New Leo owner, questions!

[endrien]

So I just bought my first leopard gecko and reptile in general and I'm wondering a few things. First things first she(I believe) is about 3 or 4 months old according to the pet store(Only place I could get one) and appears to be healthy. She is in a 10 gallon tank with 2 hides(will get another one tomorrow) as well as a water dish and plants for her to hide in. The substrate is paper towel for now and I am using a "Exo terra Heat Wave" Extra small heating pad on one side of the tank. The thermometer on the top far right of the tank shows 80F, it is residing half way up to the top of the tank so not too close to the heat pad. When I first put her in the tank she went to the heat pad and rested on her belly so I would assume it is a good heat.

I have heard very mixed things on the following topics and am quite confused, so please help me out:
1. I have calcium+D3 powder, should I only use this a few times a month and get normal calcium only powder for feeding(if so how often to coat the food in calcium, like how many out of a feeding session)
2. Gutloading, do I need things like cricket diet or can I just feed my crickets potatoes and vege's?
3. I just got her tonight and I only held her while setting up her tank, she was not reluctant to get into my hands(I know not to squeeze/grab tail) but after I had her calmed down a bit she stood still quite well in my hands. How should I be picking her up and I should let her get adjusted to her new environment for about a week before introducing myself correct?
4. How often to feed and how much, I have read that every day about 6 crickets for a baby and then every other day for an adult. Is this true?

I have read up on all of this but was still unsure about some of it due to mixed information, thank you for any help.

Also here is my gecko, her name is Alcatraz:

I plan to get a bit more things for her tank tomorrow as today was just basic setup(get a humid hide, some more foliage possibly and some decorative things. If I am missing anything crucial PLEASE let me know)
In this picture she is sleeping in the foliage:

 

[Pinky81]

Congrats on the bebe Leo! Cutie! Welcome to GF! Good on ya for reading before you got started!!! You'll find 2 main views on the calcium thing...one would be always have PLAN calcium in a dish for the Leo to lick at will..and dust with cal+D3. Second thought is calcium D3 in dish and dust with a multivit daily. I personally have always used calcium+D3 in a dish at all times and dusting with a multivit every feeding. I think its just smart to have calcium +D3 at all times when a baby. My two have never showed signs of MBD or calcium pockets or D overdose.

The thermometer you have is it one that sticks to the glass of the tank? If so then take that one out...and do exactly as I say...walk directly to the nearest garbage recepticle and Throw it away!!! LOL Those only measure ambient air temps or the temp of the glass...you want to get a digital thermometer with probe so that you can measure the temp of you tank floor. That is where your Leo is getting its heat from...if the tank floor is 80 then thats way too cold! Should be now lower then 90 but for a bebe you want probably more like 95degrees. They cost around $10 either ZooMed or Zilla makes them.

As for the handling its best to not handle your guy for a couple weeks till he/she is settled in. Always gutload your crickets, lots of folks on here will make their own gutload but with only one leo your better off just getting some flukers Cricket gutload. Make sure they have 24hours to feed before giving them to your leo. As the saying goes..you are what you eat...so you want your leo to get a nice fully loaded crix. Or even better yet try mealworms as they are easier to keep and don't have a smell

As for how much to feed i give the little one's as much as they feel they can eat in 10-15 mins. Usually around 5 crix or 6-7 medium mealies. As they get older you'll start to really know your leo...my male eats everyother day...sometimes he doesn't eat for a week. This brings me to the next most important purchase...as cheap GRAM SCALE from wally world or target!! This is the best way to tell if your leo is gaining or losing weight. Never go by tail size alone.

Also make sure one of your hides is a moist hide..with either moist papertowel or moist moss so the little one can go in there to shed when its time.

Good luck with your new little one and best thing to do is to just search all the forums and read read read!!!

 

[lovelovelove135]

Congrats on your new gecko! She's quite adorable I'm liking that lovely green on top of her head haha Anyways, first off, I suggest getting a thermometer with a probe. You don't want the air temp or the wall temp, you want the floor temp because belly heat is most important. So get a thermometer with a probe; it's not expensive at all. Definitely not over $10. Also, you may want to get a thermostat/rheostat or you can just get a light dimmer for your UTH. You want to be sure you're not overheating or underheating(?) your gecko . Now off to your questions:

1. Calcium D3 should be used at least 3-4 times a month, I believe. So about once a week. Although, some people suggest twice a week. You should always have a pure calcium supplement in the tank at all times. Also, you need a multivitamin without D3 if you don't have one already. This is how I dust: I just alternate between all three Sometimes I skip the calcium if I think I'm feeding too much calcium.

