what type of geck do i have?

[DrCarrotTail]

She might still be digesting the food she ate the other day and not hungry yet. Let her go at her own pace. If she stops eating for more than 2 days in a row I would get worried but she's already looking like she put on a bit of weight.

Most of the ones I found in the store were food scales and measures in 2g increments which doesn't help for small geckos. I picked up a cheap $9 pocket scale from amazon. It seems to work well so far but its kinda small and you need a Bowl or Tupperware to weigh them in on it. Here's a link to what I'm using:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Signature-Series-Digital/dp/B002SC3LLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348265352&sr=8-1&keywords=pocket+scale

 

[Embrace Calamity]

It’s all cool guys, I came in today after work and she was lying on the cold side I gave her a cricket (she wouldn’t eat 2 just one) and 2 hours later she is still on the cold side, so all in all Jasmine is doing well. I wasn’t able to get a scale just yet only ones I found were like 30 bucks (I live in DC so everything is stupid expensive for no reason) so im going to look at like target. And the heat pad is a zoo med from Petco I looked at it again to see if it had a regulator and I didn’t see one. Her light is red and I keep it on all the time but on the cold side at night during the day it’s over the crickets which are like 5 feet away, so when she goes to sleep she will crawl in her cave and its super dark in it.

Why over the cold side and night? Are are the nighttime temperatures? And as far as eating goes, I agree Dr. CarrotTail (which is an awesome username). Every animal recovers at their own pace, and trying to change that through force will only be detrimental. I don't have as much experience with reptiles as I do with animal rehabilitation of all different species.

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

Why over the cold side and night? Are are the nighttime temperatures? And as far as eating goes, I agree Dr. CarrotTail (which is an awesome username). Every animal recovers at their own pace, and trying to change that through force will only be detrimental. I don't have as much experience with reptiles as I do with animal rehabilitation of all different species.

~Maggot

I'm sorry I can't read what you are saying.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I'm sorry I can't read what you are saying.

Sorry, let me fix that.

Why over the cold side at night? What are the nighttime temperatures?
And as far as eating goes, I agree Dr. CarrotTail (which is an awesome username). Every animal recovers at their own pace, and trying to change that through force will only be detrimental. I don't have as much experience with reptiles as I do with animal rehabilitation of all different species.

Is that better?

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

Lol yeah way better, the light is over her at night so she can see and to help keep the night time temp good. It’s a red light BTW.

Day, hot side 90 sold side 75. Air temp 80. Heat pad so half of the hot side is 100 the other is 90.
Night hot side 90 sold side 70. Air temp 75. Heat pad so half of the hot side is 100 the other is 90.

I got a scale so she is 25g and a little over 7 inches long.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Lol yeah way better, the light is over her at night so she can see and to help keep the night time temp good. It’s a red light BTW.

They're nocturnal animals, so they don't need any help seeing at night, though obviously temperatures are imporant. Also, here's some evidence for why I'm not fond of red lights:

"Some nocturnal geckos lack the red-sensitive cone, but their green-sensitive cone also responds to red light; they can certainly see it. Studies have even shown that some use their cone types for color vision in light similar to dim moonlight. Thus it is possible that “moonlight blue” or “red night light” lamps, which usually are much brighter than moonlight, alter these animals’ view of the twilight world."
Source: http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/reptile-natural-artificial-light.aspx

Of course, it won't kill your gecko or anything. I'm just more a fan of ceramic heat emitters, and it might be worth investing in one sometime.

~Maggot

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would agree that ceramic would be better than the red light. I wasn't saying that they can't see red light just that I think its better and makes them feel more secure than daylight heat bulbs. In any case I prefer UTH to any kind of overhead light or heat for leos. I'd only use an overhead heat source if and when my house is below 65 degrees.

Additionally, I had a pet sitter leave an overhead light on the floor turned on for several days while I was out of town. It left a nice burn mark in my hard wood and scared the hell out of me when I found it for what could have happened had it been a higher wattage.

