Newbie--Help?

[rubyfire]

Brother just got a leopard gecko yesterday:main_rolleyes:.

Need some help and advise.
We did a little reseach yesterday and today.
We have a 10 gal tank with Black Desert Sand as subtrate, a heat rock, water dish, and a tree ornament.

We were told we could feed him once a week or something. I personally think he would need to eat more?
We found that the sand might not be a very good idea?
The heat rock might not be a good idea?
They need a moist box or wet box?
Any other things he needs?

Please help. We want to keep this guy healthy and happy.
Thanks!

 

[tlbowling]

Brother just got a leopard gecko yesterday:main_rolleyes:.

Need some help and advise.
We did a little reseach yesterday and today.
We have a 10 gal tank with Black Desert Sand as subtrate, a heat rock, water dish, and a tree ornament.

We were told we could feed him once a week or something. I personally think he would need to eat more?
We found that the sand might not be a very good idea?
The heat rock might not be a good idea?
They need a moist box or wet box?
Any other things he needs?

Please help. We want to keep this guy healthy and happy.
Thanks!

How old is he? Any Pix?
You definitely DONT want the sand, lots of people use papertowels, but
if you like the natural look, use tiles. No heat rock! They get too hot and will burn him! Use a reptile heat pad on one end of the enclosure, you want to keep the temp. between 88-95 degrees. Place a thermometer with a probe on the floor of the hot end. They do like to have a moist hide (not wet) keep it misted, and I keep mine in the middle (not hot or cold) and they should have a hide on the cool side too. He does not need any lights, but does need a day/ night cycle...so if the room is dark, you may want to put a 15 to 25 watt bulb over the tank, on a timer 12 hours on/ 12 hours off.
Theres a lot of caresheets out there, you should check them out asap and make sure youre doing everything right (technically you should have done that before you got him, but it too late for that) But I hope I've helped you get on the right foot

EDIT: Oh and really he should be fed every other day if he's not a little baby, and daily if he is. Mealworm, Crickets, Superworms. Make sure you dust them with calcium powder every other feeding, and use a mutlivitamin once a week on one of the days you arent using calcium

 

[rubyfire]

Thanks that helps alot!

I did tell him to do reseach but it was one of those spur of the moment things i guess.

I'm not sure how old he is...he isn't a baby but he doesnt have spots yet.
He is getting a home makeover then

Oh, I saw that for the moist hide-away you put peat moss in it? Where would we get the peat moss from?

Thanks again!

 

[tlbowling]

You can also use moistened sphagnum moss, or eco-earth coconut fiber, even moistened papertowels! I get all my supplies online thru either reptilesupply, pangea reptile, or pet mountain usually, even with the shipping fee, it still works out cheaper than going to the store, using time and gas and paying tax! Usually the supplies are a lot cheaper on line anyway.

 

[STUTFL]

Some gecko color variations don't ever get spots - does he have bands of light and dark color or is he mostly solid-colored?
Looks like you've got some good advice so far (personally I'd keep the warm side closer to the higher end of that 88-95 range). Do you have a food source set up for the little guy? Also, you'll want at least two places (one near the cooler side and one neaer the warm side) besides the moist hide for him to sleep/hide in - they like to retreat to small, dark spaces during the day.

Looking forward to pictures!

 

[fuzzylogix]

How old is he? Any Pix?
You definitely DONT want the sand, lots of people use papertowels, but
if you like the natural look, use tiles. No heat rock! They get too hot and will burn him! Use a reptile heat pad on one end of the enclosure, you want to keep the temp. between 88-95 degrees. Place a thermometer with a probe on the floor of the hot end. They do like to have a moist hide (not wet) keep it misted, and I keep mine in the middle (not hot or cold) and they should have a hide on the cool side too. He does not need any lights, but does need a day/ night cycle...so if the room is dark, you may want to put a 15 to 25 watt bulb over the tank, on a timer 12 hours on/ 12 hours off.
Theres a lot of caresheets out there, you should check them out asap and make sure youre doing everything right (technically you should have done that before you got him, but it too late for that) But I hope I've helped you get on the right foot

EDIT: Oh and really he should be fed every other day if he's not a little baby, and daily if he is. Mealworm, Crickets, Superworms. Make sure you dust them with calcium powder every other feeding, and use a mutlivitamin once a week on one of the days you arent using calcium

great points, but you can keep the hot rock, just cut the electrical cord off :main_thumbsup:

one thing about the heat pad though, you want it under the tank, and the probe on top of whatever substrate you choose to use. i always recommend paper towels, its the only thing i use. for moss, check your local hardware store for "orchid moss". i use ziploc sandwich containers with a hole cut in the lid for my moist hides. keeps the humidity up in there and also keeps the substrate in when they dig.

