Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have what I thought was a healthy and happy leopard gecko, but here in the last week she has done something that I thought leos would never do - she has deficated in her main hide. Twice now Figment has made her home her toilet, and they have been quite stinky. I have been feeding her every evening 4-6 medium sized dusted crickets. About once or twice in the week I give Figment 6-8 mealworms and about twice a week I hand feed her a waxworm. She is a very eager feeder, charging after the crickets and wiggling the tip of her tail before pouncing on the crickets. I just took out the big cactus that is her main hide in the cool side of the vivarium and I don't think that I will put it back. I moved the rock "cave" over to the cool side and kept the moist hide atop the uth.

If you could please advise on the pooping in her cool hide and why it smells like the elephant exhibit at the zoo.

Also is it normal for a leo to wiggle their tail before pouncing on a cricket.

Please email me to see pics of what I am talking about as I can't figure out how to upload pics now. Figment is about 6-7 inches long and a healthy weight. I have had her about 2 months now and bought her from petco when she was about 5".

lol. They're cool little buggers but not the smartest of creatures on this planet.

My baby giant tremper albino used to poop in the hide on the hot side of the tank when he first arrived. Phwewww! All I can say is that they seem to be creatures of habit. Like cats that pee on the carpet, I think once they get started pooping somewhere they tend to come back to the same spot. Maybe it's a smell thing. Took a little while to break him of the habit.

I think they like to poop in corners or against walls. You might be able to train them by having them poop on paper towels and then move the paper towels gradually to the spot you want them to use. Didn't quite work for me but it may for you.

Anyway, my solution was to thoroughly clean the entire tank including the hides. Clean the poopy hide with a weak bleach solution and then rinse it very very well. Rearrange their furniture on them and it will "reset their potty map". I made sure to leave the spot occupied by the old hide empty.

Basically, you want to make them think they're in a new environment. It does cause them a bit of stress in the process so you may reconsider if you think your gecko's sick.

You might just try removing the one hide for a few days provided she has ample other temperature appropriate hides to retreat to. Make sure she doesn't need it for shedding (assuming it's the humid hide).

Oh yea... forgot to mention. That twitching tail thing while hunting crickets is perfectly normal and often amusing!

My leos poops on the Hothide, outside of the humid hide, in the corner of the tank.

Why they share pooping spots, I don't know.
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Normal - Male - Ninja
High Yellow - Female - Ninjete

Sounds like she's spooked or upset like she's afraid to leave her hide. Perhaps she didn't like the changes you made. Do you perhaps pick her up after she eats? Maybe she wants some alone time. Hard telling for sure. As it is unusual.

As for her tail going before she pounces...it's pretty cool isn't it B) Reminds me of a cat, I get a big kick out of it. LOL
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**Kenn**

While all of the above is good points, you mentioned that the new poo smelled really bad, right? That is NOT normal and could be a sign of infection or parasites. Might be that a trip to the vet is in order.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I'm not being an ass here but: All these things are perfectly normal im suprized so many keepers are behind thier reading; this is more directed at hose who replied. All leos pick a main place to deficate and leos share the spot to keep colonies healthy because they do live together in large numbers sometimes. The smell is present because it is in the hide and concentrated, also the more humid it is the more it will smell. tail wiggling is very healthy. Now as to the real concern: cleaning the hide. I't may not work but take the fecies and place them in a corner you dont mind cleaning, while keeping the hide as clean as you can. if you have other leos put thier droppings there too. this may cause a response to change the defecation location if another already exist. -phillip

No offense, but aren't you the guy who said calci-sand is easily digestible?

I didn't know that magazine ads counted as reading material.

My bad... it wasn't a magazine ad you read. It was the following web site that sells the stuff (lifted from one of your other posts).

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=6502&N=2006 114035

The truth is that I actually agree with much of what you said above in this post. I guess I don't much care for the "mightier than thou" attitude though. Most of these folks are trying to share information and learn, not be reprimanded for their perceived lack of knowledge.

No, they should be reprimanded for posting material that is misleading. I'm not sure that one should post to say "yeah i don't know about that either just thought i'd waste your time". Also calci-sand is easier to pass due to it's content and partial digestability it will not absorb 100%. I never said it was easy. Nightflight you are one of the problems on this forum giving out bad info. please come back when you have a dergree in biology to back your popmpus attitude up.

