Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I'm a first time gecko owner, but I've raised other reptiles before, including my "baby" Iggy, who's a 14 yr old, 6 ft iguana. I just got a baby leopard gecko about a week ago, and it shed for the first time yesterday (which is so much different than my Iggy).

For his shed box, I took one of those little ziploc containers, punched ventilation holes in it and made a little doorway so he could get in and out. Inside I put a couple (not too) damp paper towels. It seemed to do the trick, but only the bottom half of him shed. Do leos normally shed in sections like that? And do I have the proper shed box setup? My iguana's skin just flakes off, and he enjoys sitting in a warm bathtub when he's shedding. I have only seen snakes shed like my gecko did.

And the other thing is that my leo only ate live mealworms the first few days I had him, now he won't touch them. Not even interested. He's been eating ZooMed's gecko food that I had originally bought for emergencies in case I ran out of worms. Is it ok to feed them the pre-packaged bugs all the time if he doesn't eat live food at all? He's so little, I'm afraid to put crickets out for him because he might choke, plus crickets are a pain to care for. My iguana never ate bugs or any live food. He's always lived off off fruits and vegetables and dog food, with the occasional treat of cooked chicken, pizza, and spaghetti. (He loves it!)

shed box sounds ok. leos usually shed all @ once and eat the whole skin. The rest should be removed gently. Try to feed him some small crickets. He can chase them and sometimes the chase makes them hungry.
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 Hypo from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino Hypo? (Cloud)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (MIA)

Holy hell, don't feed the canned foods.
Someone on this forum lost her gecko to the can-o-crix. It died due to MBD

Actually i can't believe you can get the gecko to eat the stuff, but anyways, no its also not normal for a leo to shed .. half way. It should all come off, and be eaten within days of shedding.
Also you don't need vent holes in your humid hide, humid hide is supposed to be humid and only be humid in that localized area.

Good luck

pre-packaged foods aren't a great idea, their full of chemicals that aren't really safe for your leo. I would feed them only live food.

How is your gecko doing with his/her shed? If the gecko is still having problems with shedding, give it a bath (LUKE WARM tap water and put your leo in it). Give your gecko gentle rubs to help remove the skin and to moisten the skin. It's the toes that you have to watch for, usually if they don't shed properly on their toes then the circulation will cut off and the toe will fall off. Your leo should shed pretty quickly. Last time my girl shedded I steped out of the room for 30 minutes and she had ate it by the time I returned (with a very full belly may I add)

Have you tried crickets? I hate using them but you might have a picky eater. I would stick to the mealies for awhile but if your gecko doesn't seem interested then switch. Where did you get your gecko? If you got it from a breeder call them and ask what they feed your gecko.

As for running out of mealies/crickets, go to grubco.com I bought a thousand small mealies for 9.75 (including shipping inwhich i got the mealies in 3 days). Just stick them in the fridge (top shelf, don't want them to get too cold) and they will last you a LONG time. It's a heck of alot cheaper too, i remembered when i would buy 50 mealies at petsmart for 4 bucks and maybe 30-40 of the mealies were alive. grubco is really good about making sure all of their feeder animals arrive alive.

He isn't having problems shedding, I was just asking if my setup was ok.