New here 7-9-14

[LarryMartin830]

whats up every one im new here i finally broke down and finally got two leopard geckos ive been wanting them for years. they are both very small this is what i wanted. its hard to tell if they are male or female but the way they are acting i believe theirs one of each. just alittle backround i do photography and cars are my life only hondas. i just have a few questions tho. when i got they said they feed crickets to them 5 times a day that dont seam right or is it? also if that isn't true do i put a bowl of food for them in the tank? also i have a cool side and a hot side of the tank but whats the best temp for the tank? i have a heating pad and they love it. do they really need calcium if so whats a good brand ? one more quesiton when can i switch over to calcium sand i have a mat now.

this is jasper

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Welcome to GF! Great looking leo and awesome photograph of him!

It's pretty difficult to tell the gender of a leopard gecko until they're about 20g. As long as they both grow at the same rate and are not aggressive toward one another you should be able to keep them together until 20-25g. If they turn out to be opposite sexes or both males it is a good idea to separate them after that. Leopard geckos will readily breed when they are too young to handle it easily if kept together.

The warm side of your tank should be about 90 on the floor. An under tank heater is the best way to achieve this and a thermometer with a probe that measures temperature at a specific spot or an infrared thermometer would be the best way to measure it. Most heating pads get a bit too warm so a dimmer or thermostat is usually needed to make sure they don't burn your gecko.

As for feeding, I would offer 5-10 crickets, mealworms or roaches every day or two. How much and how often depends on the size of the gecko (smaller more often and smaller insects). Feeding multiple times a day is unnecessary. Crickets can be tough as if you leave them in the tank for more than a few hours they may begin to chew on your leopard gecko and can injure them. I prefer to feed mine mealworms in an escape proof bowl so they can eat any time they want and be safe.

I hope I answered some if not all of your questions! Definitely ask more if you need more answers!

 

[LarryMartin830]

Thank you very much. what size mealworms do you get?

i finally got a pic of both of them

 

[Dinosaur!]

You can feed either normal mealies, giants, or superworms And yes, leopard geckos definately need calcium and vitamins. You need a calcium supplement WITH vitamin D3. They need D3 in order to absorb the calcium they intake. This should be dusted on your feeders every other feeding.

You also need a vitamin supplement that contains vitamin A. They need this in order to keep their eyes and skin healthy. Without it they may go through bad sheds which can cause them to lose toes, their tails, or even limbs if it's left untreated. This should be dusted on their food once a week.

And then I, and many other breeders, would reccomend getting a pure calcium supplement (no D3) to leave in a bowl in the tank at all times. This way they can have access to calcium all the time without the risk of overdosing on D3. (Rephashy is a great brand of supplements btw )

As for the calcium sand I would definately say no! Despite what they advertise, calcium sand is not digestible and will compact in your geckos stomach and/or intestines causing an "impaction". Without a risky (and expensive) surgery this will eventually lead to death. Not to mention that the dyes on the sand will dye your leopard gecko that color! The majority of all experienced leopard gecko keepers reccomend staying away from ALL loose substrates such as sand, wood shavings, ground walnut shells, etc.. All of these can cause impaction, scratch your geckos eye (which can blind them), and it makes the tank stink something awful. I would stick with the matt you have now, newspaper, slate tile (which looks very nice ), or my personal favorite of paper towels.

I hope this clarifies some things a little, and definitaley look to seperate those two if they are male and female. They WILL breed even if the girl is to young which can seriously harm and possibly kill her. But if you have any more questions be sure to ask them, and someone will respond to the best of their knowledge Welcome to the forum, and those are adorable geckos!

 

[indyana]

Welcome, and congrats on finally getting some geckos!

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Hi there welcome aboard!