Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just had a couple questions that I'm curious about...

can leos smell water?
what's better, crickets or mealworms?
how do you tell what is too big(food wise)?
can leos really not see the red light?
when is the best time of day to handle them?

Thanks!!

I don't know if they can smell water, but don't worry about them finding the bowl, they will. Leos are most active at night, and I find the best time to handle them is dusk or later. This is also the best time to feed them. Food items should be no bigger than 1/4 the width of the gecko's head, and no longer than its skull. Both crix and mealworms make excellent staple foods, provided they are gut loaded, dusted, and healthy. I find crix a bother for me, so use primarily mealies and other worms, but many people use a staple diet of crix too. I know you had another question, but as I don't have quoting on, I can't remember it.
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1.0 Hypo stripe, Het RW from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino from Petsmart (Cloud)
1.0 SHCT hatched by me! (Sunny)
0.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko from Petco (Beatrice)
0.1 Stripe female (rehabilitated rescue)(Pepper)
0.1 Normal from 2001 (Freckles)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko from Petco (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko from Petco (Rainbow)
0.1 Jungle het RW hatched by me! (Jungle Bunny)
0.1 Stripe poss. het RW hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
RIP Peaches, Ghost, Bill
Adopted out: Goldie, Leucy, "Q"
Hatched: ~50
Available:
11 month male circleback tang

Thanks! you helped!

>>I just had a couple questions that I'm curious about...
>>
>>can leos smell water?

Not sure, but I've never had one have trouble finding their water bowl; they tend to do a 'dusk patrol,' especially when they're new to an enclosure, where they explore around the whole thing and figure out where stuff is.

>>what's better, crickets or mealworms?

IMO, crickets, both because they're a more interactive hunting experience for the geckos and because they are not as hard-shelled, and thus are less likely to cause an impaction, especially in younger geckos. That being said, many people use mealworms successfully, so don't let me stop you if that's what you'd prefer to do. As the other poster said, both need to be gut loaded and dusted.

>>how do you tell what is too big(food wise)?

The largest that they should eat is a cricket no longer than the width of the gecko's head, which probably works out about the same as the measurements the other poster gave - I've just never seen it given that way before.

>>can leos really not see the red light?

I would imagine they can at least tell that it's there, but much like your vision, red light doesn't mess with their night vision, so at the very least it doesn't bother them.

>>when is the best time of day to handle them?

Sundown or after is the best time; being nocturnal, they're active starting @ sundown or so and continue to be active through most of the night. Basically, if it's a time when you know they're sleeping/resting, don't handle them if you can at all help it.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Thanks!
I have one more question. One of my new 2 or so month old leos does not seem to digest her food.(I say her, but really I'm not sure what sex they are) it comes out whole. Either a whole cricket or a small clump of whole mealworms. THe other has normal poo. Is this bad??
Thanks again!

Um, this is kinda gross, but are you sure it's coming out the back end? Wholly or mostly undigested food is usually regurgitated, not poo. In either case, assuming it's not stress-induced from a new purchase, yes it's bad. If the leo is not keeping food down (or is not digesting it properly), they are not getting any nutrients. You need to seperate the two if possible, and take the sick one to a vet. Really, even if they are brand new, a fecal at the least is in order. And I suggest you do some research on quarantines.
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1.0 Hypo stripe, Het RW from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino from Petsmart (Cloud)
1.0 SHCT hatched by me! (Sunny)
0.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko from Petco (Beatrice)
0.1 Stripe female (rehabilitated rescue)(Pepper)
0.1 Normal from 2001 (Freckles)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko from Petco (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko from Petco (Rainbow)
0.1 Jungle het RW hatched by me! (Jungle Bunny)
0.1 Stripe poss. het RW hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
RIP Peaches, Ghost, Bill
Adopted out: Goldie, Leucy, "Q"
Hatched: ~50
Available:
11 month male circleback tang

thanks for you patient help!
Their cage is large enough that I'm going to split it in half so I can figure out which one is sick, I have a good idea but we'll see. I did just reciently buy them from petco. On Friday. Luckily they have a 15 day gurentee on them and if they get sick petco sends them to a vet and pays for it. (I think they pay for it, but I'm not postive). Is it possible that the crickets are too big? It's happened three times, once it was a big bundle of small mealworms(maybe she ate too many at once?) And the other 2 times it was a whole cricket. Maybe she couldn't handle the size of them??

So, as soon as I discover which one it is I'll call petco and see about a trip to the vet. Thanks so much for your help! On the morph question too!

Oh, one more thing, petco said that they are about 2 months old, so If I could get a good picture, could you tell me what sex they are? I know what too look for and everything, but I'll just second guess myself untill I get another opinion.
Thanks again!!

Emily

2 months is probably a little young to reliably sex them, unless you got them from a breeder who temperature sexed them, in which case they could just tell you. (Leos sex is dependent on the temperature the eggs are incubated at.) Given that you got them at Petco, I imagine you'll just have to wait a bit longer before you'll know. It's not quite as blatantly obvious as with cresteds (the hemipenal bulges on male cresteds are so large that they look like testicles), but in another couple of months you should be able to tell.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

thanks, so I'll just have to wait, that's ok. Sorry to keep bothering you guys but, I keep thinking of more questions after I've already posted. My newest one is what does super hypo mean?
I know what SHTCTB stands for and what the rest of it means, but what makes it SUPER hypo and what does hypo mean? Thanks again for answering all of my questiond!

'Hypo' means the lack of the black spotted pattern 'normals' have. Usually the most of the back is patternless with minimal patches of black spots. 'Super hypo' quite literarily means a strong presence of hypo. So a leo would have a patternless back, neck, and tail base. Then there is 'patternless' which refers to a spot-free leo.

General rule is SH have NO body spots- just on the head, tail, and often very small spots on the feet, but not limbs. Hypos have less than 10 body spots.
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1.0 Hypo stripe, Het RW from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino from Petsmart (Cloud)
1.0 SHCT hatched by me! (Sunny)
0.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko from Petco (Beatrice)
0.1 Stripe female (rehabilitated rescue)(Pepper)
0.1 Jungle het RW hatched by me! (Jungle Bunny)
0.1 Normal from 2001 (Freckles)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko from Petco (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko from Petco (Rainbow)
0.1 Stripe poss. het RW hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
0.1 RW Stripe hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
RIP Peaches, Ghost, Bill
Adopted out: Goldie, Leucy, "Q"
Hatched: ~50