THIS IS Lauraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[xfan]

Hey guys,
as the title states this is Laura This is how my wife named her, so I've had to add something too, thus the full name is Laura Is. Pregnant, but my two and a half years old son simply calls her Kumba ... Hope she doesn't develop any personality issues
Here she is:

This is my first ever owned gecko, after a decade in tarantula care I'm about to switch to leopard geckos.
She's hatched 18.08.2013 and incubated at 26 degrees(Celsius).
As a total noob at geckos I'm at constant doubt if I'm doing everything right, so do you think she's skinny? I'm feeding her 4-5 mid size crickets every other day and i'm planning on switching to tenebrio molitor from monday.

 

[Olympus]

Congrats on the gecko!

She does look a little thin, I would probably still feed her daily at this point. I wouldn't switch 100% over to mealworms, crickets are a little meatier in respect to shell ratio and are part of a varied diet. Or if you don't like crickets look into getting roaches, like dubias, which are even meatier and extremely easy to care for.

And being nervous is totally normal for a new reptile parent, but don't worry, leopard geckos are easy peasy to keep They're tough little guys.

 

[xfan]

Thanks for the tips Olympus. I'm trying to feed her every day, but she's not that interested. I'm afraid to leave any crickets with her over night, I'm reading this might be stressful for the gecko, not to mention they are nasty creatures with strong "jaws"

 

[trinity]

Well Hello Miss Laura

 

[Walter H. White]

hey Xfan Beautiful gecko you have there. yeah I make it point to not leave crickets in tanks the can nibble on toes( NOT to mention that you can have the female crickets lay eggs in moist hide depending on what you use for a substrate) just make sure your gut loading your feeders so that your not just feeding them shells and guts. I like to gut load bolth mealworms and crickets on Carrots and letuice and potato slices. ijust put a little bit of all of them in with my feeders and watch them grow
. WELCOME again to the forum and I hope to see some updated photos

 

[Olympus]

I'd gut-load with more than carrots, lettuce, and potatoes. Out of those three only carrots have any nutritional value. Dark greens like collard or mustard greens are much better than lettuce, for example, and nearly anything is better than potatoes. Things like pears, squash, zucchini, papaya, alfalfa, sweet potato, kale, apples, etc.

 

[scm133]

You maybe removing the crickets too soon.:main_rolleyes:
I have no issues with leaving crickets in the enclosures overnight, once they are over 10 grams. I always leave a piece of fresh carrot in the tubs for the crickets to nibble on. I also, never put more than 3 crickets in at a time. Also, it helps to remove the back legs (easier for your gecko to catch). I always remove any crickets first thing in the morning, so they do not disturb my sleeping leos.

 

[xfan]

Thanks for all the tips guys! Laura says ... well actually nothing She's busy hunting wab...aaaa...crickets! Yesterday she had 4, today she killed 6 in front of me and now is stalking the last one
Here are some photos from tonight. I'm sorry for the poor quality of the images but without proper lightning this is all that my 4s can pull out

Dinner is served!

Aaaand she's going, in the speed of a .... hungry gecko?

Nom, nom, nom ...

Where all the crickets went, sneaky bastards ... I'll catch you, every single moth.....ehem.... last one of you!

Here are some clips I've made of her tonight. Try and ignore all the sounds .. my son is watching baby tv ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGM786C1PHE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdHMMsmLOiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrz1in71rsw

This is it for tonight. I hope soon she'll be a lot better

 

[scm133]

Great...she is eating!! Go girl!!!

 

[xfan]

Hehehe, yeah. She's a lot better since I've moved her box on the satellite decoder. I've just measured the temp on it it was 102 F so i gues it's 90-tish on the box bottom. Half the Laura's box is on the decoder and the other half is in the air. I hope I can simulate hot and cold zone in the box this way. When I've got her I've been told they don't really need heating but this not exactly the case so I've had to improvise until I get my paycheck!

 

[Olympus]

She's a cutie!

I'd dust the crickets a little more lightly though, as I see them they are really coated pretty generously, which may make them less palatable (and it's not necessary) to the gecko. So even though she's eating well now she may enjoy them more with a lighter coating.

 

[xfan]

Thank you Olympus, I'll try and slack a bit more when I'm dusting those. I put them in a little box with calcium with d3 inside and then shake them for about 5-10 seconds. I'll see if I can shake them just once and give em this way to Laura

 

[xfan]

This is what the crickets look like tonight. I've shacked em just twice.
I've put 5 crickets and one got eaten right away, but for the rest there is no big interest. I guess she's just still full from yesterday.
I'll leave the crickets with her over the night and will see how much she'll let live until the morning!
Here she is after eating 6 crickets yesterday:

And here is one with lightning trough the box she's in:

That's all folks

 

[xfan]

This is still work in progress but this is going to be Laura's new house

 

[xfan]

I hope I'll see her any time soon with brand new colors and ready to eat )