Newby here!! Just bought my first leo

[calin]

So I bought my first leopard gecko yesterday, which is also my first reptile..so I'm new to this. The guy at the pet store told me what kind of gecko it was but I forgot what it was called....can anybody help me out on this one? :main_huh:
I'm looking forward to learning more about my gecko from you guys/girls since I'm sure a lot of you are pretty experienced. I got thousands of posts over at the car forum I usually visit and this is my first post here so I feel like a noob again haha. Anyways, here are a few pics of my female leo...I haven't thought of a good name for her yet

hiding in her cave with the night light on

I'm having one tiny problem so far...she won't go in her moist hide. I've tried taking everything out of her vivarium and just leaving the moist hide in, but she STILL won't go in. I have wet paper towels inside. Does anybody know what I can do to get her to go in it? Here is a pic of the moist hide, and that's the closest she's gotten to getting in it. I'd appreciate any help! thanks

 

[LeapinLizards]

First of all, Hi and welcome to GF!

Some pointers...
Sand is not exactly the best substrate, many people would tell you never to put a leopard gecko on sand. They can ingest it while eating, or even just sniffing around the tank. A lot of people use ceramic tiles instead, or paper towels

Geckos will actually hide from UV lights. I don't know that that is what you have on her, but I actually had a gecko almost die from overexposure to UVB rays. The light you have on her is probably putting out a fair amount of heat being that close to the tank. In all reality, leos only require an under tank heater, no overhead light source, even for night time.

As far as her going in the moist hide...give her time She will explore and eventually find that it's there. As long as she's eating within a few days, and has water, and belly heat, she's good!

Good luck with her, she looks very healthy.

 

[calin]

First of all, Hi and welcome to GF!

Some pointers...
Sand is not exactly the best substrate, many people would tell you never to put a leopard gecko on sand. They can ingest it while eating, or even just sniffing around the tank. A lot of people use ceramic tiles instead, or paper towels

Geckos will actually hide from UV lights. I don't know that that is what you have on her, but I actually had a gecko almost die from overexposure to UVB rays. The light you have on her is probably putting out a fair amount of heat being that close to the tank. In all reality, leos only require an under tank heater, no overhead light source, even for night time.

As far as her going in the moist hide...give her time She will explore and eventually find that it's there. As long as she's eating within a few days, and has water, and belly heat, she's good!

Good luck with her, she looks very healthy.

Thanks for the advice :main_thumbsup:
I've read a bit about why it's bad to have sand as a substrate, but the guy at the store convinced me that it wouldn't be a problem. He said that calcium sand is digestible. And even if she eats a little of it, it'll go through her. Is this not true? One thing I noticed though is that she hasn't pooped yet, and I've had her for 2 days now....should I be worried? I'd really like to keep her healthy and not do anything that might harm her.

As far as the lighting, I'm not sure if its UVB or not. It's a 60 watt red bulb made by ZOO MED, but it doesn't say anything about UVB on the package so I just assumed its not. So you're saying I should not use any kind of lighting at night? And also, if I do use a night light..what's a safe one for her?

Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

Just a regular old red led light will do just fine, won't put off heat and you can still see her
The sand on the package if you read says LOW impaction.....that is still impaction and since it has the calcium in it, they are more likely to eat it. To give you an example of what it does in their stomach, just put it in some water and see how it doesn't break down, now I understand they have stomach acid but give it 20 mins and then check back.

not pooing after 2 days normally that would seem bad but since you got her from a petstore it's probably because they fed her the bare minimum, so she is storing it all up rather than pooing it, give it another day

This is what my leos did.

Oh and you have a super beautiful and cute hypo tangerine baldy

 

[calin]

Just a regular old red led light will do just fine, won't put off heat and you can still see her
The sand on the package if you read says LOW impaction.....that is still impaction and since it has the calcium in it, they are more likely to eat it. To give you an example of what it does in their stomach, just put it in some water and see how it doesn't break down, now I understand they have stomach acid but give it 20 mins and then check back.

not pooing after 2 days normally that would seem bad but since you got her from a petstore it's probably because they fed her the bare minimum, so she is storing it all up rather than pooing it, give it another day

This is what my leos did.

Oh and you have a super beautiful and cute hypo tangerine baldy

Actually the light says it gives off a little heat, I put my hand in front of the bulb and it's a little warm. From reading the thermometer, it brings the inside temperature up by about 2-3 degrees.
I'm a little sad that everyone says to get rid of the sand and use tiles or repti carpet. I really love the natural look of sand or wood chips, but then again I don't want her to have impaction. So I guess I should get rid of it and buy some repti carpet .
Thanks for the help! :main_thumbsup:

 

[LeapinLizards]

Store employees (at least the ones in my area) are notorious for recommending sand. Actually, there is a store in our area that has the poor things on rocks. It's really sad. Calcium sand, at one point, was thought to be safe, but there have been cases of impaction. I know it's hard to make the switch, because sand can be more eye appealing.