Quote from your post above:

Also calci-sand is easier to pass due to it's content and partial digestability it will not absorb 100%. I never said it was easy. Nightflight you are one of the problems on this forum giving out bad info. please come back when you have a dergree in biology to back your popmpus attitude up.

Quote from the other thread just below this one.

Sand is fine. your gecko will not get impacted at that size and it is rare in hatchling geckos. if you want sand but are worried there is a calcium based sand on the market that is easilly digested.

'nuf said.

Bro don't go making this some popularity contest, whiney forum. People have their own opinions, and post as such. If you don't want to take into consideration what Phil posts, skip his, it's that easy. There is no mandatory reading list to stay on the forum. If you want to get all hoppy on people, go back to High School, as it's not needed here.

Dude. It's called 'making a point'.

It's not about having an opinion or abiding by a reading list. People are welcome to use their soapboxes as often as they want.

It's about folks who look down their nose at others. If someone's going to suggest that the posters before him are not up on their reading materials then that person should be careful that their own sources are up to snuff as well. He could have simply said "here's what I know" or "I don't agree with that opinion for the following reasons" in his first post. I wouldn't have had a problem with that even if it directly contradicted another person's idea including my own. In fact, some of his info was useful above.

Yea, I jabbed him on the calcium sand issue. The purpose of doing so was to let him know that he's not exactly at the top of the information ladder either. At least not so high to justify his first comment above. It's true that geckos can get some nutrition from calcium sand but using the words "easily digested" is an obvious quote of marketing hype no matter how he later qualifies it. To be honest, I could care less if that's the actual opinion he holds. He's welcome to it.

Most of the folks above were either asking questions or relaying their own experiences with similar matters. There may have been some brainstorming and speculation going on, but none of it harmful. The attitude issue was compounded in his later reply when he suggested that a particular user's post was a waste of time. That, to me, is the definition of pompous.

If a person doesn't want their opinions scrutinized, then they shouldn't put themselves on a pedistal above everyone else.

Well, high school attitudes and primadonnas aside, here's what I've found in verifiable literature.

The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos by Ron Tremper, p.18

How is the location of a defecatorium determined? This is not an easy question to answer. We do know that defecatoria are never established inside shelters or in an open space but outside of shelters and always in a corner or along an enclosure wall...... As for the sensory clue that allows leopard geckos to recognize defecatoria, it appears to be olfactory.

Given the above cited reference from a well respected source, it would be somewhat unusual for them to poop in a shelter, especially one that they use. You could have the rare exception.

Also, as sleepygecko suggested, especially smelly feces may be something to have checked given that the original post suggested that the main hide (one presumably pooped in) was on the cool side of the tank and isn't the same hide as the warm one. If the smell occurs only when lifting the hide it might be a concentrated smell but if you smell it all the time that might be a different thing.

Assuming you decide on the vet route, you don't necessarily have to take your gecko with you to the vet to have a fecal test done. Some may require it and others might suggest it. Not necessarily a bad idea to do so either. I've had 2 of my geckos checked out with fecal tests shortly after purchase for around $50 combined just to be sure. Was worth it to me but I know not everyone wants to spend a lot of money.

In any case where you're questioning the health of an animal, it's a lot cheaper to spend $50 now and catch it early than a lot more later when it's more expensive to cure or too late to cure, and at bare minimum when getting any kind of pet, you're taking responsibility for their well being. IMHO it's an important responsibility, and if the potential costs aren't something you're willing to accept, then you shouldn't get the pet.

Regarding all the opinions and flaming going on, the information I can provide is that I've had several leopard geckos, and I have had a juvenile *DIE* from calcium sand impaction (sadly, my first little guy, learned that lesson the hard way, now they live on paper towels), and I've *NEVER* had their poop be smelly, so saying that it's normal for it to be smelly doesn't correspond to my experience, at least. Not saying that I'm an expert, but my personal experience says that smelly poop from a gecko = something's not right.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

i see you found the "reading" i was refering to congrats.