new leo disabled

[turtlelover1992]

ok so im new here hi! lol but anyway I was on craigslist the other day and saw an ad for a free leopard gecko. he is 3 years old and blind. comes with his tank, uth, 2 bowls, and a log hide. They said he needs to be hand fed so i was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions/requirments he would need. I know hes gonna need some things (moist hide, different hide log hide is way to small). I have a beardie and a roach colony to feed him off of.... never had any leopard gecko experience though so links to good caresheets would be greatly appreciated. I couldnt just not get him though for fear of some 12 year old boy getting him and not taking good care of him.... sorry kinda rambled but anyway any suggestions would be extremely helpful. I will be getting him either sat or sun.

 

[EnigmaEcho]

i have a enigma leo who has very poor focusing ( her eyesight may be getting worse) who i need to hand feed every feeding- its time consumeing, but worth it- congrats on the new guy and good for you to take care of a disabled gecko!
some tips: personaly, i use chopsticks ( over tweezers) to feed my girl ( its softer and doesnt freak her out when she hits it instead of the food) and semi disable the food so it cannot get away quickly ( for repeated attempts)- i put it just infront of her nose and let it sqirm and just about touch her ( be sure to put the food close to the floor so she aims down naturaly) and just repeat until she refuses to eat any more.
we wont know much more until you get your gecko home and see what else is needed- make sure you have vitamin supliments ( dust feeder once a week) and calcium supliment ( dust every feeding) and your heat sorce keeps the temps on the warm side around 90-95 durring the day ( designate one side of the tank and warm and the other as cool so they can better control thier temps)
when it comes to being blind, i would say just keep in mind things that would be in the way and things that may be dangerous ( ie things to climb high on are probly not a good idea- my girl seems to think shes a lemming and cannot judge depth) i would have rounded objects that had good grip to it in the tank ( dont omit haveing objects, becouse they can get boared). other than that, youd be amazed how well geckos do reguardless of any disability. just be sure that you dont go and grab him, but let him hear you first ( tap on the glass) then let him smell you and pick him up from the bottom- that way he is not as easily startled.
thats all i have for now- i ramble too lol- there are a number of knowledgeable people here and some realy good care sheets- have fun

 

[im faster]

Well you really should have figured out how to care before getting it..
there are care sheets all over the internet..

couple key points..
you need undertank heat pad
and no loose substrate

post pics, curious why you think its blind

 

[ace bomer]

put a heating pad on the side of the tank, if its under the tank, leo may burn their stomachs... then youve got a real problem

 

[M_surinamensis]

put a heating pad on the side of the tank, if its under the tank, leo may burn their stomachs... then youve got a real problem

That vein behind my eye is throbbing again.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

put a heating pad on the side of the tank, if its under the tank, leo may burn their stomachs... then youve got a real problem

Wrong. UTH= under tank heat.

 

[scm133]

Heater goes under tank. They need the belly heat. You need a rheostat or thermostat to regulate the temperatures. There is a caresheet in this forum. It will give you all the information. Read and research!! Good luck with your new gecko!!

 

[turtlelover1992]

the owners said that he is blind im going by there word. and i have done research i just know from experience that care sheets supported by forums such as this are usually better then the ones that you find when you first start searching. i know they need belly heat and i have vitamins and calcium already because of my beardie. the caresheet request isnt do to lack of research id never get an animal without looking up care first. its just i will continue looking up care and things for as long as i own the animal. ive had my beardie for 9 months and still look up care, reviews on products, enclosure sizes, and prices for building a custom viv pretty much every day. i tend to obsess over the animals i have

 

[rhino43grr]

mine had stuck shed over both eyes for a while (one eye still has stuck shed, but the other is cleared up now) and he was able to find and eat canned crickets on his own.

 

[4mb3r]

OK... IF a heat pad gets so hot it can burn your leo, get a light dimmer so you can control the heat... Which everyone should always monitor the floor temp with a temp probe... Period... DO NOT STICK THE UTH ON THE SIDE OF THE TANK... this is why leos are in poor shape with allot of owners because they dont listen.. not to sound rude.. Im just tired of seeing all these poor geckos being mistreated....

 

[ace bomer]

OK... IF a heat pad gets so hot it can burn your leo, get a light dimmer so you can control the heat... Which everyone should always monitor the floor temp with a temp probe... Period... DO NOT STICK THE UTH ON THE SIDE OF THE TANK... this is why leos are in poor shape with allot of owners because they dont listen.. not to sound rude.. Im just tired of seeing all these poor geckos being mistreated....

i assure you i keep my gecko very healthy. in fact i treat him better than my brother. lol. i was told by a reptile expert that geckos can become burned underneath so i put it on the side and my leo is doing just fine

 

[fl_orchidslave]

:wall:

 

[im faster]

i assure you i keep my gecko very healthy. in fact i treat him better than my brother. lol. i was told by a reptile expert that geckos can become burned underneath so i put it on the side and my leo is doing just fine

Kid your killing me...

your being told by MANY reptile "experts" that it needs to be on the bottom...

