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My friend recieved this gecko (?) from a friend who was visiting arizona. Apparently, it was caught outside, I'm not sure where. Anyway, I now have this little guy in my care, since my friend has no herp experience, whatsoever. I'm not sure if he is a leopard gecko or not.

I've had him for about 2 weeks. As you can see, his tail fell off. That happened sometime in the 2 day car ride home. When i first got him, he was very lethargic. He looked very dehydrated. Now he is very alert and eating crickets. I have never had leopard geckos before, so I've done my best to set up his home by reading caresheets. He has a hide box with moist potting soil along with a water bowl.

I'm not sure exactly what to do for a basking spot, hopefully you can help me out. I had him in a 10 gallon, but at around 2 1/2 inches, he was having trouble catching crickets. Now he's temporarily in a small critter keeper with newspaper as substrate. Should i move him back to the 10 gallon? Let me know anything that he needs that i'm lacking.

Sorry for the long post, hopefully you guys can help me out. I know he should not have been taken out of his natural habitat, but that was out of my control. Now that he's in my care, I want to give him the best home possible. I've been interested in leopards for a long time, so this may be the perfect opportunity for me. Thanks

np

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Scott,

np

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Scott,

Its a banded gecko, they do look very similar to leos they are in the same family (eublepharidae) with means eyelid gecko, you can keep it the same as a leo but with slightly lower huimidity, maybe somewhere inbetween 30%-40%, keep its temps at about 85*f-88*f and you should be fine

Dan

You should have him vet checked at some point to assure that he doesnt have a heavy parasite load. A fecal exam usually doesnt cost too much. Also, you will need to supplement his new 'captive diet' with a multivitamina and a 2.0 ca/p calcium supplement. This will make up what he wont get from the wild. The little guy dropped his tail because of a MAJOR stress from being taken out of the wild and put into a car and stuffed into a glass home with all new smells. Luckily, banded gecx can be very hardy and since he is eating now, i wouldnt worry too much. Make usre that he has at least 2 tight hides in his tank so he feels secure. Since he was born in the wild, he has even more wild instinct to avoid predators, and to him, people are very big predators. Although you mean the best for him, he does not understand that (at least not yet- i am a firm believer that reptiles have much mmore emotion than other people think.) Give him time, handle him only when absolutely necessary, have his poo checked for parasites, and get the calcium supplement i told you about. With all of this, you may very well have a friend for a decade or more! good luck
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"i wasn't born with enough middle fingers"

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 JCP-Milton
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1.1 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
1.4 ratties Rizzo, Bree, Blitzkreig, Raisin, and the Runt (R.I.P. Willard. )

It looks like a banded gecko (judging from the pics Marica put up on the other site).

Marcia, get over here and grace us with your banded knowledge

Michael

It is a banded. There awesome geckos!! I have a few of them. That one looks to be a female. Males get spurs buy the base of there tails. It will only get about five inches if your lucky. If you'd like another let me know. Best of luck BRYAN