YIKES!!!!!

[Ed O]

*well, at least it got your attention*
So, as mentioned before in my Intro thread I am now a female leopard gecko owner. I knew that a short Google search on Gecko forums would help get me started in the right direction. Why? Because forums such as these are invaluable to a new pet owner and the pet itself, by allowing others to exchange their ideas and experiences.
Also let me say, that as I mentioned before I do work in a pet store, and am the resident aquarium geek, so to speak, and just recently took over reptiles as well. I want to do what's right by them, and hopefully there will be a few here who can help facilitate their health and survivability through their own knowledge and experiences.

Here's my set-up. It was given to me "por gratis", and before I run out and buy things I don't need I'd like to know where I stand with what I have now.
Currently she resides in a 10g tank. How big is too big? In the marine aquarium hobby, bigger the better. Does this ring true for reptiles as well?
has about 1"-1.5" "desert sand" in it, which I have read to be bad because of impaction. So if that's true, then what would you recommend? Bare bottom? Tiles?
A large water dish half-filled with water.
A medium hideaway for coolness and comfort. Do I also need to provide an area that is at least a tad bit humid for her? Maybe another enclosed container with some damp moss or something in it, with an entrance just big enough to get in and out of?
I'm feeding crickets. I know I know, darn little cannibals. Mean little buggers if you ask me. I know that she will probably live on them for the rest of her life. But I want her to thrive, not merely get by.
Do I need to be misting her?
How often should she shed?
What other supplements or vitamins should I be adding to her diet?
When am I ever going to stop asking questions?


Long-winded aren't I?

So, there you have it, another typical newbie set of questions, TIA to all who respond.

Oh, and I'll post pics later on.

-Ed

 

[moosassah]

Substrate: toss the sand. Go with paper towels or tiles for ease of cleaning.

Food: crickets are fine, but gutload them first. Mealies are easier.
Vitamins, Calcium with and without D also necessary. Never leave crickets in the tank for stress reasons.

Hides: 1 dry, 1 humid (moss is OK, though you'll hear stories of impaction from that too)

Water: only for drinking, they don't soak. I don't know how large a bowl you're referring to.

Heat: under the tank heater only one necessary. Don't need a heat lamp, but red ones are cool for night viewing without blinding them

Size: 10 g is OK for 1 leo. Many go up to a 20g. Too big will make it difficult for them to chase down crickets.

This is the highlights. Keep reading the forums to get even more details and Welcome!

 

[Ed O]

Thanks.
What kind of tiles work best?
Could I go with a 3 or 4 foot tank if I used mealies and put them in a cup in the same place every time so she doesn't have to chase them?
Calcium in a solid form or drops that go in the water dish? Same with vitamins? ANy vegetable matter in their diet, or occassional treats. what's the scoop on pinkies?
What wattage UTH?
Here she is actually. Couldn't tell you if she has a normal pattern or not. She is a light yellow/cream and different hued brown patches. there is a slight hint of what appears to be red or orange on the two tail bands behind the back legs.

 

[Ed O]

Can't find the usb cable for my digi camera, so this was with my cell phone. Sorry for the bad quality.

 

[malt_geckos]

You can go for a larger tank if the mealies are in a dish.

It's great you are asking questions! Keep 'em coming.

The calcium, with and without D3, and the multivitamins, will be in a powdered form. I use bottle caps to put each calcium, calciumD3, and multivitamins in. You can really use anything to put them in.

Geckos don't eat vegitation, however, the mealworms will need some sort of water sorce in the dish in the cage. (Piece of potatoe, carrot, orage slice, or cucumber piece will be great)

She looks maybe albino or high yellow? Guessing more along the lines of albino? Pretty girl! Hope Other's here can help you as well..

Oh, the under tank heater by ZooMed works well. Just get the one recommended for the size tank you are getting.

 

[geckogirls]

Thanks.
What kind of tiles work best?
Could I go with a 3 or 4 foot tank if I used mealies and put them in a cup in the same place every time so she doesn't have to chase them?
Calcium in a solid form or drops that go in the water dish? Same with vitamins? ANy vegetable matter in their diet, or occassional treats. what's the scoop on pinkies?
What wattage UTH?
Here she is actually. Couldn't tell you if she has a normal pattern or not. She is a light yellow/cream and different hued brown patches. there is a slight hint of what appears to be red or orange on the two tail bands behind the back legs.

As for the tile, I dont really know, I would assume any tile, but I dont use it so dont hold me to it, I know someone else on here can help you with that. You can give her as big a tank as you want. The Mealies in a cup/bowl is the best idea, so she will always have access to them. As far as the Calcium and the Vitamins, almost any pet store has them, you want it in a powdered form. You should get just PURE Calcium, then herp vitamins, and then Calcium with D3, keep the pure calcium (phosphorus and D3 free) in her tanks 24/7, in a small dish. and dust the prey items with the pure calcium and vitamins every other day and then the other days use the calcium with d3. I dont know about vegi's I have never heard of anybody feeding them "treats" besides the occasional Pinkie. I personally dont know really feed mine pinkies, but I know some people feed them to their geckos every once and a while. As for the wattage of the UTH it just depends on what size tank you have her in. When you buy them at the store they will say what size the heating pad is used for, I would also buy a thermostat, they aren't too high, and trust me, it is better to spend a few extra bucks then freeze, or over heat your baby!! She looks like a tremper Albino to me, I have a female looks identical to her and that is what she is!! And the orange on the tail is just the typical "carroting" of leos tails.

