New Gecko Owner

[lucid484]

Hello all!

My name is steve and me and my 9yr old son just bought a baby leopard gecko. Was really worried when we first got him because he wasnt moving much at all and was'nt eating. He moving all ovver the cage now but still has yet to eat (got him on the 22nd)...but I guess soem people on here have said that their gecko's didnt eat for 1-3 weeks when they first got them.

Also just want to add that ***** employess aren't very knowledgeable!!! at first they had me get vitasand for the substrate and for food they gave me crickets that were bigger than his head!!!! But as you can see from the pics below I now hav him on a newspaper substrate and I have his "hide" on one side with a UTH and moist paper towels under it. and on the other side I have a "moonlight" lamp to basiclal ykeep the air temp up because it can get damn cold in my house. But since i put in the UTH he has be alot more active and moving around.
and for some reason he loves to chill out in either his food dish or water dish LOL.


should I give him longer to start eating before getting worried? or should i maybe try another method of getting him to eat?

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF. He looks pretty well proportioned for a baby that age. Give him a little more time, and consider a bowl of mealworms as well since the crickets may be too fast for him.

Aliza

 

[lucid484]

yeah I put a shallow dish of mealworms in his tank...and dusted them. alot of times he goes in and sleeps there and flicks the worms off as they crawl on his feet lol

 

[RepBex]

you need 2 hides in there
one cold one warm/moist

the light is not a good idea as it will put him off comeing out he looks like an albino and they really dont like light and it can make them ill

 

[lucid484]

any suggestion on keeping the tank warm then? It gets between 46-50 at night in my house..I have an UTH heater on one side but I doubt it warms up the air enough.its stays about 80-90 under the lamp on that side.

 

[RepBex]

its not about the air temps as they come out at night its the belly heat (uth)

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Welcome

You will probably want to review this forum for more information.

You should put in some mealies and you should have a dish of calcium in the cage.

You should also get a therometer (sp) and see what the temp is.
Warm on one side and cool on the other.

Temps vary 90 -85 to 75 - 70.

But the belly temp is important.

 

[lucid484]

yeah Ive been keeping a dish of mealies in there at all times...and I keep putting banana's and potatoes in with the mealies that arent in his cage....I have a bottle of that reptical stuff...I shoudl keep a small dish in his cage at all times?

 

[Halley]

Welcome to the fourm!

 

[lucid484]

well good news...past couple day lil guy has been cuising around his tank.Son swear he saw him eat a mealie last night and this morning i found a little "poop" in his tank lol...and tonight after changing his water he was cruising all over his tank!!! So i put in 2 crickets and he "hunted" one around the tank 4 times!!!! he didnt eat it but had his head up to eat and seemed VERY excited even think i saw his tail wag hahaha! So I think this is great progress!!! only took a week lol

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Thats Great

So far so good. Keep it up.

 

[cj.thomas21]

Congrats on your new gecko.

 

[rawson5084]

Welcome and congrats on the new baby

 

[lucid484]

Just an update guys.

My gecko is doing great now...He's shed about 3 times already and is a energetic little guy! I redid his cake and have a hlaf coconut with moss over a heating pad (undertank) and he stays in there most of day. and a half log on the other side under a light....he moves around alot and during the day when it gets hot he crawls up on his coconut to cool off so I think my tank it setup good.

he's also eating like 4-6 baby crickets every few days...and twice a week I coat half of them in the vitamins.....And its great to watch him when i drop a cricket in...his little tail starts wagging like crazy and runs all over the tank if the crickets manage to escape after his first strike.

over all seems to to be a very happy and well adjusted little guy!

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Welcome to GF

 

[Jimmy_W]

Nice to hear he's doing well mate. Make sure you post some up to date pics in the 'housing' section. I'm a new owner aswell...oh and welcome to the forum.