What did I get myself into?

[Carmenellie]

Sooo, I have a gecko quite by accident... sort of. I work in a pet store, and a guy walks in and tells me about a gecko he found. He works in the shipyards, and usually the freight from places like hawaii and indonesia are filled with geckos, dead geckos. This one was alive however, and he had become kind of attached to in the the last few hours and wanted to know how to take care of it. We went over the basics of reptile care, terrarium, lighting, crickets, humidity, all of that, and after looking at the prices of light bulbs, he decided he didn't really want the gecko anymore. He asked if someone would take it. I told him to go talk to the girls in the specialty pet department. No one wanted it. So, being a sucker, I was like "ok! I'll take him."

I now have a very pretty gecko in a warm, humid tupperware type set up (yes there is airflow.). I was flipping through books and have discovered it's a gold dust day gecko, native to Madagascar but also introduced to Hawaii. (the freight was from Hawaii.) But I don't really know how to take care of it and I can't find a lot of information. I checked out a few forums, but non of them are very active. Hopefully I've come to the right spot. I really need information, I don't want to accidentally kill this thing.

I do know the basics of reptile care, but each species has it's own unique tweakings.\

Oh yeah, my name is Carmen, I'm known online as Carmenellie or Thaseattlegirl. I live in Seattle. lol. Other than this gecko, I have a green cheeked conure named Basil, a cat named Steve, the bettas Shamrock, Snow White, Catwoman, Batman, and Little Lady. Snow white has an otocinclus named Butler. Too add to this zoo, I'm moving in with a couple who have a sun conure, a ball python, and a baby tarantula. ^_^ Nice to meet you all!

 

[Carmenellie]

I forgot to mention, he's shedding right now. I'm trying really hard to maintain a proper humidity and temperature so nothing goes wrong.

 

[prettyinpink]

I would google "gold dust day gecko care sheet" to make sure you're doing everything right

And welcome to gf!

 

[Carmenellie]

Thank you, nice to meet you!

I'm worried though, because he's been in such terrible conditions for probably an extended period of time. He started shedding last night right after the guy handed him over, and he hasn't made any progress since. Does he need something to rub against or a dish of water to soak in? I did look at a caresheet, but they only mention the basic things I already know from working in a pet store.

Perhaps I'm worrying too much, he must be a hardy gecko to have lived through what he did, but usually, once the shedding starts, it only takes a few hours for our snakes and geckos to get our of their old skins.

 

[prettyinpink]

I don't know anything about these guys. If you find a good caresheet it should list everything you're asking...they should talk about shedding, if you need a hide, ect.

 

[Carmenellie]

I'll keep searching. I'm also ordering a couple books off amazon right now.

 

[tlbowling]

Hi and Welcome I dont know anything about them either, but sounds like he would benefit from some misting, the humidity would help him with his shed

found these for ya:

http://www.daygecko.com/html/care_sheets.html

http://lllreptile.com/info/library/animal-care-sheets/geckos/-/gold-dust-day-gecko/

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-species/lizards-profiles/Gold-Dust-Day-Gecko-2.aspx

(but instead of the baby food maybe use Crested Gecko Diet?) it's probably healthier for him.

WOW! They are beautiful geckos!...Good luck with him

 

[gixxer3420]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Bbugs]

Welcome, and goodluck!

 

[WulfSC]

Hello, and welcome.

Day geckos have very fragile skin, so I would limited the amount of handling. Frequent handling of this species will stress them out. Also, I hear they're very fast geckos, so just make sure you know where he/she is at all times when cleaning the enclosure, feeding, etc. They're an aboreal species, so make sure to give them plenty of space to climb, and lots of foliage to hide in. The leaves on the foliage may help with the shedding as well... it might provide enough rubbing surface to aide in the process.

Day temperatures should be gradient from 80 to 86 degrees F. Maintain night temperature range between 72-76 degrees F. They require moderate to high levels of humidity, so mist the enclosure daily (more than twice a day if needed).

Gold Dusk Geckos are carnivores, but will eat some fruit purees. They'll eat a variety of worms (earthworms, meal/wax worms) and crickets. Just remember to dust food with calcium and vitamins.

I hope this helps a little...and good luck with the little guy/gal.

 

[ajveachster]

Gecko Ranch LLC has these, and there is a link page for a couple other places on the web that specialize in day geckos.

 

[Carmenellie]

Augh! Apparently geckos are ninjas too. He escaped from the enclosure I had for him, I can't figure out how, everything was in place when I came home from work. Now there's a green gecko in my house. ToT If I could use profanities right now I would.

Where in a house would a day gecko go to? I've heard that they frequent people's homes and scavenge in the kitchen..... >.< But that's in the upstairs, and he was in the downstairs bathroom. I combed through the bathroom, looking in, on, under, and behind stuff, and I can't find him so I think he left that room. Would he be attracted to the ceiling and corners? Or would he hide under things?

Oh man oh man what did I get myself into...

 

[WulfSC]

I'd look around the top of curtains, any tall furniture (like china cabinets, armoires, dressers, things like that), etc. Again, they're aboreal and like to climb. Also, look in warm areas.

Best of luck finding the little guy.