New Leo! - Artemis

[LeoMerlin]

I just couldn't help myself. I have obviously become obsessed, like my Mom pointed out, rofl. I went to PetCo to grab "crickets" for Merlin. I say this because Mom knows my Dad will not be thrilled to see the new addition, so she said "You went for CRICKETS, RIGHT?" lol. So yea, I got me a new leopard gecko. I named it Artemis, I say it 'cause I forgot to ask what the sex was. Then again, it's so tiny, looks like a hatchling, not sure you can tell which it is yet. So I picked Artemis, that and I love the name. I just don't know what morph Artemis is. I have a UTH, red bulb, three hides (one is moist), food, water, and calcium dish. I'm using Merlin's old tank, 10 gallon, don't worry, it was cleaned out before I put in Artemis. I just hope the baby eats. I don't know how long it takes for babies to eat. Merlin was so tiny when we brought him home, he didn't have any trouble eating, but I don't know about Artemis yet. So enough chatter, on to the pictures!

Sorry for the blurriness, iPod Touch >_>

 

[SamsonizeMe]

It will probably turn out to be a Hypo, maybe with some carrot tail.

 

[LeoMerlin]

Cool deal, thanks so much! I just saw it, it was the only active on in the tank, the others were all asleep, so I said "That's the one!" it looked healthy, and no dropped tail like the others seemed to have. ^_^

 

[SamsonizeMe]

That's exactly how I picked out my first boy back in Jan '10... he was the most active, and the other ones were like bumps on a log.

 

[LeoMerlin]

Lol well now Artemis is just snoozing on the cool side of the tank. That's kinda strange but as long as it has the "instinct" to go back to the warm side when it wants to, then that's fine. I'm just worried about Artemis getting food. She's by the calcium dish and the water bowl at the moment, lol.

 

[LeoMerlin]

Well a little update, Artemis is finally starting to eat, she hasn't touched the mealworms, which are small, but she will hunt for a cricket on her own (also small). However, she only seems to eat 1 cricket a day. She did manage to get two once, but guess ate too much because she threw it up later. She's gone to the bathroom a couple times, but usually every other day. How much are super young ones supposed to eat? Merlin was tiny, maybe not AS tiny as Artemis, but still didn't have a problem with food. Has a very healthy appetite. I just don't know if I need to be concerned, or just leave it as it is for now. Artemis is eating after all, just not sure if it's enough. I try offering another cricket, but she seems to get annoyed with it and ignores it.

 

[geckoluver4evr]

Awwww! Artemis is adorable. I'm dying to rescue a lil baby like that from petco, except the ones near me are even smaller! About as long as your pinky finger. ;/ And that includes most of the tail! Well Artemis is very cute and looks healthy. I love the name! Just keep trying. At least she is eating some. Pepper was about that big when I got her, and she ate 2 mealies the first day, but she wouldn't touch them in a bowl. When I dropped them in front of her she ate them. Just keep trying with the lil baby!

 

[LeoMerlin]

Hmm okay well I think Artemis may have some discoloration on the stomach that I didn't notice till today. Still doesn't poop as often as I think they're supposed to. Merlin usually poops every day. Sometimes at night when I'm wide awake, sometimes when I'm asleep so it's the first thing I have to get rid of in the morning, lol. But Artemis, there's something about her/him that I'm concerned about. I thought maybe I didn't have enough paper towels in there, and that was why the discoloration is there, or I could just be over reacting and that was normal coloring to begin with. I just don't know. I had about 4 layers of paper towels plus the extra one for the moist hide. I added a few more just in case. Also I'm not sure but I think there may be something wrong with the two front legs. I want to keep her, but I'm worried about it being possibly sick. I also tried the q-tip trick because I think there's some left over shed skin, I don't know that I got it off or not, or if it's sand left over from the previous tank that Artemis was in. I'm worried about it, and I'll be going out of town this coming Friday. My neighbor will be taking care of them. However, I'm wondering if I should just take it back and wait till the reptile show. I don't want to do that but if it's not going to make it, I don't want to see it die.

On a random side note, I think Merlin has a kink in his tail. I don't know if it was something that happened by accident or if he was born that way and I just didn't notice it till now. He's got a healthy appetite, 20 gallon long tank, right heat and such, and he seems to be getting bigger normally so not sure. If it is a kink, it doesn't seem to bother him in any way. So maybe I'm just being the over paranoid "Mom"?