Why are some Leos tails thicker than others

[LeoLover101]

Just wondering if it has to do with age or what? Mine is still young, and its tail is not fat at all. I feed her daily, three gut loaded crickets dusted with either calcium with D3, or Vitamins, and three mealworms. That is all she gets in a day. I break up her feeding, once in the morning, and once in the evening. I turn the crickets loose in the evening so she can hunt them. I'm pretty sure I'm feeding her enough judging from all the information I have read. She is about 4" long.

 

[Dimidiata]

I belive your leo could handle more then just 3 mealies and 3 crickets. Try putting a bowl of mealies in the tank, she will eat what she wants. Also, Do you have plain calcium?

 

[ChristinaJ]

Make sure to keep a bowl of mealworms in the tank at all times. Also, make sure you are using an UTH set at around 90 degrees. This helps the leo digest their food better.

As for the width of the tail, usually baby's do not have super fat tails, if you're worried about it, post a picture of the entire gecko and we'll be able to tell if the gecko looks to be a healthy weight. Some males as adults never get the super fat tail, while most females do.

 

[Crunchewy]

How many mealworms are we talking about, and at what point do you take them back out if your gecko hasn't eaten them? Won't they die if they sit in a bowl too long? We put 10 mealworms in and by the morning they are all gone. Should we be putting lots more than that in?

 

[LeoLover101]

I belive your leo could handle more then just 3 mealies and 3 crickets. Try putting a bowl of mealies in the tank, she will eat what she wants. Also, Do you have plain calcium?

The problem is this, I was giving her six to eight mealworms a day at first, but at the end of the week she wouldn't eat anything and kept whipping her tail in a circle like a wounded snake. Before I could get her to the vet she threw up a huge ball of undigested mealworms. I took her and them to my vet and he said the mealworms had caused an impaction, and that I needed to cut down on how many of them I feed her. So I did. I'm afraid to leave a bowl of mealies for her because of that. At the pet store they were feeding her three crickets on Monday's, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday they fed mealworms. I was told they weren't feeding them enough by another person (not on this board), that's why I started feeding so much, and I gut load her food, I don't know if they did at the pet store or not. Her temps are fine and I measure with a digital thermometer, plus I do have two of the stick on kind on the terrarium walls, one on the hot side, one on the cold side. I also have a hydrometer in there on the cool side. I wasn't sure where to attach that one...lol On the calcium question...I am very worried about that because I can't find any anywhere in town. We only have the one pet store, and they are huge, but don't carry the 100% Calcium. They assured me that my Leo only needed the Calcium with D3 which is what I dust her food with, but I know she needs the pure calcium at all times and I also know that I can't free feed her the Calcium with D3. I am going to check online and see if I can order some and have it shipped to me. I am just hoping she will be ok without it until then. Oh, BTW... why do they need the pure calcium and the calcium with D3? It's my understanding that they do need both.

 

[ChristinaJ]

I use osteo form sa for all of my leos and I mix that with Vionate vitamins without a problem and even with breeding they all stay healthy. It's not technically made for reptiles, but it works well. If you search the form you'll find that many others use this mix with great success as well.

 

[Dimidiata]

What are the tank temps??

 

[LeoLover101]

Make sure to keep a bowl of mealworms in the tank at all times. Also, make sure you are using an UTH set at around 90 degrees. This helps the leo digest their food better.

As for the width of the tail, usually baby's do not have super fat tails, if you're worried about it, post a picture of the entire gecko and we'll be able to tell if the gecko looks to be a healthy weight. Some males as adults never get the super fat tail, while most females do.

I am doing everything right as far as temperature goes. That I have mastered...lol...at least I think so...my temp is about 90-92 on the hot side, and 79-82 on the cool side. Here is a pic of her at feeding time last night. The white stuff is the Calcium with D3 that dropped off of her food as I dropped them into the terrarium.
http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/s497/senaslaughter/RSCN5511.jpg

 

[LeoLover101]

What are the tank temps??

I just answered this question in an earlier post, I think I was answering it as you were posting.

 

[LeoLover101]

I use osteo form sa for all of my leos and I mix that with Vionate vitamins without a problem and even with breeding they all stay healthy. It's not technically made for reptiles, but it works well. If you search the form you'll find that many others use this mix with great success as well.

Where do you get it?

 

[Dimidiata]

I use Calcium+ wich is a great 3 in 1 suppliment. Many users here use it.
I get mine from here http://www.geckoranch.com/ You dust with every feeding.

 

[ChristinaJ]

http://www.kvsupply.com/KVVet/produ...alse&mscssid=00408B4784B7449BAB369767A54E0CC1 <--Vionate

http://www.kvsupply.com/KVVet/produ...ne & Joint Support&refcode=Froogle&URLCheck=1 <---Osteo Form SA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PuC...xt=C3975e8dUDOEgsToPDskIZx2EAPZZXY0CG9hr1vmey <---video on Vionate mixture

This shows you how to do it large scale, but its easy to scale down using the same proportions...just use a smaller measuring utensil.

