Please review my husbandry!!

Messages
21
Vets or ACs please! I have a one year old male lepoard gecko, Fred. I have had him for eight months. I am an anxious pet owner and there is much conflicting information about husbandry so I wanted to post a basic rundown and make sure I'm on the right side of things as Fred is now an adult.

Mostly, things are good, but I think he is a bit chunky (58 grams). I also messed up big time when it came to handling and now he hates me. I was nervous and didn't do it enough, and when I I develop a good connection, he got pinworms and I had to back off while he was treated, and then I was out of town. So at the top if anyone has advice, please help!

Husbandry:
- 25 gallon tank with shelf liner as the substrate
- calcium without D3 in the tank and supplement calcium with D3 every two or three feedings
- feeding every 4 or 5 days
- menu includes mealworms, superworms, blue bottle fly spikes and silkworms. Many times the other worms die on me and I rely heavy on mealworms.
- six hides, including moist hide, and foliage, with a hammock and paper towel tubes for enrichment. He loves them.
- lighting is a CHE in one dome and a small nano USB bulb in another dome. Supplement low levels of heay through a thermostat regulated heat mat. The lights are on dimmers.

Am I doing okay? My biggest fear is lighting and hurting him, like MBD. Is my set up okay?

Advice for dropping a little weight? Handling? Thank you!!
 

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acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
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15,113
Location
Somerville, MA
Your gecko looks fine and 58 grams is no big deal (my nearly 18 year old leopard gecko weighed 116 grams in his prime and he is not a giant). I could suggest a few minor tweaks, but they are not crucial (i.e. I don't want them to become another source of anxiety):
--if you're supplementing calcium and vitamin D3, you don't really need calcium in the enclosure. It is possible for geckos to get too much calcium
--if there's an under tank heater, then possibly a CHE is overkill with a tendency to dry out the air in the enclosure too much. I've been keeping geckos since 2004 and currently have no extra lighting in my leopard gecko enclosures (that doesn't mean you can't have lights, just that they're not necessary). As long as there's light in the room to signal night vs. day to the gecko lights aren't really needed
--I really don't think he needs to lose weight. Don't worry about it

Some geckos hate to be handled, though it sounds like he was more tolerant beforehand. Ive hatched out geckos who didn't mind handling from the time they left the egg and others who hated it, all from the same household. My best suggestion is to talk to him (if you don't already) when feeding him and make sure he sees your hands in the cage a lot. Then try to touch or stroke him lightly if he comes out when you're feeding him. If he'll permit, scoop him up gently from below and make a little cage out of you hands with him sitting on one hand and the other arching over him. Hold him above the cage so you don't end up having him escape into the room. Try it for short periods and see if things get better.

Aliza
 
Messages
21
Thank you so much. My vet leans one way when it comes to husbandry, and then the input I get from online sources I turn to with small questions goes the complete opposite. I'm glad to hear he is fine!
 

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