I got this little leopard gecko at a reptile show back the beginning of August. I had done a little reading on ownership but not a ton. A few days after I got her home, I had a meltdown because she was having some trouble catching her prey. I then realized that one of her little arms is bent as though it has an extra joint. I immediately researched for a ridiculous amount of hours. The gecko was active, not thin, only had this in one leg, nothing else appeared to be wrong, I could not find any reptile vets in the area, and honestly the vets we do have here having grown up around livestock and pets my whole life, really, my guess is probably as good as theirs, only I care more, and I don't charge 200$.
So I decided I'd give her as optimal a living environment as I could. As good of food as I could. I put her on a regular vitamin regime that she's still on. Plain calcium 3x a week and free choice, vitamin D3 calcium 2x a week, a UV light on a timer to help with absorption, multivites 1x a week. She mostly feeds on crickets but I started a small Dubia colony that I should be able to feed heavilly out of soon. I also learned to give the circkets a suspended animation treatment in the freezer. Well that helped her catch em!
She ate like a big fat hog and nearly doubled in size over the next couple weeks. She also brightened dramatically in hue. She wasn't a fredly pathetic looking lizard to begin with. I think because I'm new to lizards, I checked for all 20 toes, but I just didn't realize the bend in her arm until feeding time when she didn't stand up all the way and walked on the side of her hand. She was in a little plastic container laying down and it's not that obvious until she stands.
I feed her 4 large crickets every night. We've really fallen into a routine. Some nights she's bored and climbs the side of her aquarium and actually tries to climb into my hand or onto my sleeve. I take her out for play time regularly. She's got about 93 degrees on one side of her tank and about 82 on the other. I have a hide on each side, a big dish of water and a moist hide which you couldn't force her into if you tried, she doesn't care for it. She has no trouble shedding. I keep it there for the principal of the thing.
Overall, I just adore her. I tried my best with the means i have to take good care of her. She seems like a happy lizard to me. She uses her bent little arm like it doesn't bother her. I'm proud of how tame and how fat she is. I spend time everyday to try and keep her well.
Here's a photo where you can see the bent arm:
Anyway, please don't come after me for not taking her to the vet. I am a single mom with a teacher's salary and multiple dependents so I really did my best. Personally, I think if you ask Bella she'd tell you she likes her life
. She seems pretty good to me. Wanted to post an update before my account is booted from the site.
So I decided I'd give her as optimal a living environment as I could. As good of food as I could. I put her on a regular vitamin regime that she's still on. Plain calcium 3x a week and free choice, vitamin D3 calcium 2x a week, a UV light on a timer to help with absorption, multivites 1x a week. She mostly feeds on crickets but I started a small Dubia colony that I should be able to feed heavilly out of soon. I also learned to give the circkets a suspended animation treatment in the freezer. Well that helped her catch em!
She ate like a big fat hog and nearly doubled in size over the next couple weeks. She also brightened dramatically in hue. She wasn't a fredly pathetic looking lizard to begin with. I think because I'm new to lizards, I checked for all 20 toes, but I just didn't realize the bend in her arm until feeding time when she didn't stand up all the way and walked on the side of her hand. She was in a little plastic container laying down and it's not that obvious until she stands.
I feed her 4 large crickets every night. We've really fallen into a routine. Some nights she's bored and climbs the side of her aquarium and actually tries to climb into my hand or onto my sleeve. I take her out for play time regularly. She's got about 93 degrees on one side of her tank and about 82 on the other. I have a hide on each side, a big dish of water and a moist hide which you couldn't force her into if you tried, she doesn't care for it. She has no trouble shedding. I keep it there for the principal of the thing.
Overall, I just adore her. I tried my best with the means i have to take good care of her. She seems like a happy lizard to me. She uses her bent little arm like it doesn't bother her. I'm proud of how tame and how fat she is. I spend time everyday to try and keep her well.
Here's a photo where you can see the bent arm:
Anyway, please don't come after me for not taking her to the vet. I am a single mom with a teacher's salary and multiple dependents so I really did my best. Personally, I think if you ask Bella she'd tell you she likes her life
. She seems pretty good to me. Wanted to post an update before my account is booted from the site.