 

[LeoLover101]

I am using Repto-Cal for the dusting of her food. I need the pure calcium to put in her tank so she can free feed on it. It is my understanding that they have to have both? Or did I misunderstand?

 

[LeoLover101]

I watched the video above. The only thing I'm confused about, is this mixture put in a bowl in the terrarium for her to have at will? Or just to dust her food with? Sorry if I seem to be a moron, but I want to get it right.

 

[ChristinaJ]

the mealworms are left in the container once they're eaten the powder remains in the bowl for the gecko to lick at as needed...unless you have a few males like I do that insist on "decorating" their tubs with it.

 

[Jayme]

Repto-Cal is a good brand, I used it for three years and my gecko hasn't had any problems. What people typically do is dust the feeders with Calcium w/ D3, and leave the pure calcium in the tank in a little bowl. Then they dust the feeders with a multi-vitamin once a week or once a month (I've read varying information on this, I personally did it once a month and my leo has grown up looking healthy, however an individual leo would situationally need more frequent vitamins, such as when breeding.) I've recently switched to Repashy Calcium Plus after hearing good things and doing some research on it. It's unfortunate your local pet store doesn't carry the dust you need but luckily there is the internet!

Also the osteoform/vionate mixture in the video probably works well for a lot of leo breeders, but if you only have a single gecko it seems to me to be a bit excessive (not to mention the addition of sand in the mixture is a bit controversial) as rep-cal and herptivite have been more than enough to last me for a very long time since I only have one gecko.

 

[LeoLover101]

Repto-Cal is a good brand, I used it for three years and my gecko hasn't had any problems. What people typically do is dust the feeders with Calcium w/ D3, and leave the pure calcium in the tank in a little bowl. Then they dust the feeders with a multi-vitamin once a week or once a month (I've read varying information on this, I personally did it once a month and my leo has grown up looking healthy, however an individual leo would situationally need more frequent vitamins, such as when breeding.) I've recently switched to Repashy Calcium Plus after hearing good things and doing some research on it. It's unfortunate your local pet store doesn't carry the dust you need but luckily there is the internet!

Also the osteoform/vionate mixture in the video probably works well for a lot of leo breeders, but if you only have a single gecko it seems to me to be a bit excessive (not to mention the addition of sand in the mixture is a bit controversial) as rep-cal and herptivite have been more than enough to last me for a very long time since I only have one gecko.

I have the Herptivite too. I just don't have the 100% pure calcium, but I just bought some on Amazon.com along with a Zoo Med ReptiTemp 500R Remote Sensor Thermostat by Zoo Med. I didn't have a thermostat for my UTH, I figured that will help me out a lot, so I bought it. This is the Calcium I bought: Zoo Med Repti Calcium without D3 3oz

 

[OnlineGeckos]

You have a very young gecko based on the picture so they aren't supposed to have fat tails and being all chubby and such. Healthy leopard geckos growing up do not always have a fat tail as they are using a lot of the nutrients growing up rather than storing fat in their tails. Plus not all geckos are built the same.

If you are feeding your gecko with gut-loaded insects and dusted well with multivitamin powders, then you are fine. Don't worry too much about the tail. I will say that for a gecko that size, I usually leave 5-10 mealworms in the dish even after they are done eating. This gives them the food to munch on later when they get hungry.

A young gecko regurgitating once isn't of concern as they sometimes do overeat. But they learn and usually don't do it again. You can however, play it safe by just increasing the mealworms feeding by 1 a day until you reach the number that you feel comfortable with. Observe to see how many the gecko will eat before becoming uninterested.

Of course this is assuming you are feeding size appropriate mealworms. If you are feeding large ones, then the gecko will of course need less.

 

[LeoLover101]

I want to thank everyone who helped me with this. I really appreciate it very much. I am new to Herps in general, and any and all information was greatly appreciated and I know I have a lot to learn.

 

[LeoLover101]

You have a very young gecko based on the picture so they aren't supposed to have fat tails and being all chubby and such. Healthy leopard geckos growing up do not always have a fat tail as they are using a lot of the nutrients growing up rather than storing fat in their tails. Plus not all geckos are built the same.

If you are feeding your gecko with gut-loaded insects and dusted well with multivitamin powders, then you are fine. Don't worry too much about the tail. I will say that for a gecko that size, I usually leave 5-10 mealworms in the dish even after they are done eating. This gives them the food to munch on later when they get hungry.

A young gecko regurgitating once isn't of concern as they sometimes do overeat. But they learn and usually don't do it again. You can however, play it safe by just increasing the mealworms feeding by 1 a day until you reach the number that you feel comfortable with. Observe to see how many the gecko will eat before becoming uninterested.

Of course this is assuming you are feeding size appropriate mealworms. If you are feeding large ones, then the gecko will of course need less.

I know this may really sound stupid, but how do I know what is small enough or what is too large? I'm really new to all of this...sorry.