Hope I helped!

Enjoy your new girl!!!

Crystal

 

[malt_geckos]

The tile can be regular ceramic tile. We use ceramic tile here. It looks nice and conducts heat well.

Crystal,
I thought Tremper albino too...It's so hard sometimes to tell the differences between the albinos but the Tremper line does seem to have a distinct look.

 

[gaparicio]

Ceremic tile works well for me as well. I would make sure the tile has some type of texture to it. Slate seems to work fine.

 

[Cheaton]

I read this quickly, so I don't know if it was mentioned, but it's important to have a thermostat or rheostat(fancy term for a dimmer) connected to the UTH to keep it from getting too hot. Since you work at a pet store you rpobably have these on the shelves. Don't skip this item, it's probably the most important thing in your setup, next to your UTH and tank. Thermostat is probably better if the location where the leo is housed has a wide temperature fluxuations. I use a rheostat(dimmer) because my apartment stays failry constant (within 1-2 degrees).

 

[Ed O]

Update:
I've notcied what appears to be a kinked tail.
Also, I've changed a few things regarding the set-up.
For now, until next weekend, she's still in a 10g. I will be laying ceramic tile down and DIY'ing a habitat in a 20l(lots os floor space) or 20h(to build it upwards some).
I added a UTH, a cool hide (medium Snake Cave) with damp moss in it, a smaller water dish, and a Habba Hut (half a hollow log, upside down). I have a thin layer of sand under the hut and the UTH directly underneath it.
With the old set-up she would stay hidden under her "rock", and she had no moist hide. As a matter of fact, I don't think she's ever had a moist/cool hide, EVER, in 4 or 5 years. YIKES!!!
I woke up this morning to find her in her cool hide and never saw her go under her new hide where the UTH is. I also stopped using the infrared heat bulb. Should I have done that?
ANy other suggestions.

 

[Cheaton]

Update:
I've notcied what appears to be a kinked tail.
Also, I've changed a few things regarding the set-up.
For now, until next weekend, she's still in a 10g. I will be laying ceramic tile down and DIY'ing a habitat in a 20l(lots os floor space) or 20h(to build it upwards some).
I added a UTH, a cool hide (medium Snake Cave) with damp moss in it, a smaller water dish, and a Habba Hut (half a hollow log, upside down). I have a thin layer of sand under the hut and the UTH directly underneath it.
With the old set-up she would stay hidden under her "rock", and she had no moist hide. As a matter of fact, I don't think she's ever had a moist/cool hide, EVER, in 4 or 5 years. YIKES!!!
I woke up this morning to find her in her cool hide and never saw her go under her new hide where the UTH is. I also stopped using the infrared heat bulb. Should I have done that?
ANy other suggestions.

Again, Ed, make sure you have some sort of temperature regulating device for that UTH and some way of measuring the floor temp. Anything over 94 degrees is too hot and can cause injury or general poor health. Maybe you already have one, bhut I haven't seen you mention it in your posts.

 

[Ed O]

Best way to measure floor temp?
It's one of those little hermit crab heaters by ZooMed. Maybe she just likes the hide, which is where's she been all day today, since she's never had one. I'll keep an eye on her. Ambient tank temp is around 79-82 degrees.

 

[rhino43grr]

get one of the thermometers with a wire and temperature probe that you can put down in the tank and have it rest on the floor above the heater. i know zoo med makes them and i'm sure other companies do too. also a temp gun (if you feel like springing for one) is apparently more accurate and you can use it without opening the tank i think. a thermostat or rheostat is the best way to regulate the temp. here are examples i found on ebay:

home > buy > home & garden > pet supplies > reptiles > thermometers & heaters

rheostat:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoo-Med-Repti-T...yZ116423QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
thermostat:
http://cgi.ebay.com/brand-new-repti...yZ116423QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

the rheostat is basically a dimmer switch while the thermostat has a temperature probe that goes in the tank and it turns the heating device on and off as needed to keep the temperature at whatever temp it's set to.

 

[Ed O]

Just like the Ranco controller I have for my aquarium, for the heater. I have access to these at pretty cheap, so I suppose I'll need to pick one up, relatively soon.
Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Ed, focus on the floor surface temperature over the warmest spot, and not the ambient temperature. The gecko needs about 90-94 degrees on it's belly in order for it's metabolism and digestive systems to function properly.

Did the gecko have a kinked tail when you got it? If it has developed this since you've had it, it could be a metabolic calcium malabsorption issue, and temperatures play a key role.

I also agree that the gecko appears to be a Tremper albino.

 

[Perefalcon]

my substrate preference is reptile carpet...so far I've had no trouble with cleaning it...dishwashers make things so much easier....