Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright, so I got this tyke at the Anahiem show in Saturday.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i312/post4space/3.jpg

Sorry, not sure which code will work.

Anyway, I have a few questions on behavior.

I've been keeping him warm, I have a light on him, papertowels for substrate, calcium, and mealworms. I put some water in his cage this morning, and he drank for a good 5-10 minutes, so I know that's not it. He also has a toilet paper roll in there for a hide. Now, all would seem well, but he keeps walking around with his eyes looking half closed, like so.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i312/post4space/1.jpg

This IS my first Leopard Gecko, so i'm not entirely sure if this is normal behavior, I was just wondering what was going on. He also doesn't seem to be eating. I'm going to leave 9 mealworms in there overnight and see how it goes. I'd assume he knows where they are, because he crawled around with them for a few minutes a little while ago.

He's rather tiny, so i'm guessing he's about a week to two weeks old. The guys I bought it from at the show (LLLReptile) said they weren't sexed, so I don't know if it's a male or female yet, but I can wait for that.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i312/post4space/2.jpg

Any guesses on the age will be appreciated. Tomorrow, i'll be putting it in a 20 gallon tank, assuming I can figure out the no eating thing.

Thanks!

It's an Albino Leo from the looks of it, which are nocturnal. At it's young age I am guessing two things about it's eyes being closed. First it IS very young, possibly so young it's eyes haven't fully opened yet. Second the light could be bothering it more than it would when it's older. It's the not eating part that bothers me, although I'd happy it is drinking well so it doesn't become dehydrated. HEAT is most important right now to getting it going I think. With mine when I picked it up (when it was younger) and it's belly felt cold, being so small I would be sure my hands were warm and cup it between them till it warmed up. When it did it would nose it's way out of my hands to explore. When it was warm it also had a better appetite. I haven't tried mealworms with mine, just waxworms. those I would warm up in my hands too before giving them to it.
Sexing usually can't be done till around 6 months or so.
Good luck. BTW You have one cute little buddy there!!!!!

I left 9 mealworms in it's bowl last night, and this morning, after I had recovered the ones that had escaped and hidden, 3 were gone. I would assume this means he ate them, because i'm pretty sure they can't climb on glass.

The leo right now, until I get him in the bigger cage when I get home this afternoon, is using one of my snake's heat lamp. It is this ~> http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_2302_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27 113_cp_3_Nao_24_sku_401854_familyID_14564.aspx
I will, however, when moving on to the bigger enclosure be moving onto one of the bell shaped lights that I have left over from a tortoise's temp enclosure ~>http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_3633_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27 113_cp_3_Nao_24_sku_934828_familyID_12467.aspx
Unless those are not suitable for leopard geckos. I have the one of the medium undercage heaters, the pads made by ZooMed, which I also use on my snakes.

Questions:
Where should the the under tank be placed? I've read that leos regulate their temperature on their own, so I was wondering if I should put the pad in the middle, or to one side. Since I will also be using a lamp later on, will I also be placing that to the left or right on top of the heating pad, and will that get too hot?

I was also wondering if it's a problem to add leopards into the same tank with each other after one has come accustomed to being alone. I would like to get two more leopards, but I don't want to do this until I can find out if mine is male or female, to avoid fights and otherwise unwanted problems.

I have 3 different kinds of calcium..is UVB needed for leos as it is for tortoises indoors? Also, can I still supplement their food with TRex products?

Lastly, is it okay to use black-light, or other non-light bulbs for viewing reasons, or will this bother the leo too much?

Thanks for the help everyone!

It sounds like he probably did eat them. A good sign. (are you coating them with the calcium powder? (Gecko Dust) I'll assume you are, which is important to his bone development (like us getting milk growing up)
The lights sound fine too (I checked out your links, thanks)
Where to place the heating pad depends on cage temperature during the day, also on how hot the pad will make the floor. Some could be too hot. The only way to know is to check with a thermometer. I have a Fluker's digital thermometer that has a cord with the sensor at the end so I can move it around where I want it. (Petsmart item # 605627) If I change things around I can put the sensor inside the hide to check if it's warm enough. Then check different parts of the cage for necessary variations.
If the day temp isn't around 85-90 inside the cage (by the hide) you will need a heat bulb for the spot lamp 60-75 watt. They have night lights too which remind me of a black-light bulb. Provided the cage day temp is okay I would put the under-cage heating pad near the center. If in the same area as the heat lamp it might get too hot, but I'd want it close enough so he can find it easily when he comes out.
UV-B is recommended for all reptiles to help their bodies process the calcium by producing vitamin D-3. I'm not so sure how true it is for Albino Leos though because they rarely venture out during the day. I have the UV-B bulb anyway though, just in case. Better safe than sorry.
I'm not sure what T-rex supplements you have so I can't say for sure. If they specify for reptiles it might be okay, but like I said I don't know for sure. All I used was the calcium dust and mine is getting big.
I hope that helps answer your questions. Feel free to ask anything anytime.

**Kenn**

Your gecko is probably walking around with squinty eyes because the light is to bright. Albinos even more so are sensitive to bright light.

With my geckos I use an undertank heating pad on one side of the tank with a heat lamp over it. I use a ceramic heat emitter, which gives off no light. I also keep a 2.0 reptiglo bulb on a timer for 12 hours a day to give them a day/night cycle. You generally need to play around with wattages to find what wattage you need to get the correct temperatures. In my 40 breeder (with 4 geckos) I use the heating pad and a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter. I also have a rock on that side, which absorbs heat and gets even a little warmer. The other end has no heating devices so they can cool down if needed. They also have a humid hide on the warm side and one in the middle of the tank. They have 4 dry hides. The water dish is on the cool side.

Diet and supplementation wise, they get crickets, superworms, mealworms and occasionally waxworms and pinkie mice (2 out of the 4 will eat the pinkies, the other 2 sometimes do and sometimes don't). Mostly they get the mealworms. I keep a dish of pure calcium (Jurrasic calcium) in the tank at all times and dust with a multivitamin once or twice a week. I always keep mealworms in the tank in a "mealworm dish" (made by exo terra) which they cannot escape from and the geckos eat when they want. I gutload all feeder insects except the waxworms on monkey chow and fresh vegetables (left over tortoise food) for 48 hours prior to feeding.

It is not usually a problem to add additional geckos later on in life, as long as they are not 2 males. If you have one male you want to keep 2 females with him as he will stress the single female with breeding attempts. Its best to clean and rearrange the tank when adding new geckos so your origional one does not recogonize it as its own territory.

Hope this helps.

. . . addenum to the uv lighting schedule, its 12 hours a day in spring and summer, 10 hours a day in fall and winter usually. I'm sure some years I have forgotten to change the timer (I have had my 2 oldest geckos for around 7 years now, they are 15 years old I believe).