and seems healthy. Tried to feed him crickets. He ate one and refused to eat the rest. Took them out and he ate 2 super worms. Would love to provide nutritional variety. Will he eventually like crickets? How would I get him to accept them? Also, he was very active at first and has been sleeping a lot more the last 2 days. Is this normal or a sign of a problem? Last question, for now, should he be getting D3 with his calcium? Thanks so much for having me and Rango!

 

[maniacmama]

 

[acpart]

Welcome to the forums. It never hurts to keep introducing a new feeder and possibly he will come to like them. But possibly not. Here are some other things to consider:
--when you say you "changed the sand" I assume you mean to new sand. If you're using the green stuff from the picture, you're probably using calci-sand which can be dangerous to the gecko if ingested (despite what they say in the pet store or on the package). If you feel strongly about using sand, use play sand. In their native habitat, leopard geckos don't live on sand dunes, they live on hard packed earth with some grit on top. Better substrates include paper towel, repti carpet, and, my favorite, ceramic tile

--consider upgrading at some point to a 20 gallon tank to give the gecko more room.

--ideally the gecko should get small amounts of calcium and vitamin D3. The prevailing wisdom these days seems to be not to leave calcium in the cage so as not to over supplement the gecko, but rather to dust the feeders (I dip the super worms) with calcium containing vitamin D3 and reptile vitamin powder every feeding or every other feeding. I use Repashy calcium plus, which is an all-in-one.

Aliza

 

[maniacmama]

Thanks Aliza! I did change from the green sand to another color. Will keep those points in mind when we change again. I hate to do too many changes to his cage at once and put him into shock, if that's possible!

 

[Josh2]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
I don't think changing the bedding will put him into shock but I know what you mean about them adjusting to a new enclosure. In this case, if may be more beneficial to move away from the sand.