Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My crickets eat calcium food and my gecko has calcium sand in her tank... do I still need to powder my crickets with the calcium powder?

Also, my gecko, runs away when I try and handle her... is it because I don't do it often enough?

And finally, do geckos carry salmonella (however you spell it)? And do I need to wash my hands after handling/feeding?

Thank You.

First off, what sort of gecko is it? (I'm going to assume leopard, dont ask, just a hunch ) Its hard to say how much calcium is too much. You cant really overdose your gecko on Ca (the excess should simply pass through), but you can overdose on D3 which is often mixed into the calcium. If you feed your crickets a gutload formula, I would still powder them but maybe half as much. I'm not a big fan of calcium sand as I've heard testimonies where it clumps and clogs the intestines etc but I would assume that the gecko would take whatever extra calcium it needs from it (this is what they do in the wild as well).

Your gecko runs away because it is probably scared. Most young leopard geckos run away because they are not familliar with you. Its your best bet to handle it but not any more than you already are since it may cause stress. As geckos grow up, they slow and tame down.

All reptiles carry salmonela in some respect. I would venture to say geckos are some of the cleanest reptiles I've dealt with so the risk should be minimal. However, I would still recommend to wash your hands after feeding and handling.

Thank you for your help. Yes it is a Lepoard gecko and it is about 3 years old... is that old and how long should my gecko live?

Also, is it okay to blast my stereo or play the drums in the same room as my gecko? Will that bother her?

Thank you...

Leopard geckos have been known to live over 20 years under proper care. I would assume that loud music would DEFINETLY bother her since their hearing is very sensitive. It is, from my knowledge, 300-16,000Hz if you have knowledge in sound. This doesnt mean that bass wouldnt bother her (she would feel it and get REALLY confused), but she could not hear it.

What exactly is proper care?

Proper diet, proper housing. I'm currently making extensive care sheets for our pet store on most of the common animals (leopard geckos included). My email is antonm85@yahoo.com. Keep bugging me and once I'm done I'll send you a copy of the leopard one. Should be done within the next week or so.

Thankyou for you help.