Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I received a tokay gecko a few days ago from a girl who was afraid of it. (...) it was in the container she got it in, a low rubbermaid with a waterdish and lots of dead crix. thats it. stinky too. I've since put mr. pittbull into a 20 gallon tank, and he just sits on the dirt. is something wrong? Everytime i've seen these guys, even at pet stores, they are climbing the walls. he looks healthy, good colour, mouth looks good to me, its got some black, some pink. eyes are alert and clear, very atively defensive. i beleive hes an adult, i cant get a measure on him, since that takes both hands, or him climbing the glass, but his body w/o tail appears to be around 10 inches. hes got a dirt substrate, a heating mat under one side of hte tank, i'm going to add a light to the top on the same side, since the heat mat really just serves to help establish a heat gradient. He doesnt lay over the mat, so hes not on the ground for hte warmth. I've put in a couple of low plants and alot of climbing sticks.

also, can anyone direct me to some good sites for general care and sexing? i've not found much in depth, just things like basic petco caresheets.
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
0.1 Normal Corn
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla (Grumpy)
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
1.0 Nile Moniter
0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
And an ever-changing fishie tank...

sounds like your heading in the right direction. seeing the conditions your tokay was kept in before you got him i would suspect a little stress after being moved and put in a new home. with it being in a tank it couldnt climb or move around in much before you got it he may take a little while to adjust. being nocturnal it is normal for them to stay inactive most of the day and it might move around some at night when your not watching. be sure the back wall and at least one of the sides is covered to provide security for it. it also may not like hanging on the glass in the open, if you dont already be sure the plants, branches or whatever create a way for it to hide while on the tank sides. a 20 gal is still pretty small for a large tokay but much better than what it sounds like the poor thing was in. good luck with it, give it lots of time to settle in with very little to no handling.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.15 Tokays
1.4.10 Leos(13 albino)
1.2.0 AFT's(amel male)
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

as sort of a "random attempt" to get something out of him, i picked up a little girl from the local herp store, and a bit after intoducing her he starting to climb using the sticks, and has used the glass behind plants and sticks now. He's not acting SO cranky anymore, actually waiting for my finger to get into his space before opening up! I'd read that you can keep them in trios in a 20 gallon, tho i'll be reading further on the subject in the near future, since these guys appear to be some awesome dispaly animals. Probably going to separate them in a few days to try to get some fecals, just going to wait until i actually see any sign at all of them pooing, or eating for that matter.... its odd to have a lizard that costs less than its fecal exam! I just put crix in the other day, i didnt feed him for the first week just because i assumed he was very stressed and since he was laying on the ground, i figured crix might do more harm than good. There were so many dead ones in his cage, and the girl admitted she rarely threw any in for him... so i doubt he was eating much. At least it seems he will be VERY easy to force feed if it comes down to it! just gotta poke him once, haha.
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
0.1 Normal Corn
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla (Grumpy)
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
1.0 Nile Moniter
0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
And an ever-changing fishie tank...