YES they could be burned.. but if your doing it the right way with a Dimmer or thermostat IT WONT!!!!

do your gecko a favor and take care of it properly

 

[Destiny]

Lol! Welcome to the forums! Im faster always tells people they don't know what they are doing- and good on you!!! For coming here. I have a gecko that is blind on one side and I have a strike out enigma... I use tongs to hand feed the
..... It can be time consuming but I like hanging out with my gex so it's worth it to me. Get some good long stainless steel tongs... Surinanam tells me that geckos are little robots that can't be trained... but I have condition then to come to be fed when I lightly tap the tongs on the tub. It takes practice, but you will get the hang of it--- in fact- my two hand feds are probably a little on the chunky side! 0_O

And - yes uth- under tank heat- all of my heat is on dimmer switches. I haven't had a single burn in 12 years.

 

[ace bomer]

Kid your killing me...

your being told by MANY reptile "experts" that it needs to be on the bottom...

YES they could be burned.. but if your doing it the right way with a Dimmer or thermostat IT WONT!!!!

do your gecko a favor and take care of it properly

lol. i asssure you my gecko is being taken care of just fine

 

[4mb3r]

lol. i asssure you my gecko is being taken care of just fine

UH not if your UTH is on the SIDE of the tank.. Leopard geckos MUST have belly heat to be able to absorb there food properly......

 

[NinjaDuo]

i assure you i keep my gecko very healthy. in fact i treat him better than my brother. lol. i was told by a reptile expert that geckos can become burned underneath so i put it on the side and my leo is doing just fine

Who is this expert? Can I have his email so I can call him a fail?

 

[M_surinamensis]

Surinanam tells me that geckos are little robots that can't be trained...

I don't recall quite saying that, but I do tend to ramble about memory and include analogies for some concepts, so it's not too far off the kinds of things I do say. Meant to be interpreted a bit differently, but it's a subject with a lot of variables.

Kid your killing me...

your being told by MANY reptile "experts" that it needs to be on the bottom...

Hence my eyeball throb.

YES they could be burned.. but if your doing it the right way with a Dimmer or thermostat IT WONT!!!!

In the interests of thoroughness and accuracy, rheostats and thermostats are tools which substantially lower the risk of catastrophic malfunction but even they cannot prevent it entirely. There's always those extremely low chances for a series of failures in heating systems and the safety devices used to manipulate them and act as backups. The more forethought we put in and the more carefully we arrange the variables, the closer we get to that impossible goal of a totally eliminated risk.

The thing that gets me about it all is that such heating elements, when used sideways, can be made to function, but being in defiance of the most efficient method of operation, it's much more difficult to create an ideal environment and tends to increase the risk of malfunction, the very thing he thinks he's preventing.

 

[doublet74]

I don't recall quite saying that, but I do tend to ramble about memory and include analogies for some concepts, so it's not too far off the kinds of things I do say. Meant to be interpreted a bit differently, but it's a subject with a lot of variables.



Hence my eyeball throb.



In the interests of thoroughness and accuracy, rheostats and thermostats are tools which substantially lower the risk of catastrophic malfunction but even they cannot prevent it entirely. There's always those extremely low chances for a series of failures in heating systems and the safety devices used to manipulate them and act as backups. The more forethought we put in and the more carefully we arrange the variables, the closer we get to that impossible goal of a totally eliminated risk.

The thing that gets me about it all is that such heating elements, when used sideways, can be made to function, but being in defiance of the most efficient method of operation, it's much more difficult to create an ideal environment and tends to increase the risk of malfunction, the very thing he thinks he's preventing.

I gotta tell you I love this person. Most entertaining reads on the site. Well thought out answers and usually a little sarcasm though usually deserved by the intended target. Really enjoy reading your posts.

 

[lillith]

lol. i asssure you my gecko is being taken care of just fine

Seriously, who is the "expert" that told you this? I'd like to have some words with them.
Please stop giving other members BAD information!! :main_angry:

While it's true that geckos (and other reptiles) can be and are burned by under-belly ROCK HEATERS (which is why they're a bad idea), the UTH - when used correctly - reduces the risks of burn. Geckos need belly heat to assimilate the nutrients they get efficiently...

Since you're so adamant about your gecko and its setup, let's see it, hmm?
Pictures, please...