New to Leopard Geckos

[lindsay.black19]

Hey everyone! I just got my first leopard gecko. I adopted it because it lost its foot from poor shedding. I have been doing as much research as I can but still have lots of questions. I've had it for 3 days. It's a juvenile. I have read so many different things about tank set up and substrate that I'm really just confused. I have provided a picture below of my set up. Right now I have repti carpet as a substrate. I have a warm dry hide on the left. I have a cool moist hide on the right. The day temp on the left side is only getting to about 85 F. The day temp on the left is about 75 F. I got it ou once to hold it and it didn't seemed stressed and didn't try to bite. It has eaten 1 or 2 insects a day every day I've had it except hasn't eaten today. It also hasn't came out of the hide at all except when I lifted it up and picked the gecko up. It felt cool to the touch when I held it. I have read that they should have 3 hides. Some sites say to have a cold moist hide and some say it should be a warm moist hide. I have read many articles about substrate and they all seem to say something different. I just want some advice!! I want to do everything I can to make this gecko's life as good as possible. Thanks in advance!

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[JessJohnson87]

The floor temps need to be between 88-92* for proper digestion, air temps no greater than 85* on the warm side and 75* on the cool side. The moist hide needs to be on the warm end, a cool moist hide is a recipe for a respiratory infection. Limit the amount of handling for the next couple of weeks, they may not show any obvious signs of stress but it's best to let it settle in. Make sure to dust the insects every other feeding and only like 1 of them, too much vitamin D3 can cause reverse MBD. I would also recommend getting a heat pad for the bottom of the tank, either a flukers or ultratherm because they are reusable and you will need a thermostat to regulate those temperatures for the heat pad. Also a digital thermometer is better to read temperatures with, those analog thermometers can be garbage.

 

[lindsay.black19]

How do you measure the floor temp? Yes I have an under tank heater on the warm side. It's about 1/4 of the tank length. I have been dusting insects with calcium. I need to get d3 as well but I don't think they have it at +++++. Where can I buy it?

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[JessJohnson87]

The calcium should already have D3 in it. I have the probe to my digital thermometer underneath my warm hide, taped to the tile in my tank. You can place it under the carpet to measure the floor temperature.

 

[lindsay.black19]

oh yeah it does have d3 in it. I heard some people prefer to give them separately?

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[JessJohnson87]

I've never heard that and too much D3 can cause reverse MBD. So only lightly dust 1 or 2 crickets depending on how much it's eating and only do it twice a week.

 

[lindsay.black19]

even for a juvenile twice a week is fine?

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[JessJohnson87]

Blah, wasn't thinking, lack of sleep there. Do it 3 times a week and if you start to notice any signs of MBD(swollen limbs, rubbery jaw etc.) do it 2 times a week. I have the Repashy Calcium plus that has the lowest amount of D3 in any of the supplements and can be used along with a regular gut-load for the insects. I love it, it's an all in one.