New Gecko Owner

[Skydiver Keith]

Hello all. I recently bought my first Leopard Gecko, and have read a lot about how to take care of them and what to expect.

However, I have seen him do something I haven't read about and was wondering if it is common. Whenever he is cricket hunting, he raises his tail and wags/shakes it really fast (think rattlesnake) just before he lunges at the cricket. Do all Leopard Geckos do this? If so, what is the purpose?

And since I'm sure there are some gecko experts here and I'm a complete novice, this is my current setup. Please let me know if I can improve in any way. Thanks guys.

Housing: 10 gal aquarium (20Lx10Wx12H)
Hides: Moist with moss at 89f, Dry at 77f
Basking: 92f
Substrate: .25in thick slate tile
Water: Shallow dish and pillow for crickets
Heat source: Under tank heater on one half of the tank.
Lighting: 1xf15t8 5000k on a timer from 7am-7pm
Suplements: Bowl of Calcium/D3 powder and bowl of cricket gut load
Ambient air temp: 76night-82day

 

[ariana]

yes leos do that sometimes when hunting. im not sure the reason but its a warning. so if you ever go to pick him up and he does that id back off.

get the floor temp; thats where its important. you dont need lights because they are nocturnal creatures. if he doesnt eat all the crickets you put in there in one sitting (10-15 minutes) take out the rest. they could chew on him and irritate him, so the cricket gut load and water pillow arent needed.

you need a warm hide, moist hide, and cool hide. floor temp should be 94-97* (much debate over which is the correct temp, i go with 96.5 personally)

good luck! and welcome to GF

 

[Knibitz]

sounds pretty good for your first set up!
and ariana covered most everything, but are you keeping all of your crickets in your tank at all times? or do they have their own container?

 

[Skydiver Keith]

sounds pretty good for your first set up!
and ariana covered most everything, but are you keeping all of your crickets in your tank at all times? or do they have their own container?

Yes, I was keeping the crickets in the tank at all times. Since then, however, I have gotten a separate container for the crickets and put the water pillow and gut load in there.

I got a larger under tank heater today since the smaller wasn't warm enough. I'm fighting with temps right now, but I'll get figured out soon...

 

[wakeskate420]

You might want to switch to thinner slate or tile to help get the temps up


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[Skydiver Keith]

You might want to switch to thinner slate or tile to help get the temps up


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Actually, I've been trying to find the thermostat setting to keep the temp low enough. The aquarium holds heat well with 3/4 of the top covered with glass. (the last 1/4 is screen...)

 

[wakeskate420]

Oh I see haha


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