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New Leopard Gecko..Bought Lastnight

Delusionalmind13 Jan 30, 2007 11:19 AM

So This Is Gypsie..Don't Know The Sex Or The Age They Didn't Tell Me...When I Bought him/er they had her in sand for the bedding..and i use reptile bark wich they said is fine..his/er cage is at 80.

http://i18.tinypic.com/449tjy1.jpg

he/she doesn't seem to be all to hand friendly..i go to pick him/er up and she like crunches down like she is going to try and bite me...maybe it is just the adjusting period for the move..she is cricket wich i give gut load.

http://i9.tinypic.com/4gqvgpk.jpg

i also have a heat rock in the tank, with a hut that s/he climbs into and sleeps i guess...
http://i9.tinypic.com/2rhky0i.jpg

so if anyone has some advice for me to help the new-b out it would be very helpful
http://i15.tinypic.com/48fx4pw.jpg
Thank You
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Replies (2)

sleepygecko Jan 30, 2007 02:01 PM

Did you even get a care sheet at the store you got the gecko at? I don't mean to be too harsh, but did you do any research before you bought this pet? You are making several HUGE mistakes that need to be corrected immediately!

NO HEAT ROCKS!!!!! Never, ever, have a heated rock, a quick internet search will tell you they are horrible inventions and should never be used. They get too hot for geckos and can easily burn their feet and they won't realize it.

GET RID OF THAT SUBSTRATE IMMEDIATELY. That stuff is not good for leopard geckos. For now use papertowels (or if nothing else newspaper) when it is full grown you may choose sand, however we keep all our adults on papertowels for ease of cleaning and peace of mind.

Where is the temperature 80F? Directly under the heat source? If so, you temps are too low, please refer to a care sheet or even better The Leopard Gecko Manual which will explain in detail how to assemble a proper enclosure and get the proper temps. At extended time at 80F, you may experience digestion difficulties.

Are you gutloaded AND dusting your crickets? Get your hands on a vitamin and mineral dusting power ASAP, Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) is a horrible condition completely preventable by suppling enough calcium to the gecko. This is best given by dusting and offering calcium in the enclosure. I usually suggest T-Rex Leopard Gecko Dust as a good starting point. I'm going to hope you also have a water bowl in there somewhere?

You've only had the gecko a day, you shouldn't expect the gecko to tolerate handling until it is settled! I'd want to bite you too. You do understand this is a "display" animal? I usually recommend handling about once a week until the gecko is tame, usually a few months depending on the personality, and never in the first week it gets home.

I noticed that the last post you had responses asking you to buy the manual today... did you? I cannot stress it enough, you have made several basic errors in setting up your enclosure and I know I may not come off as "super nice" in this post, but please understand: if you leave that rock in the enclosure you will harm the gecko, if you leave that substrate in there it will eventually accidently eat some striking at a cricket and you will have to take it to the vet. I will post and post and post to answer questions of someone that is thinking about getting a gecko, but it always makes me very frustrated to answer posts of someone who already has the gecko, but has clearly has not done any inquiries before purchasing it. It is a huge stress on the gecko to be moved in an environment, even more stress if it takes a few weeks for the owner to finally "get it right". Good luck and for the sake of your little one do some reading and quick.
-----
0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

mootish Jan 30, 2007 05:12 PM

so what the last message said was what you should do asp ...

but i would suggest heating basking light at the top of the tank ( red light ) .( size of light for basking and heating pad depends on cage.

( we have a baby gecko so hes in a ten gallon now )

umm a heating pad under neath the tank .. and the temp should be 90 degrees .. correct me if im wrong.

hopfully you have pure calcuim in her/his tank as well this time of year is when they need lots of it .. and the calcuim should not have d3 in it .. it will kill your gecko. just pure calcuim.

( also a hut is good on the hot side along with a humid hut in like the otherside ( we put ares in the middle for now .
and we also have a small water dish and food bowl for meal worm's ( we feed crickets though ) meal worms are a nice treat

are substrate is Tile keeps the heat in easy to clean and it's cheap

good luck .. ( and like everyone else said . get a gecko book

Christina

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