LOTS Of questions

[geckogirls]

I was wondering, how old does a baby gecko have to be before you can tell the sex? I know how to tell the sex, but how big does the baby have to be, also is there a way of guessing the age of leopard geckos? I have NO IDEA how old my albino pair, and my baby is.

Also I have had my leos for 2 weeks, and they were soo sweet the day I got them, they would just lay on my hand, and I held them everyday, but now my female will freak out when I walk by her cage, and if I reach in (reallyslow, while talking calmly to her) she runs really fast, and she only does it every once and a while, I have 3 hides in there for the both of them (male and female pair) And they usually both stay in the moist hide together. I watch them everyday, and neither one seems to be dominating the other, and they both are very tame and never try to bite or anything when I hold them, but like I said recently she has been freaking out, any body might know why she does it?

Also they aren't eating much at all..... The female will only eat one cricket every other day, I offer her crickets every day, as well as mealies, but she will only eat one every other day. And she takes a while just to catch one, I even take the back legs off the crickets before I put them in there so that they wont jump away, and she missed almost every time she trys to catch it, even it is sitting still. The male will only eat mealies, wont even attempt to eat crickets, and I offer him crickets and mealies everyday, but he will only eat every 3-4 days and only about 4 mealies when he does eat. Any suggestions as to how to get them to eat more? Also is there any other worms like super worms, or any other insect that I can get them to eat, they are kind of skinny (only had them for 2 weeks) and I want to fatten them up, but they wont eat much.

Also I have a baby leo not sure how old he/she is but she eats like CRAZY!! She will eat 6 crickets and still want more EVERY DAY!!! Is that too much food a day? Also every other day I will give her 3-4 mealies in addition to 4-5 crickets,and then 6 crickets the other days but she still looks for more food when she finshes all that i offer her? Should I feed her til she stops eating? Or should I feed her a couple more insects, or a little less? She isn't skinny, she is actually gaining weight since I got her, and she has a belly on her.

Last question...

I have another pair of leos, and they seem to actually enjoy each others company, they always lay in the same hide together, and are always next to each other in the cage, they are both fat, the female is fatter then the male, but they have only been together for 2 weeks, is it possible that they can stay together for a while longer? alot of people tell me they shouldn't be together at all, beacuse of stress and dominance, but I haven't noticed any stress or dominance so far.

Thanks

 

[Alusdra]

I would first suggest getting a kitchen scale. Then you can weigh the geckos and make sure they are not gaining or losing weight too quickly. The baby- I say feed it 'graze' style with mealies in a bowl. You can't go wrong feeding a baby too much (so long as you prevent the feeders from attacking the gecko- thus mealies in a bowl) but if you feed too little you're risking MBD (metabolic bone disease) among other things.

For your female- that sounds a lot like my albino. It is very possible she is blind or partially blind. That would explain the lack of ability to catch crickets as well as the freaking out when you walk by. My gecko, who has been proven blind so far as you can tell with them, acts the same way if I suddenly walk by. It may have to do with vibrations? If this is the case- then the best way to feed her, too- is mealies in a bowl. DO NOT move the location of the bowl. It usually takes my girl a few days to find it again in a 10 gallon tank.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping multiple geckos together. My older two (brother and sister- not breeding) lived together the first 7 years of their lives- no problems. I now have them separated as I added a new gecko (actually, the blind one) and they set up a dominance thing with my biggest, healthiest gecko at the bottom (go figure). You have to watch the weights. If one gecko is fat and the other skinny- that's the 'bullying' and they need to be separated. The dominant gecko is not letting the other(s) eat. Again- a kitchen scale will help you see that more accurately.

 

[GeckoRing]

I find it difficult to determine the age of a gecko based on size. Especially a baby, because if they have been housed with others, then they may eat a little less. They also may grow at different rates. An adult female is 4.5-5 inches snout-to-vent, a male would be around 6 inches. I have one female that is not a giant that is already at 50 grams, only being 4 months old.

As far as determining sex, it can be done with a good eye and a loupe around 4 weeks. Aside from that, it depends on you and the gecko! I would say around 2 months, but it would depend on if you are confident of what you are looking for.

I doubt your gecko is over eating, they will do that from time to time, but not normally. It is hard to say, given that if you are feeding them pinheads, 6 is just fine. Depends on the size of crickets. It takes a while for some geckos to adjust to a new home. They will only eat what they can see move, if your mealies are being still, throw a slice of carrot in with them, that tends to get them moving. Make sure you are not leaving crickets inside the cage. Remove them after feeding time, they will bite at the geckos and that in itself will stress them out.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your new geckos!