2. I believe, from what I read, it's best to get a cricket diet and use lettuce/potatoes/other veggies as a source of water. I'm not too great on this topic because I feed my leo superworms, which I gut load with plain oatmeal and organic carrots. Oh yeah, if you feed veggies (which you probably should) get organic. What your worms eat is what your gecko eats. You wouldn't want pesticide/insecticide gut loaded feeders, now would you? haha Plus, I think it would kill them...wouldn't it?

3. Try not to handle your gecko just yet. I understand you were holding her while setting up and that's absolutely fine, but for the next week or two, let her get settled in. You're lucky you don't have a screamer/biter haha At first, I used to pick my leo up by sliding my hand under her. Now, I think she takes handling better if I gently pick her up by her sides and slide my hand under. But make sure you don't grab from behind. And if you want to pet her, don't pet her on top of her back. Pet her on her sides. Before you touch her, you want to make sure she sees your hand. So slowly put your hand in front of her, then touch her side to make sure she's okay, and pick her up. That's how I do it. But before you do any of the picking up (I should have said this first xD), just put your hand in front of her for about 5 minutes everyday, and let her come to you. It's a lot better that way. It tells her you're not a predator, and you won't hurt her. So be slow and gentle, and make sure she always sees you

4. Since your leo is still a juvie or baby (not quite sure, I'm not an expert on age xD) just feed her until she's full. She'll know when she's full, so no worries. She may eat 6 crickets, she may eat less, or she may eat more. When she's full she'll stop eating For adults, it's every other day.

Well, congrats and good luck with your new leo!

 

[endrien]

The thermometer you have is it one that sticks to the glass of the tank? If so then take that one out...and do exactly as I say...walk directly to the nearest garbage recepticle and Throw it away!!! LOL Those only measure ambient air temps or the temp of the glass...you want to get a digital thermometer with probe so that you can measure the temp of you tank floor. That is where your Leo is getting its heat from...if the tank floor is 80 then thats way too cold!

Laying the thermometer on the hotspot gives a little over 90, probably about 91/92f. The 80 was air temp.

 

[endrien]

Some of these crickets seem to big, I bought them at the same pet store that sold me the leo so I would assume it is what they have been feeding her. They have no "Sizes" they just sell "Crickets". Which makes me want to lean to buying mealworms in the future. Should I only feed her the smaller crickets or can she eat the bigger ones? If a better picture is needed I can get it. I fed her one of these earlier and it was medium sized and she at it no problem, however I am weary of the few bigger ones.

 

[SDCowboy]

Some of these crickets seem to big, I bought them at the same pet store that sold me the leo so I would assume it is what they have been feeding her. They have no "Sizes" they just sell "Crickets". Which makes me want to lean to buying mealworms in the future. Should I only feed her the smaller crickets or can she eat the bigger ones? If a better picture is needed I can get it. I fed her one of these earlier and it was medium sized and she at it no problem, however I am weary of the few bigger ones.

I suggest just going with mealies. Just keep them in a little dish at all times. Crickets are a PITA, IMO.

 

[12many]

sorry to butt in but i noticed lovelove said don't pet her on top of her back.

WHy exactly is that?

I pet mine on top of her or his back and the only response i get outta that is she/he raises her back, wherever my finger is, as my finger goes from the top to the bottom of her tail.

 

[Thorgecko707]

Put a solid colored hide instead of the clear one IMO. Rinse veggies. Throw the crickets outside and get mealworms. Crickets start chirping if they don't get eaten and stink. If you use vitamin powder make sure gecko eats all mealworms dusted with it because it kills insects due to dehydration and vitamin overdose. Congrats on the gecko.

 

[endrien]

I gave her 1 cricket yesterday when I got her home and she ate it, this morning I tried to give her one and she would not eat it. Is this because she is stressed? How long should it be before she eats?

Also for mealworms, are they all roughly the same size? Or are you supposed to buy in Sizes.

