Our two baby Leopard Geckos!!!

[dim&shell]

Hi me and my other half have FINALLY (after months of wanting them) got our two baby Leopard Geckos (Winston & Leeroy ). They are about a month old and the loveliest pets I have ever had!! They both have been eating very well (about 15 crickets each a day) and have fat tails (which I hear is good!! ).

We have a moist box, a hide box and a log (specially for them). They also have some fake plants and special gravel (as were told not to have sand). We have a heat mat on one side of the tank (the tank being at least 3 ft long ).

I have noticed a change in Leeroy in the last day or so; she/he has been spending a lot of time (day & night) right next to the heat mat and does not seem to be eating as well as has been... do you think that this is because she is too cold? We are going to get a lamp of some sort tomorrow as well as a thermometer. Do you think it could be anything else? And have you got any recommendations for lamps we should get?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Michelle xx

 

[LadyGecko]

Hi Michelle
Welcome to the world of Leopard Geckos!
Congrats on your new babies!

Can you possibly post a pic of their tank?

I am concerned about the use of any substrate that might be eaten when babies catch their food and miss-as they often do
Any type of gravel would not be safe to use-imho

I would suggest that you switch to paper towels asap

You need to get a digital thermometer with a probe on the end of it to accurately measure the temp of the area right above the uth
Air temps in the tank are important but you want the hottest spot in the tank to be 88-90 right above the uth on the floor of the tank
I would check the temperature above the uth before adding a lamp as temps too high are dangerous for babies

Also-keeping and raising 2 babies together can work but as they grow there can be issues with one getting more food than the other
Leos often have dominance issues and it is often so subtle that it only shows with one of them not eating and hiding
I would like to suggest that you set up another tank for the second baby

As far as the baby that is not eating-that can be caused by several things

How long have you had them and are they being pretty much left alone to settle in except for feeding/tank cleaning?

Babies often stress when moved to a new home
They will also often go off their food right before a shed and growing babies can shed every 2 weeks
Is this baby's skin looking paler or whiter than usual?
If so-it is getting ready to shed

Parasites can also cause a loss of appetite and a fecal sample should be brought into your vet to have it checked
Lastly-the dominance thing again-If one of the babies is not comfortable with the other -it may stop eating

My advice would be to separate them into 2 tanks-switch to paper towels -which will allow you to monitor what their poop looks like
Get the digital thermometer-check the temps right over the UTH and check what their poop looks like
Smelly and runny poop is usually an indication of internal parasites and your vet will give them medication to get rid of them

I hope that this has been of some help and I look forward to seeing pics of your new babies!

Sandy

 

[dim&shell]

Hi Sandy,

Thank you very much for your quick response

We bought the tank and geckos and all the stuff for it from a reptile centre. We bought a gravel of some sort but apparently its made especially for them and it disolves in their stomach (it was quite expensive as well!!!). I will try and post a picture of the tank over the weekend if I can.

So I should get a digital thermoter before getting a lamp of any sort? Okay, I will get that tomorrow then and check the temperature. Their eating is pretty regular and the smaller one (Leeroy) started off eating a lot more than bigger one (Winston) but then Winston started eating more (up to 20 crickets each a day - is this too much anyway) and last night when we went to feed them Leeroy only ate about 5 crickets and then went and sat in the corner (in view) right by the heat mat (basically touching the heat mat?). They do seem quite close, often sleeping right next to each other and even on top of each other and Winston licks Leeroy on the head quite often - very cute - does this mean anything?

We have had them for about 2 weeks now and they were only 3 weeks old when we got them. We have left them alone as I understand they can get quite stressed... although Winston is very curious, coming right up to the glass in the tank (especially when he hears my voice or I change his water).

I will definitely get some pictures as soon as I can - Love them to bits, like my babies

Sorry for the huge amount of questions, any help you give is appreciated xx

 

[Bling_my_leo]

Congrats! Can't wait to see pics!

 

[LadyGecko]

Hi Sandy,

Thank you very much for your quick response

We bought the tank and geckos and all the stuff for it from a reptile centre. We bought a gravel of some sort but apparently its made especially for them and it dissolves in their stomach (it was quite expensive as well!!!). I will try and post a picture of the tank over the weekend if I can.

So I should get a digital thermometer before getting a lamp of any sort? Okay, I will get that tomorrow then and check the temperature. Their eating is pretty regular and the smaller one (Leeroy) started off eating a lot more than bigger one (Winston) but then Winston started eating more (up to 20 crickets each a day - is this too much anyway) and last night when we went to feed them Leeroy only ate about 5 crickets and then went and sat in the corner (in view) right by the heat mat (basically touching the heat mat?). They do seem quite close, often sleeping right next to each other and even on top of each other and Winston licks Leeroy on the head quite often - very cute - does this mean anything?

We have had them for about 2 weeks now and they were only 3 weeks old when we got them. We have left them alone as I understand they can get quite stressed... although Winston is very curious, coming right up to the glass in the tank (especially when he hears my voice or I change his water).

I will definitely get some pictures as soon as I can - Love them to bits, like my babies

Sorry for the huge amount of questions, any help you give is appreciated xx

Hi Michelle
You are most welcome

What is the general temp of the room that they are being kept in?

Usually a UTH that is the right wattage/size for the tank will keep the "hot spot" at the correct temp in a room that is not cold and often you will need to buy a Rheostat to turn it down because it gets too hot
A thermostat or rheostat is recommended with using any heating device

You can buy a lamp fixture and a low wattage red bulb-this works great for night viewing when they are up and about in their tanks but I personally do not use bright white lighting on my Leos enclosures

IMHO NO sand is digestible and no sand of any kind should be used for babies
You just can not believe what people in pet shops tell you for 2 reasons

1-they are there to push merchandise
2 They often have never kept the type of reptile that you are buying and really only have a very limited amount of info-and much of it may be incorrect

I would most definitely get rid of the sand (is it Calci- or Vita- sand?)and separate them as you already have one that is eating more than the other

Leos are not really "social" animals and usually do best when kept alone
If you have 2 males or a male and a female-they will have to be separated anyway before they reach sexual maturity
This is done to keep 2 males from fighting and in the case of m/f to prevent breeding before the female is physically able to lay eggs safely


You can also monitor individual fecals with keeping them separate and another good reason for using paper towels is that they do not bury or dry out the poop as sand does so you can see if it looks like healthy gecko poop

You will have a much better idea of what is going on temp wise once you get the digital thermometer with a probe on the end
You don't have to buy one specifically for reptiles-an indoor /outdoor one will work just fine and it most likely will be cheaper

Please don't worry about asking too many questions-that is what we are here for

I look forward to seeing their pics

Sandy

 

[Bling_my_leo]

Show me the pics...