New Leo :) i have questions

[ReptileRy]

hey guys i just purchased my first leo yesterday. and i have some questions. first one is that the he is mostly staying in the cool side of his 10 gal tank but the hot side is only 80. is 80 to hot? i thought it was supposed to be 88-95. and the second one is that he is always hissing and biting me. how do i fix this? thank you

 

[IslaReina]

Nope, the hot side definitely needs to be around 90 otherwise he will not be able to digest food properly. Your leo is acting like that because he is probably still young. Most of them grow out of the sassyness lol, just give it a little time to settle in. You've only had it since yesterday, they usually need about a week to settle in to their new habitat, then you will be able to start making progress with handling.

We would all love to see pics of the little guy and also of his tank!

 

[ReptileRy]

thanks for the quick reply. and thats why i had a question about the heating, because he is staying on the cool side and not on the heated side so i thought that was weird. and ill post pics in a few

 

[IslaReina]

Yeah, I'm sure he just hasn't explored properly yet xD he'll learn where the hot side is eventually, he needs it to live

 

[ReptileRy]

ok just got some pictures up and i just checked his cage and its only 81 but i have a 50 watt red heat light and an UTH and its only that hot. its weird

 

[Pdrut]

Do you have a thermometer with a probe? A dial thermometer won't pick up the surface temp, just the air temp. The probe is a must.
With that in mind, it may be too hot for him on the warm side and that's why he is on the cool side.

 

[ReptileRy]

i have a steel thermometer i got at petco, its leanin on the bottom against glass.

 

[jerrymb]

It took my rescued gecko Ren roughly 2 weeks to start eating normally and to start acting whatever is normal for a gecko. For about 10 days he didn't even come out of his hide. Now he pokes his head out of his hide every ten minutes and takes a look around and then goes back in for a nap.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

i have a steel thermometer i got at petco, its leanin on the bottom against glass.

You need to get a digital probe thermometer, They're less than $10 at most pet shops. Tape the probe to the surface directly above the heat mat for the most accurate readings.

 

[ReptileRy]

Well, i just walked in on my baby drinking from his dish im proud of him.
i got a pic, should i post it?

 

[Adinar]

Sure. We love seeing pics of everyones geckos. But yeah the digital thermometers are way better than the metal ones. I had those before and they just never worked. Never seemed to move. Ever. Totally worth the money.

 

[ReptileRy]

[/IMG]
well here is him taking his first drink from the container that i have seen, i have more pics of him in the other thread for that

 

[IslaReina]

How adorable! It's normal to totally obsess over your new leo everyone does it xD But as long as you get a digital thermometer in there and get it to the proper temps, do NOT worry about anything else. Everything else seems to be fine. Some people prefer not to use repti carpet because it can pull off a gecko's toenails, but I have never tried repti carpet. Just something to be aware of, once your gecko gets more "friendly" you will be able to check his toenails safely lol.

Leave a few mealworms in there. Healthy adult geckos can go for a few weeks without any food if necessary, Im not sure about juveniles but yours looks to be healthy enough to last at least until he gets used to his new habitat and starts to eat by himself. The drinking is really good though, I've had my leo for about a year and I have NEVER seen her drink at all!!

 

[ReptileRy]

ok i got the heating figured out now! i have a 50 watt red heat bulb and a 10 gal UTH and its staying around 89. but now my when should i know when its right to start handeling him? its been 4 days. should i wait another 4 days or so? or could i start now? thank you!

 

[PaladinGirl]

You need to get a digital probe thermometer, They're less than $10 at most pet shops. Tape the probe to the surface directly above the heat mat for the most accurate readings.

Yup this is what I do. I use the little digital Zilla thermometer. Also, I use the Zoo Med Reptitemp 500R thermostat. I tape the two probes right next to each other in the middle of the warm side. I have it adjusted to stay at 90 degrees.

And don't worry about the leo not being very tame yet. Mine went from hiding at the slightest movement in the room to coming out and begging to be held in about a month. Just have to get him used to your hand.

 

[ReptileRy]

thanks so much guys! alot of help here ill be posting pics prob everyweek to see how he changes

 

[SilverTheLeoGecko14]

My friend also just got a leo at Repticon its doing the same stuff ,its just not settled in yet.And when he stops hissing you can handle him.

 

[ReptileRy]

its weird. he bit me yesterday, but today when i put the dish in he walked right up to my hand and just started eating with my hand still on it, he like totaly changed. haha he has an awesome personality.

 

[PaladinGirl]

its weird. he bit me yesterday, but today when i put the dish in he walked right up to my hand and just started eating with my hand still on it, he like totaly changed. haha he has an awesome personality.

Yeah, it doesn't take long, really. Once he associates you with food, he'll love you! LOL! I was so amazed when Toon crawled onto my hand for the first time. I was messing with something in her tank and next thing I know, there's a little gecko crawling up my arm! LOL! She was pretty tame by then, but I didn't expect her to be asking to be held.