 

[Pinky81]

The crix in the pic look fine..if one is on the bigger side just pull the jumper legs off..gets rid of some of the hard bits...I don't like wasting any feeder. But go for the mealies after your done feeding these guys. As for mealie size your Leo should be fine eating just the Regular Mealies...not the small, and def. not mini's. Giant mealworms may be a tad too big for her.

I have taken to buying mealies online and seperating into two dishes one for feeding and one that I keep in the fridge. As my guys eat them I pull more from the fridge and put them into the feeder bin to start gutloading. I also buy my bedding/gutload online as well.

The not eating thing is normal she is stressed. Its ok for her to not eat even for a week...she will come around as long as you don't keep poking at her. let her get to know her new home and the sounds of her new home. Don't do too much changing of her viv at this point either.

 

[endrien]

The crix in the pic look fine..if one is on the bigger side just pull the jumper legs off..gets rid of some of the hard bits...I don't like wasting any feeder. But go for the mealies after your done feeding these guys. As for mealie size your Leo should be fine eating just the Regular Mealies...not the small, and def. not mini's. Giant mealworms may be a tad too big for her.

I have taken to buying mealies online and seperating into two dishes one for feeding and one that I keep in the fridge. As my guys eat them I pull more from the fridge and put them into the feeder bin to start gutloading. I also buy my bedding/gutload online as well.

The not eating thing is normal she is stressed. Its ok for her to not eat even for a week...she will come around as long as you don't keep poking at her. let her get to know her new home and the sounds of her new home. Don't do too much changing of her viv at this point either.

Alright thanks, I'm going to try and measure the tempeature with a digital thermometer later today if I can find one. But I believe the hotspot is above 90.
Should I even try to feed her crickets at this point or wait a few days?

 

[SDCowboy]

Alright thanks, I'm going to try and measure the tempeature with a digital thermometer later today if I can find one. But I believe the hotspot is above 90.
Should I even try to feed her crickets at this point or wait a few days?

Just leave her a dish of meal worms which you should be doing anyway. If she's hungry she'll eat from that.

 

[Pinky81]

Alright thanks, I'm going to try and measure the tempeature with a digital thermometer later today if I can find one. But I believe the hotspot is above 90.
Should I even try to feed her crickets at this point or wait a few days?

you can try but if she's not interested don't push it. You'll know when she's hungry she will stalk those crix!

 

[endrien]

I posted a thread in the healthcare section as I've noticed she seems to be really slow to walk sometimes and it almost seems like her legs are hesitating(I don't think I would call it shaking):
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=639087#post639087

I was able to get her to eat 1 cricket today, but it took a bit of time before she went for it.

 

[SDCowboy]

I posted a thread in the healthcare section as I've noticed she seems to be really slow to walk sometimes and it almost seems like her legs are hesitating(I don't think I would call it shaking):
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=639087#post639087

I was able to get her to eat 1 cricket today, but it took a bit of time before she went for it.

They aren't the smoothest walkers. When mines trying to turn around sometimes one of her legs will be kind of shaky.

 

[endrien]

They aren't the smoothest walkers. When mines trying to turn around sometimes one of her legs will be kind of shaky.

That seems to be mainly when I notice it, like when she is turning she will make slow movements or for example in that video she turns and kinda goes on her belly for a second.

 

[SDCowboy]

That seems to be mainly when I notice it, like when she is turning she will make slow movements or for example in that video she turns and kinda goes on her belly for a second.

lol yeah making u-turns are not their best asset.

 

[endrien]

I used a digital turkey thermometer to check the hot side temp earlier and it gave 90, granted it is probably a bit higher because the thermometer has such a large probe that it is most likely measuring the air temp among other things.

 

[SDCowboy]

I used a digital turkey thermometer to check the hot side temp earlier and it gave 90, granted it is probably a bit higher because the thermometer has such a large probe that it is most likely measuring the air temp among other things.

Just make sure the probe is laying completely on your substrate.

 

[endrien]

Phew, I am pretty relieved now. I managed to get her to start eating tonight, about 4 or 5 crickets . Also I found out the temp was WAY too high(Only on the hotspot), like 110F which is really bad. I have it down to a steady 90 now by switching the substrate from paper towel to cardboard.