Setup for new Gecko & MANY Questions!

[dyinghere]

First things first: Does this look okay to everyone? I'm not sure about the gaps in the rocks, but I really only wanted the stones to lead up to the food bowl because my new Gecko {Not sure yet if it's male or female because I haven't handled it yet other than light back stroking} doesn't seem to want to eat from it.

I hope I can kind of piggyback all my other questions with this post, but if I need to make separate ones in other threads, let me know!

This is my first Gecko - I originally went to the pet store for an Iguana, but this poor thing was up for adoption because previous owners didn't care well enough for it. It's missing all toes on it's front right hand, and possibly more on other limbs. I've been keeping myself from trying to hold the poor thing because I don't want to stress it out.

Which leads to one of my many questions: Should I move super slow, or try to get it accustomed to my presence and touch as soon as I can? I don't want to rush it, but I want it to know I don't mean any harm.

Another question: I got a 75 watt bulb, but the thermometer is reading at around 105 degrees. Is that too warm? Could it just be because it's right up under the heating lamp? Where should my ideal temperature be?

Humidity: I read it should be under 40 but I'm at about 55 or so. What's a good way to lower the percentage without having to do the entire room? I could only find tips for things like mildew. Someone said a sponge soaked with salt water then left to dry could work - is this an okay tip? Would just a normal dry sponge left on top of the hide be a good way to do it? I know it's not the terrarium itself that's causing the problem, I'm sure it's my room, but I don't know how to manage it in the tank...

And back to my original question - would gaps between the stones be fine, especially considering the fact that it's missing toes and basically has one useless front hand? A friend is telling me that since the gaps aren't bigger than it, and the stones are large enough to lay on one, it should be fine, but i'd like more input.

I'm really sorry about this huge post, but I've done tons of research and I just want to get more specific advice.

I want to do this right.

 

[Christywoowoo]

Leopard geckos do not bask. That being said you should not be using a heat lamp, you need to buy an under tank heater for them to properly digest food. I cant stress enough, toss the heat lamp, get a matt.

Leopard geckos need 2 hides. A dry one over the heat matted end, and a wet one on the cool side with damp moss or paper towel inside for shedding.

I wouldn't worry too much about the toes. Geckos get along pretty well without some. My girl skittles is missing a few on each foot, with a foot that is completely missing claws.

I would worry more about getting a heat mat asap and another hide. Sometimes geckos get burned or harm their eyes with bulbs, and as i said before they need the belly heat to digest food

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[Christywoowoo]

Also i would get them accustomed to the proper tank for at least a week, then start putting your hand in for a while a few times a day. See if they crawl onto your hand. You can eventually start trying to touch them once they are used to the hand in the enclosure.

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[dyinghere]

It's just recently been a week now. I only really put my hand in to drop food outside of the bowl once a day, and just now I changed the terrarium mat and added the stones.

I'm worried if I put anything damp in the terrarium, it'll only make the humidity problem worse. I still need a way I can reduce that. The gecko shed the very day I brought it home, and I'm not sure how often it'll need to.

 

[Neon Aurora]

Welcome to GF. =)

I agree with tossing the bulb and aqcuiring an under tank heater. I would also like to add that an UTH needs to be regulated by either a thermostat or lamp dimmer. otherwise, they get really hot and can burn your gecko.

Having a most hide will prevent the loss of any more toes by assisting with shedding.

Those dial thermometers are not very useful for leopard gecko because they measure air temps. For leos, the important thing is ground temps. Because of this, it's best to have a digital thermometer with a probe or a laser temperature gun.

I wouldn't worry about the gaps in the rocks, personally.

I also wouldn't worry about the humidity. Many people, myself included, use rack systems with plastic tubs and those often get pretty humid. Leopard geckos are pretty tolerant of humidity and actually need it to shed (hence the moist hide).

In nature, they spend most of the day hiding out in humid crevices and come out at night to hunt when the rocks are still warm from the sun. You can use this information to give them an environment that gives them everything they need.

What kinds of supplements are you using?

 

[dyinghere]

I left the thermometer flat on the ground for an hour and used that when I was worried it was too close to the bulb and giving me a wrong reading. It was still pretty high so I went back down to the 50 watt bulb and it's stayed at about 88-90 since on the warm side since then.

I'm using super worms coated in a calcium and vitamin powder, and I'm going to use crickets maybe once a week or every other week depending on how quickly it'll take the gecko to eat them. I've already bought food for them. And if I can find a place that sells wax worms nearby I'll probably give it one or two of those a week since I'm wondering if the tail is thick enough or not. I know it's under a year so probably just a few months, and most of the pictures I've seen of similar sized geckos seem to have the same general thickness, but I figure one treat a week might be good.

 

[Neon Aurora]

I would highly recommend getting the correct equipment. An UTH, a form of regulation for it, and a digital thermometer with a probe. A heat lamp is not an appropriate heat source for a leopard gecko.

It's hard to see what the condition of the gecko is in that picture, so we can only assess that if you post a closer picture.