my first leo

[nschris]

hi everyone. i'm new to the forums and leopard geckos. here is my new little monster:

her name is smoke, due to her colours.

 

[DoodlePixie]

Oh what a cute lil thing ^_^
And welcome to GF!

 

[HepCatMoe]

good lookin little lady. i like her eyes.

welcome to the forums! you will learn a lot here.

 

[amanda_ols]

Smoke is just darling. How old is she?

 

[rubym]

Cute little one. Welcome to you and to smoke.

 

[nschris]

thanks for the compliments people. i've already learned some from picking through the forums. i'm not sure how old she is. i got her last week, and her bands have just started breaking up into dots. i got her from a major pet chain, after returning the body of the first one i had bought. i won't ever buy from a major pet chain again. i didn't pay enough attention to how healthy the first one was when i picked it out, and picked it soley because it was a blazing blizzard. got it home and it was sick from day one (wouldn't eat, or open its eyes, one bowel movement in five days, saw the pour thing try to throw up on the fourth). i felt so bad for the pour thing. when i picked out my replacement, i picked the brightest looking, fattest tailed one in the tank they had. they have like 20 or so young geckos all in one little tank. next time, i'm going to a breeder, and i'm already trying to arrange to buy my feeders from a local breeder instead of the pet chain. the same store sold my girlfriend an adult with a giant bite in her side. they said that it had been in a tank with a male that had picked on it for some reason. we checked its sex at home, and discovered it's a male. they didn't figure out at the store, i guess, that two males will kill each other. anyway...thanks for the welcomes. i look forward to watching smoke grow, healthy and content.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Welcome to GF

 

[astronut1885]

Just a heads up, I think your little Smoke is going to be a lot brighter than you think in the near future. It looks to me like she's going into shed. Make sure you have a humid hide already set up for her, and in the next few days get ready to see what she really looks like. Very nice gecko BTW, please post after-shed pics.

 

[Pepper]

I agree she looks like she's in need of a good shed. Usually when the yellows start to look gray or brown it means they are getting ready to shed.

Fatten her up, she's adorable

 

[LizMarie]

Congrats on your new gecko. Hopefully within in a few weeks she'll fatten up and get brighter.

P.S. Since you got her from a Major Pet Chain Store and the first gecko died for unknown reasons you might want to have a fecal done to make sure she doesn't have parasites since not all animals show all the signs of being sick until it's to late. Just a suggestion.

 

[rawson5084]

Welcome

 

[canadiangecko]

yeah i agree but preety gecko anyways

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Welcome to gecko forums ^^

If you use sand, I would recommend to get rid of it, also if that is a heat rock I would suggest replacing it with an under tank heater. Both are much safer for the leos. :main_yes:

 

[nschris]

hi again, all. i think the dullness of her colour in the photos may be a result of poor photography. using a flash, macro setting, and she's under a red heat light. here's a photo from yesterday:

she had shed a day or two before the last photos i put up, and doesn't look so dull in person. anyway, she seems healthy as a horse. she eats like one. her roommate doesn't bully her (one of my girlfriends leos), though i supervise feedings closely. i don't use sand in my tank, and that's not a heat rock. they have a uth, and a heat lamp. there's an extra tile on the side with the uth to make sure it doesn't get too hot on their bellies.

 

[GECKO DUDE]

Wait did you put a new leo in with an established leo. If that new leo has parasites it could have and probably already have passed on parasites. to the established leo. You are usually supposed to quarantine for 30-60 days.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

I second the quarantine. Probably too late now but keep in mind for future referance. also I would make sure they're both females otherwise you should seperate them asap :main_thumbsup:

 

[LizMarie]

Umm you might want to reconsider housing them together and possibly getting checked.

Are they atleast both female and roughly the same size? That's very important.

 

[nschris]

sorry, i didn't know about the quarantine thing, though it makes total sense, now that i know about it. i've been doing the best i can with what i can find on my own. the pet store didn't supply any care sheet, and the staff aren't very helpful. i asked the main reptile guy there one day what i should use for a substrate, for example, and his reply was "whatever you want, really".

they aren't the same size, no, but the bigger, established one is very calm, and i never see them tussle. neither seems or acts stressed. the big one is a horrible hunter and the little one is voracious, so their feeding works out.

about the male/female thing: i've read that you can house one male with up to ten females (i think that was the number) with no problems. that's the major thing i've noticed while trying to compile info on how to best care for leos: it's very inconsistent. as a result, it's very frustrating.

 

[RepBex]

I have a male and female together however i monitor the weight and how much they eat and i also feed at other sides of the tank

i have had no problems with them so far and i am able to seporate if i must and i have to actions if they produce eggs aswell

i would watch the size diffrence very closely as the bigger one will most likely bully the little one out of the best hides and heat spots and mostly when ur asleep

Good Luck

 

[THE WHISPERER]

If they are male and female and not up to proper mating weight you need to seperate them. Trust me you don't want her producing eggs before she is old enough.