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I recently acquired a leopard gecko that was abandoned by her former owner at a pet-sitter's house. I've never had a leo before, and this came out of the blue, so I'm not as prepared as I like to be before getting a new animal.

Anyway, I want to make sure I do right by this big girl (she appears to be female).

First of all, she's extremely fat. Now, I know a leopard gecko should have a fair amount of weight on it, but how much is too much? This girl has huge balloons of fat under her "armpits." Should she lose a few grams, or is this extra weight good?

Secondly, I have her in a 15 gal terrarium with three hide spots, one of which has damp moss in it. From what I read, their heat gradient requirements seem somewhat similar to a corn snake's? For now, I've set up her lamps to be 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night. Is this ok?

Lastly, for the dish of vitamin-mineral powder, is MinerAll ok? Does it need to be mixed with anything to entice her to eat it? I've never had a reptile that would eat vitamin-mineral powder straight!

Thanks!
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1 amel corn - Geislandi
1 okeetee corn - Valis
1 snow corn - Orlando
1 leopard gecko
2 Chinese tree dragons - Trapezoid and Trapezium
2 cats - Lucky and Moony
10 betta fish

I would say that you have a healthy leo. It doesnt sound too fat. I guess people on this forum could tell you for sure if you posted a picture. As far as I am concerned, the fat is a sign of a good healthy gecko.

your temps sounds good. I would recommend a heating pad for belly heat. The belly heat helps them to digest their food properly. Keep your substrate in the high 80s like you mentioned you are doing.. If you are not set up this way already, have your moist hide on the warm side of the tank and have a dry hide on each side so your leo has options.

As far as vitamin powder goes, ive always been told to use pure calcium. just put it in a milk cap or something and put it in the cage. Your leo will lick/eat it if and when it is looking for its fill of calcium. i have witnessed my geckos taking full mouthfuls of calcium. haha.

Lastly, I am curious to hear what you are using for a substrate and what you are stapling her on? In my glass cage, i use ceramic tile with a heat tape and heat lamp and in my tubs I use a paper towel and heat tape. staple on mealworms. I occasionally feed crickets and hornworms as well.
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1.1 Western Painted Turtle (Mougly, Scooter)
1.1 Albino Leopard Gecko (Daphne, Guy)
1.0 High Yellow Leopard Gecko (Sunshine)
1.1 HTCT Leopard Gecko (Rocket, Dot)
0.1 SHTCT Leopard Gecko (Tequila)

Sounds pretty good for getting one out of the blue. Aim for the higher end of those temperature ranges, near 90F is for day, mid 85s over a UTH (under tank heater) is best for night time and good digestion.

Pure calcium with nothing else is what you should offer in the enclosure. We use a soy sauce dish. As for dusting your prey items I suggest a complete vitamin and mineral powder such as T-Rex's Leo Dust at every feeding.

You didn't mention substrate, we believe in papertowels because of easy cleanup, but the other poster's tile is ok as long as it isn't glazed. (Lead content.)

If her arm pits are really big and her tail has a significant bulge she could be overweight. I have seen this once in a gecko that was constantly hand fed. It was very sad. A picture would indeed help. At the top of this page is "photo gallery" which will let you upload and post pictures for free here, right in the message. Like this:

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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I don't own a camera, so I can't post a photo of her, but after looking at a bunch of leo photos on here I'm not so concerned about her weight. She just looks fat and healthy. Also, she seems fairly active, so I don't think she's obese.

I have gone ahead and set up her hides with the moist one on the warm side and a dry one on each side of the tank. Right now I'm just using the same substrate I use for my corn snakes and tree dragons, which is a soft bedding of coconut husk. She came in on sand, but I heard that sand could cause impactions...? What's the best substrate for leos, in your opinion?

I'm stapling her on giant mealworms and crickets, but mainly mealworms. As for the calcium, where can I find a pure calcium powder? The only thing my local pet store sells is Miner-All, which is only 34-36% calcium.

Thanks!
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1 amel corn - Geislandi
1 okeetee corn - Valis
1 snow corn - Orlando
1 leopard gecko
2 Chinese tree dragons - Trapezoid and Trapezium
2 cats - Lucky and Moony
10 betta fish

I bumped up the temperatures a bit like you suggested. Now it's in the high 80s (about 88) on the hot side of the tank during the day. And the hide where she seems to be spending the most time is 86 degrees.
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1 amel corn - Geislandi
1 okeetee corn - Valis
1 snow corn - Orlando
1 leopard gecko
2 Chinese tree dragons - Trapezoid and Trapezium
2 cats - Lucky and Moony
10 betta fish

As my post said, paper towels are the best all around. Easy to clean up. I would look around the store more, all of the big chain stores in our area carry a pure calcium powder in addition to other choices. (Not always in the same location.) Look for brand names such as repti cal and jurassic. Or this is a large herp supply site, never ordered from them personally, but they are well know. Several choices here, phos free and pure calcium.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

you could also try Petmountain.com there prices seem reasonable. Good luck.

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This is courage.. to bear unflinching what heaven sends. -unknown

2.1 chocolate labs and bassett (Harley, Barker and Capone)
1.0 leopard gecko (Nacho)