 

[rocket]

OK I check out the UTH and Ceramic heat emitters, if they are desert animals then what do they do if it’s 95 to 100 in the shade? How do they cool themselves off then?

 

[Embrace Calamity]

OK I check out the UTH and Ceramic heat emitters, if they are desert animals then what do they do if it’s 95 to 100 in the shade? How do they cool themselves off then?

I would imagine they'd probably dig into the sand. Or maybe they'd just sit there and be like, "DAMN, IT'S HOT!" like we do. XD

~Maggot

 

[SC Geckos]

if they are desert animals then what do they do if it’s 95 to 100 in the shade? How do they cool themselves off then?

They are in there burrow for most of the day. It may be 100 degrees on the surface but just a few inches underground it can be 15 - 20 degrees cooler. Bye the way, the section of your heat mat that reads 100 degrees is too hot IMO.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

They are in there burrow for most of the day. It may be 100 degrees on the surface but just a few inches underground it can be 15 - 20 degrees cooler. Bye the way, the section of your heat mat that reads 100 degrees is too hot IMO.

I was wondering about that 100 degrees thing. Not sure if he means the surface of the tank is 100 degrees or the hot side air temp?

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

They are in there burrow for most of the day. It may be 100 degrees on the surface but just a few inches underground it can be 15 - 20 degrees cooler. Bye the way, the section of your heat mat that reads 100 degrees is too hot IMO.

I guess I forgot to mention I put a piece of plywood over it and it dropped to 95. It's the part where the heat pad is touching the tank underneath.

I have seen her before get into her watering dish. Just sit and chill in it. I guess that day she was really hot, lol. I think the air temp was 85 or higher my wife is from Africa so she get cold easy. But back on subject…..

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I guess I forgot to mention I put a piece of plywood over it and it dropped to 95. It's the part where the heat pad is touching the tank underneath.

I have seen her before get into her watering dish. Just sit and chill in it. I guess that day she was really hot, lol. I think the air temp was 85 or higher my wife is from Africa so she get cold easy. But back on subject…..

That's why it's so important to have a thorough temperature gradient. If she was hot, she should have gone to the cool side and had no problem of bringing her temperature down to where it should have been. Does she have a humid hide?

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

Yes I've never seen her get in it, I just added it 2 days ago. maybe I should show it to her.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Yes I've never seen her get in it, I just added it 2 days ago. maybe I should show it to her.

How are you measuring your temperatures? Do you have digital thermometers?

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

No I don't have any but I have 5 non-digital (I guess they are called analog?) ones, and all of them say the same temp.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

No I don't have any but I have 5 non-digital (I guess they are called analog?) ones, and all of them say the same temp.

I guess that's better than nothing. I know the analog I had was off a decent bit when I got a digital thermometer. They're worth investing in, though I realise sometimes you can't buy everything at once.

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

This is a video of my gecko trying to eat some crickets. She would be so slow and to me she looks goofy. But she ended up eating 3 crickets and no mealworms. Her tail is getting fat. I ordered some roaches so after i get them she will start to eat them instead of crickets, they are such a hassle to keep and what not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acwtk5igvXw

 

[Embrace Calamity]

That's a little disconcerting that she can't catch crickets. She tries, but it's like she can't follow the crickets. I've never seen a gecko miss, especially not repeatedly - though maybe it's just a quirk. I'd suggest maybe ripping off a back leg so it can't move as fast or dangling it in front of her. She might eat a bit more.

~Maggot

 

[rocket]

I’ve been holding them in from of her the past few weeks so I could make sure she could get them but I'm trying to get her to chase and what not now. So I decided to put a few in a 10g tank with her for about 30 mins. She got 3 for the 4 and didn’t touch the mealworm. But I don’t want her to get lazy fat so I did it this way, also I didn’t want the crickets to get lost in her cage and hurt her. This is only the second day that I did it so im not to worry about it.

Basically for two weeks I hand feed her anywhere from 3 to 5 crickets daily, and now im going to do it this way for a while hopefully she will get stronger and pig out, she could be like Allyson Felix when she sees the crickets.

But also if she eats more than 3 a day I’m happy.