Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi yall. I have an albino male about 17 months old. When I first got him he was maybe one month old. After a week of raising I learned he had parasites. After two months of intense care and expensive medication we got through the issue. I am glad because at one point in his sickness I could no longer force feed him due to being afraid to break bones. He decided one day to eat on his own and never had a problem since. Unfortunatly, his friend Samus died a couple months after catching his parasite. I did all the same things to help her I did for Marth, but her health did not improve. I was my first gecko to ever die on me and it killed me. Marth is growing to be a gorgeous gecko and is now showing signs of orange along his tail and lower back. I feed him heavily (10 crickets) or (10 mealworms) or (5 superworms) with the occasional waxworms, three times a week. He is about seven inches long and about 60 grams, I figure he should be much heavier and as well be as imposing as my older 12 year olds Link and Peach, who are about nine inches and 95 grams. Overall Marth is healthy and happy, except for a little stress from not having a partner with him right now. I plan on getting a new female for him as soon as I can find a good breed to befriend him and then they will be put into a large 50 gallon tank. Could his infant illness be a contribution to his slow growing state? As well as lack of partner and the 20 gallon tank he has lived in for his first 17 months of life? Thanks.

It is very possible but i dont think so. Most male leopards usually only get to be about 60-70 grams unless of course they have the "giant" gene in them. And no being in a 20 gallon would not affect his growth at all, a leo can live out its entire life in a 10 gallon, granted they would probably prefer a larger enclosure, and again not having a living partner would not affect its growth either.
-----
coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

considering the relatively long life span a leopard can have they plateau in growth pretty early on and grow very slowly after that in my experience. I have seen a trio that were around 15 years old all normals and they looked prehistoric large compared to my 18 month olds. They were the biggest sweetest most personable leos I have seen I kick myself often for not buying them.

It is possible that his growth was stunted from illness, but I also agree that not a lot of leos get to be over 80-90 grams unless they hold the giant gene. A 20 gallon tank is plenty of room for one leo, so that's out of the question. And as for his mate, the only problem you might have with that is stress or a case of "gecko depression." But he should be fine and healthy once he is introduced a new lady friend.

-Pat

i have to some what agree, my female has a 55g tank to her self but use to be in a 5g when she was small. its not recomended to keep males and females together and i think its quite the contrary, he is more than likly happyer being by himself, i think the most likly culprit is the illness when he was younger. i would not worry about it to much
Foot Hill Reptiles

Thanks for all the quick responses. I knew he would be alright, he has turned into a great looking gecko. I just needed to get an expert opinion from you all to feel better. Thanks.

How about a picture? We are all suckers for pictures
Foot Hill Reptiles

No problem! Yeah, I guess it depends on how you got your leos. I once had two Rosy Boas that lived their whole lives together, and when one died, the other became very aggressive. Make sure to examine how he acts when he is introduced his new female. And oh yes, we'd love to see a picture!

-Pat