Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, first off, I've seen many people saying petco has a bad track record with their leo's. However, I bought one from tehre about 5 weeks ago (my first) and I haven't noticed any problems with him. He's eating normally, his feces are as they should be and he has grown and gained weight. Is there still a chance something may be wrong with him? Should I still get him checked out by a vet? Or am I past the danger period?

My other question is, Jak (my leo) is changing colors. He is a tangerine circleback carrot tail (here are some pictures of him, although, not great lighting

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?user=42851&cat=500&thumb=1

Jak 6-8 are the newest ones, sorry they are a little blurry)

But it appears that the black on his back is dissappearing and leaving jsut an outline and giving way to a very light gray color. This can be seen best in the picture of just his tail. I'm just curious as to what color/pattern phase this may be?

I don't think you need to worry about your leos. It's not that they get bad leos - it's just that their husbandry varies greatly from store to store. Remember, most problems with leos have to do with husbandry - not with bad genetics. Take care of your leo - even minimally - they should survive.

About your next question - if I understand your question correctly - those circles will gradually fade into dots or maybe even go away completely. It's pretty cool to watch a baby leo go through all the changes.

I think you have some fine leopard geckos. Enjoy them and don't worry about the Petco curse. Looks like you got a hold of some nice ones!!!
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Monte Meyer
Powergeckos
Email

Mealworms . . . .you can't eat just one

Ok look at it this way. I have had reptiles for several years now. I have worked in both a small private pet store and now Petco. I bust my butt to make sure the animals are taken care of but when I come home at night. I strip down, toss the clothes in the washer and take a hot shower BEFORE I go near my animals. I did this at the private store too.

We had an awesome tangerine female in the store. As beautiful as she was, I refused to buy her. I can not take the chance of bringing something home. Yes the husbandry problems seen at many Petco's contribute to the health problems but the animals in CA and the ones in NY and everywhere all come from the same sources. So why take the chance?

Well the chance has already been taken. Like I said, he's eating well and appears healthy, I'm wondering if I should still bring him to the vet or not unless something appears wrong?

And to clarify about the other question I had, basically the black is fading, and appears gray almost violet, there is a small amount of black left around the edges where the black meets the yellow/orange on the body and the white on the tail. Just curious as to what color/pattern phase this is considered.