New gecko owner

[katieefagann]

Hi so i recently got a leopard gecko from petsmart about four days ago. they said he was a baby and gave me some feeding instructions and since then ive done a lot of research but i still have some questions.
1. he is a very pale pink and yellow color with some dark grey spots along his stomach, im curious if hes shedding and his color will become more apparent of if he could be some different type of morph like an albino?
2. he has been eating about 5 or 6 crickets each day except today he only ate two. if hes shedding that makes sense but is there any way i could know for sure without knowing what his original color is?
3. could his pale color be because he is a baby or would he have been born with the vibrant colors?
4. i dont have a heating mat yet so ive been leaving his heat lamp on frpm around 6am-11pm. is that too long to leave the lamp on and is he ok being without a heat source for 7 hours? i have a themometer on the cool side of his tank and while the lamp is on it stays between 70-75 degrees and he normally stays in his wet hide on the hot side during the day. i dont have anything to measure humidity, but because he might be shedding ive been misting his tank a couple times each day and keeping the moss damp
someone please give me any info they can!!!!!!!

 

[skeet_julian]

Hi so i recently got a leopard gecko from petsmart about four days ago. they said he was a baby and gave me some feeding instructions and since then ive done a lot of research but i still have some questions.
1. he is a very pale pink and yellow color with some dark grey spots along his stomach, im curious if hes shedding and his color will become more apparent of if he could be some different type of morph like an albino?
2. he has been eating about 5 or 6 crickets each day except today he only ate two. if hes shedding that makes sense but is there any way i could know for sure without knowing what his original color is?
3. could his pale color be because he is a baby or would he have been born with the vibrant colors?
4. i dont have a heating mat yet so ive been leaving his heat lamp on frpm around 6am-11pm. is that too long to leave the lamp on and is he ok being without a heat source for 7 hours? i have a themometer on the cool side of his tank and while the lamp is on it stays between 70-75 degrees and he normally stays in his wet hide on the hot side during the day. i dont have anything to measure humidity, but because he might be shedding ive been misting his tank a couple times each day and keeping the moss damp
someone please give me any info they can!!!!!!!

(I’m no professional, so I’m just speaking from experience)
1. My leo is about 5 months old and it took around 4 months for his color to fully develop. He was super pale and colorless for a while but after a few sheds he took on more color. Once your gecko is a little older you can look up common gecko morphs online and just kinda compare pictures.
For the questions about shed, it’s usually pretty clear when a gecko is about to shed, the skin gets a greyish-white color one or two days before the shed. Even if he’s pale, I always see a noticeable change in color before a shed.
4. At petco there’s a super cheap thermometer and humidity measurer, I would definitely invest in something like that, and if you can a digital thermometer with a probe so you can tell how warm it is on the ground. Your gecko will get most of its heat from the ground. Normal temp range is like, 85-95 during the day and 70-75 at night. Until you can get a heating pad, he’ll be okay, just make sure it doesn’t drop below like, 70 in the tank.
I’m also wondering what you mean by dark spots along the stomach. My first gecko was from petco, they often come with heath problems. If you could maybe elaborate on that.

 

[katieefagann]

thanks

(I’m no professional, so I’m just speaking from experience)
1. My leo is about 5 months old and it took around 4 months for his color to fully develop. He was super pale and colorless for a while but after a few sheds he took on more color. Once your gecko is a little older you can look up common gecko morphs online and just kinda compare pictures.
For the questions about shed, it’s usually pretty clear when a gecko is about to shed, the skin gets a greyish-white color one or two days before the shed. Even if he’s pale, I always see a noticeable change in color before a shed.
4. At petco there’s a super cheap thermometer and humidity measurer, I would definitely invest in something like that, and if you can a digital thermometer with a probe so you can tell how warm it is on the ground. Your gecko will get most of its heat from the ground. Normal temp range is like, 85-95 during the day and 70-75 at night. Until you can get a heating pad, he’ll be okay, just make sure it doesn’t drop below like, 70 in the tank.
I’m also wondering what you mean by dark spots along the stomach. My first gecko was from petco, they often come with heath problems. If you could maybe elaborate on that.

so much, and about the dark spots its kinda just one big slightly greyish area so i just thought it was part of his pattern but you could never be too careful so i thought i would mention it. i personally dont think it is anything serious because he has seemed extremely healthy

 

[skeet_julian]

thanks

so much, and about the dark spots its kinda just one big slightly greyish area so i just thought it was part of his pattern but you could never be too careful so i thought i would mention it. i personally dont think it is anything serious because he has seemed extremely healthy

Yeah as long as he’s eating and drinking I’m sure he’s perfectly fine. He sounds like one happy dude.

 

[acpart]

morph: a picture would help, but it's likely an albino
heat: the best thing is an under tank heater with a thermostat to keep the floor heat in the low 90's all the time
humidity: as long as you're not misting the cage, don't worry about it.

Aliza

 

[Young Geckoboy]

Hi so i recently got a leopard gecko from petsmart about four days ago. they said he was a baby and gave me some feeding instructions and since then ive done a lot of research but i still have some questions.
1. he is a very pale pink and yellow color with some dark grey spots along his stomach, im curious if hes shedding and his color will become more apparent of if he could be some different type of morph like an albino?
2. he has been eating about 5 or 6 crickets each day except today he only ate two. if hes shedding that makes sense but is there any way i could know for sure without knowing what his original color is?
3. could his pale color be because he is a baby or would he have been born with the vibrant colors?
4. i dont have a heating mat yet so ive been leaving his heat lamp on frpm around 6am-11pm. is that too long to leave the lamp on and is he ok being without a heat source for 7 hours? i have a themometer on the cool side of his tank and while the lamp is on it stays between 70-75 degrees and he normally stays in his wet hide on the hot side during the day. i dont have anything to measure humidity, but because he might be shedding ive been misting his tank a couple times each day and keeping the moss damp
someone please give me any info they can!!!!!!!

The gecko might just have some lavender on him. When I bought my Leo Toast three years ago, he was a dark brown with long black streaks on him. Now, he is a light yellow mack snow with lavender patches on his back. Their colors will develop over time, and you should be able to tell the true morph in a few months. Supporting AC Part, I would get a thermometer and make sure the heat and humidity stay steady. Hope this helps!