Reptile & Amphibian Forums

..taking care of the day to day tasks such as cleaning out waste, changing water etc. Do you do it during the day while the leos are sleeping, or at night so they get used to your smell and such?

The reason I ask is that I usually do maintence during the day, and maybe thats why my leos haven't really warmed up to me and are excited to see me, hehe

Jeff

I've been feeding my leos around 8pm each night. On any given night I'm up til at least 11-11:30. Should I wait later to feed them? Then, if I feed crix (which I do every third night), should I remove any uneaten crix, or just leave them and add the super or mealworms??

Jeff

Removing the crickets would be up to you. I personally just leave them in. I've been doing it for over two years without any problems, I just toss the mealies into the dish and pass out, no nibbles no unhealthy geckos.
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The universe is vast and we are so small.
There is only one thing we can truly control.
Whether we are good or evil.
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0.2.0 Normal Leopard Gecko's
1.0.0 Patternless Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon

I usually do my cleaning whenever I’ve got time, usually in the afternoon or at night. I don’t think it bothers my leos much. It’s really important to be patient when moving your geckos, especially when you have a lot to work with in a short time. Sometimes waiting a few seconds can mean the difference between a stressful situation and a calm one. I try to be extra gentle when taking them out of their humid hide, so they trust me and are not afraid of having their home cleaned.

Feeding also varies, all my geckos get mealies when I clean their cage, and I fill their dish when I notice it is getting low. I don’t have crickets around most of the time, so they are more of a treat; I try to feed them crix right before lights out.

The best advice I can offer is to try to find a way to go about cleaning and feeding that works for both you and your leos. No two leos are alike, and they all have their own needs. For example, Peggy only eats freshly molted mealworms and de-leged crix, she is skittish, clumsy and sometimes has trouble shedding. Spike on the other hand will eat anything, is as tame as a kitten, and requires very little maintenance. That’s half the fun of this hobby, is finding out how to better serve your little guys. Hope this helps alittle, I didn’t mean to ramble on so much.

DaveCable

I do it during the day, so that _I_ can see. <G>

The leos do not sleep ALL day long, anyhow. They often roam around occasionally during the day.