Vada's growth

Z

Zoo Lady

Guest
As I posted earlier I have had Vada over a year, she was a tiny little hatchling at that time so she is roughly about 18 months old, I know how big leos get because the zoo that I worked at had two full grown leos.. but I was not aware how long it took for them to grow to that size.

When I got Vada she had absolutely NO tail it was all the way to the "butt" so I know she has put alot of energy to regen her tail. For the first month or so she was housed with a cage mate that she attacked and injured enough that it (never knew what sex it was) eventually died from its injuries. Vada sheds quite often, although she almost NEVER gets it off her toes (humid hide or not) and has lost a few toe tips because of this. Ray and Lola (the geckos I cared for at the zoo) never had any shed problems so I wasn't aware that sometimes they needed help and Vada suffered the consequences of my stupidity. She has been fed a diet solely of crickets, in the beginning I bought mealworms for variation but she never would eat them. There isn't a big selection of live prey in this small town.. but I did find a vibrating food dish and thought I might purchase that and some canned prey for variation. The crickets are gutloaded, she eats about 4-6 a day (is this to much?) I am worried that she is too small for her age, or stunted. I have no intentions of ever breeding her so she doesn't need to get to "breeding" weight but I want her to be healthy.

Here is a picture of Vada in my hand, my hand is 3 inches across for comparison. I do not have a scale that will weigh her accurately.. does anybody have a link to the scales that they use?
vadasize.jpg



Finally does anyone know of a good reptile supply site (cage furnishings, food dishes, UTH, heat emitters, bulbs etc) where the service is good and the prices are reasonable?
 
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fallen_angel

Fallen Angel's Geckos
Messages
7,937
Location
Stockton, CA
I bought my scale on eBay, found a lot of good ones with +/- .1 of a reading, so they are pretty accurate.. I accidentally got a pocket scale, but it serves it's purpose!

She looks like she's 30-35 grams, maybe even 40, but no more than that. 4-6 crickets a day sounds pretty good to me, too. Do you have access to wax worms in your town? If not, many feeder insects can be bought online. I recommend buying wax worms and feeding her those occasionally (not too often because they are addicting for the geckos - a gecko could start refusing mealies and cricks if they get addicted - and are like eating a bunch of cupcakes!) but it should help her get some more fat on her tail.. other than that, she seems perfectly healthy to me, and she is very beautiful :sweetheart:
 

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