Keep in mind there ARE some repti carpets that cause the geckos nails to catch. Its all about how they are stitched. Make sure they aren't little loops.

 

[LizMarie]

Welcome and Congrats on your new gecko!

Store employees will say anything to sell half of them have no training and say what they think is right. Sand has been known to be hazardous, I've read a study that the calcium sands are the worst and are harder to digest compared to washed out play sand. Personally I would never take he chance and it seems to have a higher risk of bacteria. With paper towels you can just remove the piece and poo is gone, tiles you just wipe it clean, carpet you just pick it up! Sand you have to comb through it and make poo doesn't move through out the tank, plus if feeders get loose they can burrow into it making it harder to catch or get out. But to each his own. And for a Leopard Gecko sand and wood chips are NOT in their natural environment. While they are known to be desert animals they come from a place that I believe has a hard compacted clay/sand like thing so no loose substrate.

Do you have an under tank heater and a digital thermometer?

P.S. She'll get into the hide sooner or later you don't have to force her into it. She's probably still exploring.

 

[your gecko guy]

sand

welcome, I have had one of my geckos on sand for over 8 years he is fine but it just depends on the gecko I guess.This is his set up.

 

[your gecko guy]

giant

This was my frist gecko he is a pet. His name is giant he weights 110 grams and is 10 1/2 inches long.

 

[thekooliest]

You got a lot of good advice. For a care sheet check out my site.
Tiles can look natural, I'll find my pic...
Here it is.
I changed it around a bit since.
And he/she looks like a pretty SHTCT.
That stands for Super Hypo (no body spots), Tangerine (the orange color), Carrot Tail (the orange tail). One of my favorite morphs.

 

[calin]

Do you have an under tank heater and a digital thermometer?

P.S. She'll get into the hide sooner or later you don't have to force her into it. She's probably still exploring.

Ya I have a UTH and 2 theremometers (not digital), one on the hot side and one on the cool side. I also placed the thermometer in her hide a few times and all temperatures are good :main_thumbsup:

 

[RepBex]

have you thought your gecko cannot fit in the moist hide?

 

[Halley]

Okay, well I only read the original post, but here are my opinions.

Sand is not a good substance, notice how her feet sink into it in this picture, as well as a few others you posted. Most people believe sense leopard geckos come from the desert that there is sand there; it’s actually more of rocky clay like substance.

For you heating, overhead isn’t the best. A UTH (Under Tank Heater) controlled with a thermostat at 90 degrees, covering about 1/3 of the enclosure’s floor, 24/7 would be the best option.

The moist hide, she’ll go in when she needs to, no big deal.

Then for the morph, she looks like a SHTCT (Super-Hypo Tangerine Carrot-tail)

Hope that helps.

 

[acpart]

If you're looking for a more "natural" look (and I can appreciate that ceramic tile and paper towel don't necessarily supply that, consider starting with ceramic tile and then adding some pieces of irregularly shaped slate, making sure that they can't fall over and crush the gecko. This can look really good and the only problem is if the crickets hide there and die.

I love her orange coloring, by the way.

Aliza

 

[leonut]

For you heating, overhead isn’t the best.

overhad heat heat is actually fine. i;ve had my 3 year old female with overhead heat for 2 years. no digestion problems. as long as they get enough heat to function, they're fine. UHTs are good tho. also the opening in the moist hide looks a bit too small for him to fit through. alhough that may just be me.

 

[cj.thomas21]

Welcome, and nice looking gecko.

 

[calin]

have you thought your gecko cannot fit in the moist hide?

Yup, thought about that too. But I haven't even seen her TRY to get in. If she still won't go in a few days, I'll try the tupperware thing and see if that works

 

[calin]

For you heating, overhead isn’t the best. A UTH (Under Tank Heater) controlled with a thermostat at 90 degrees, covering about 1/3 of the enclosure’s floor, 24/7 would be the best option.

The moist hide, she’ll go in when she needs to, no big deal.

Then for the morph, she looks like a SHTCT (Super-Hypo Tangerine Carrot-tail)

Hope that helps.

Ya I need to get a thermostat for my UTH. I'm not sure exactly how to connect it to the UTH but I guess I'll find out once I get it

 

[Halley]

overhad heat heat is actually fine. i;ve had my 3 year old female with overhead heat for 2 years. no digestion problems. as long as they get enough heat to function, they're fine. UHTs are good tho. also the opening in the moist hide looks a bit too small for him to fit through. alhough that may just be me.

Notice how I said “not the best”? :main_thumbsup:

 

[calin]

If you're looking for a more "natural" look (and I can appreciate that ceramic tile and paper towel don't necessarily supply that, consider starting with ceramic tile and then adding some pieces of irregularly shaped slate, making sure that they can't fall over and crush the gecko. This can look really good and the only problem is if the crickets hide there and die.

I love her orange coloring, by the way.

Aliza

Thanks, I'll probably look into that :main_thumbsup: