Our Baby

[DoodlePixie]

Hey, i'm new here and just got a leo with my boyfriend. Its our first one and she's absolutely lovely! Her name is Izi and she's only 3-4 months, we've had her for just over a week now.

We're still unsure what type she is, any suggestions?

 

[RepBex]

Hi she looks like a normal to me

just a friendly note after u read around abit u may notice that there are many anti sand people on here

because its not what geckos are use to and they can injest it that leads to impaction and this can happen in a week or over years but it almost always results in death

 

[Lena]

What a darling little girl!

Everyone here is going to tell you that sand is bad.. And for good reason.. 'Cause it is! I recommend shelf-liner, butcher paper, newspaper, or paper towels. They may not look as nice, but they don't hold the risk that partial substrates do! If you're really concerned about looks, you can also use repti-carpet, but it can be a pain to clean.

Reasons sand/gravel/etc. are bad:
- They can be accidentally eaten by your gecko and get caught in their stomach, preventing food from passing through.. This is called impaction.
- They are inherently very unsanitary and can harbor bacteria from missed bits of poo and other wastes. With paper towels, you always get all the poo!
- PLUS: In nature, leopard geckos are not on sand or gravel.. But rather very compact ground that is more akin to tile.

EDIT: And from what I can see she is probably the "normal" morph.. But that doesn't mean she isn't cute as a button!

 

[DoodlePixie]

Yeah we were aware of the sand thing and very worried, but after a bit more research and talking to people it seemed okay to use the Calci Sand as long as we kept her calcium and vitamin feeds up. The woman we bought her from was insistant that the sand would be fine even when i did mention the impaction risks to her. If we find a better substitute then we probably will swap.

Thanks for the note.

 

[Lena]

Calci-sand is just as bad and carries the same risk as above.. Trust me on this one. :main_no:

 

[fallen_angel]

Yes, calci-sand is no different really.. we like the look of tile and it's really nice because you don't have to replace it once you buy what you need. For everyday cleaning, you can just take out the one piece that they poop on and scrub it.. paper towels are a little easier since all you do is take them out and throw them away, but we were just going through way too many of those.

She is very cute :heart:

 

[DoodlePixie]

Okay well the opinion here is pretty strong so i think i'll take the words of other leo owners. I'll pop up to the petstore shortly and see if they have some reptile carpet, if not we'll just stick it with newspaper.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Lena]

Your welcome. We don't mean to be imposing, we just want what's best for you and your leo!

 

[DoodlePixie]

Haha yeah i know, don't worry about it, at the end of the day i'm a beginner at this and need all the good advice i can get! The staff at the petstore don't really have a clue and we don't know any other leo owners so forums like this are a great help!

 

[Lena]

It's sad, but I've yet to go to a pet store that took care of it's animals 100% properly, let alone give out the right info.

You'd think they would.. They're a pet store and that's what they do.. Sell pets. It's like a car dealership not knowing squat about the car they're selling you. :x

 

[LizMarie]

She's a cutie!

Well obviously everyone else spoke about the substrate. Some good ideas are repti-carpet, slate/ceramic tile, paper towels and newspaper.

 

[Bodon]

i think she looks like a normal or high yellow

 

[rawson5084]

Welcome to this forum it is a great place to get advice. You have a beautiful gecko.

 

[rubym]

Welcome to the forum. She is very pretty. I would say she is a high yellow. We use the ceramic tile in all our tanks and I love it. It comes in so many natural colors ( pleases my hubby) and it is super easy to keep clean.

 

[sauroid]

that little leo is such a cutie. welcome to GF.

 

[Lacedolphin]

I love normals. Shes a doll! You've got the under the tank heater, not lights I hope. No UV lighting needed. I'm sure she will be well loved by both of you.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

You could use tile also if you would like to be more visually appealing.

Oh my gosh, she is so cute too! I would think normal as well.
She looks like Kiya and as far as I am aware Kiya is a normal.

 

[DoodlePixie]

Thanks for all the comments guys!

Yeah we thought she was either a normal or a high yellow...its amazing how many different morphs you can get though!

As for the sand thing...we travelled around all the local petstores and none of them had any reptile carpets or anything similar, we've found some on the internet instead and ordered that so in the next few days we'll be getting rid of it.

Thankyou for the welcomes ^_^

 

[jakemyster44]

why can't everyone listen as well as you to advise? lol, nice looking leo you have there. You can buy tile at your local harware store and have them cut it to fit the tank (cutting is free), if you dont likwe the look of the carpet... both are great substrates though. Welcome!