 

[tlbowling]

Oh and I think I forgot to mention, you'll need a little bowl of calcium left in the tank all the time, they will lick it up as needed.

 

[rubyfire]

Thanks

Well mom ordered some things for him last night. Should be getting the stuff in a couple days. Got some krickets for him today too. How many do we feed him?

Forgot to mention earlier that we have named him Helios- Lio for short
I'll try to get pics later. He is pretty much a solid yellow color.

Thanks again!

 

[GothicGurrrl]

Welcome to the gecko-keeping world I'm a newbie myself I've had my gecko since October.

I thought I'd post a picture of my gecko's set-up.. thought it might help. There are loads of threads on here with photos of different set-ups.. some are really amazing and well-designed... mine's just basic

Included in my tank:
- 2 hides (ones hidden behind the piece of cork bark, that's the hot side of the tank),
- an extra hide log thing.. she likes to climb on it
- water bowl ( you can also use food bowls if you feed mealworms or superworms )
- fake plant
- moist hide (just a plastic container filled with moist sphagnum moss)
- the wires visible are attached to the digital thermometer.. so i know the temps of the hot side and cool side. the big wire at the back is attached to the thermostat that controls how hot the heat mat can get.
- the heat mat is under the tiles
- oh, and the sand tray is a litter tray


hope it helps you

 

[STUTFL]

Perfect name!
Once the crickets have had time to eat, themselves (straight from the shop they're usually pretty hungry, and an empty cricket's not very nutritious) you can feed them to your gecko - if you're feeding him in the tank and there are a lot of hiding places, I'd personally go one or two at a time until he's eaten his fill. Loose crickets in a leo tank are a general headache. Mine (before he suddenly decided crickets weren't worth the effort) took four to six crickets every few days.

 

[rubyfire]

Thanks!
The picture is a great help!

Here's some pics of Lio!

 

[GothicGurrrl]

awww wow soo cute!

 

[tlbowling]

Awe! She's pretty

 

[Psychotic4mb3r]

Well shes not a baby lol . Looks like a patternless so she will never have spots. Shes very cute though!
For the moist hide, I use a tupperware container, cut a hole in the lid, and put coco fiber in it and spray it down to make it moist

 

[rubyfire]

:uhoh2id I mention Lio is a Male?:blush:

Thanks!

 

[tlbowling]

:uhoh2id I mention Lio is a Male?:blush:

Thanks!

Are you sure about that?

 

[BaByLuvU]

good looking leo ... hmmmm def not a baby lol ... just check under if you see two big bulges under it's a male . I believe there's a thread here that has a pixie of a male and female looks like under ;-)

 

[Kotori]

Brother just got a leopard gecko yesterday:main_rolleyes:.

Need some help and advise.
We did a little reseach yesterday and today.
We have a 10 gal tank with Black Desert Sand as subtrate, a heat rock, water dish, and a tree ornament.

We were told we could feed him once a week or something. I personally think he would need to eat more?
We found that the sand might not be a very good idea?
The heat rock might not be a good idea?
They need a moist box or wet box?
Any other things he needs?

Please help. We want to keep this guy healthy and happy.
Thanks!

Yeah, as as said already, no sand (Impaction=pain,death...avoidable)
Don't use heatrocks (Boiled frog syndrome= 80 degrees, Leo likes, then runs hot and....burns their bellies:main_no

What I have is coconut shavings, an UTH (Under Tank Heater). it has a regulator, and easy fix if it runs too hot- put more bedding above it. You would also want to get at least one hide. Moist box would be for shedding. They turn gray before shedding. Trust me, you'll know. They shed once a month. You don't have to have moist in 24/7, just when he's about to shed for 2-3 days. I used (Kinda feel bad about being so cheap but it works well...)
A KFC kid's meal box, hole made in one side, other flush against the glass. Papertowel and coconut shavings within, just wet it and put it in for shedding.

Leos aren't prone to overeating, and I feed mine 2 crickets a day. Most important thing with feeding is: No prey bigger than space between the eyes. dust it with Calcium powder+ Phosphorus about every other feeding, or every 5 crickets (What I do; others might recommend other stuff.)
If your gecko doesn't have enough calcium, his eyes will stick closed (or at least mine's did)