I just got a leopard gecko about a week ago give or take a couple days. i got him from my parents' friends. he is ten years old. (I think its a he?) I have a 5.5 gallon tank. Large rocks make up the floor. I have a water bowl, a plastic branch to climb and it has little caves inside of it, although i have never seen him in them. they have moss inside of them and i mist them every day. (i mist the whole cage every day) i put in four to five crickets dusted in calcium powder and he eats them overnight. i feed the crickets cricket food with calcium and a bunch of other nutrients. I have been holding him and paying a lot of attention to him. there is a lamp above his cage that i turn off at nighttime.
do i need anything else? do i need to change anything? and is it a problem if there is calcium powder on the bottom of his water bowl?
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New Gecko
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It is recommended that 10 gallons is minimum per leo. Even if the rocks are large, it's much safer to have a solid substrate rather than anything in pieces. You can use tiles, repticarpet, or paper towel, etc. Make sure the caves are big enough for him to fit in comfortably. They usually sleep in a shelter of some sort, and if he isn't using them, consider getting something roomier. You don't mist the entire cage at all, just the mossy cave. Light isn't necessary for them, but it's crucial to have the correct temps. If you haven't already, get a murcury or electronic thermometer to make sure the hot side is around 88F/30C, and the cool side around 77F/25C. You might prefer to switch from a lamp to an under tank heater. Do you mean the water bowl he has is the kind that comes with a slab of clcium on the bottom? That should be fine, but he really doesn't need it if he's eating well.
Other than that, you're doing great. Congrats on the little guy. 
thank you so much! he seems comfortable in the size of his aquarium, is it a problem that it is smaller than the recommended size? and the family i got him from didn't take that good of care of him, and i think he has that rubbery bones disease. do i just continue feeding him calcuim-dusted crickets and he should be fine?
once again, thanks for the help, i feel a lot better now knowing that i will have everything he needs.
>>thank you so much! he seems comfortable in the size of his aquarium, is it a problem that it is smaller than the recommended size? and the family i got him from didn't take that good of care of him, and i think he has that rubbery bones disease. do i just continue feeding him calcuim-dusted crickets and he should be fine?
>>once again, thanks for the help, i feel a lot better now knowing that i will have everything he needs.
If you think he's got MBD, a trip to the vet is probably a good idea. In the case that he's diagnosed with MBD, they may either give a calcium injection to boost him back to where he needs to be, give you some calcium drops to feed him, or both. Calcium dusted crickets are important, and a good start, but he will recover more quickly with proper treatment.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear
I agree, you're safer with a vet analysis. As for the tank, I've seen people keep multiples in pretty small enclosures, so I'd say he'll be okay, especially if he gets a lot of time out.
wow.
this is a very fortunate gecko.
take good care of it and it will live a very long life!
