Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my first baby Friday night. Since that time she has roamed the tank a little, but otherwise has been unactive. She will run from me when I put my hands into the tank, but once I move away she just flops down and goes back to sleep. Is she going to die? Has the stress of the move just worn her out.. she hasn't eaten in the 2 days since we've been here either...

Jeff

P.S. She has had 2 normal looking stools.

It might just be the stress I got my leo yesterday and he hasn't eat either
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call me leo boy

Congratulations on your new gecko. Since she has had two normal stools, you know she has eaten recently and is not on the verge of death. So you don't need to worry about that just yet. What temperatures are her enclosure? (basking/heated spot and cool end, measured at substrate level). It is normal for leos not to eat for a few days when you first purchase them, but they need the proper temperatures to do well, and a stress free environment to settle in. In your posts, you write about her running away when you put your hands in the tank, and then plopping down. It sounds like you don't have a hide for her, or she wouldn't be seeing your hands and running away? I know in your earlier post you were working on a special kind of hide. If you don't have any for her now, she must have them in order for her to rest and feel secure. No hides = stress. Second, try to let her rest and don't keep putting your hands in the cage so that she runs away. Pretty basic I know, but it is hard to just leave these guys alone when we first get them, and that is really what they need. Don't try to handle her or scare her with your hands unnecessarily until she is eating. The third suggestion that I have is to find out exactly what she was eating when you purchased her, and offer her those items. What are you feeding her and how are you offering the food?

Thanks for the reply! I actually have 2 hides in the tank, both of which she has been in and explored, then came back out and laid in the middle of the tank. I am a bit concerned myself about the temp of the tank, and I think I am going to add an undertank heater. I am currently only using a 75w Infared light... she does get up occasionally to walk the perimeter like shes checking things out, then heads back to almost the same spot in the middle of the tank and plops down like she's been shot (LOL)...

Jeff

Well, you happen to have caught me on line. Good about the hides. I'm only guessing, but she may not be in them because the temperatures in them are not right for her. A 75w bulb sounds like it is more than adequate. It may even be too high. I have a 50w red exo-terra bulb in my 23gal long tank right now for my leo, and it produces a perfect 89 degree basking site. I have a 60 wat zoo med red bulb on my skink tank (150 gallons) and it produces a basking site of 100 degrees with a dimmer turning it down! So you really need to check and see exactly what your particular bulb is doing in your particular tank. Do you have one of those digital thermometers with the probe that you can put at substrate level? (another great buy at Home Depot--the "other reptile supply store" You can move the probe to different parts of the tank to find out the temperatures. You cannot tell temps from bulb wattage, and this is not something that should be guessed at. Temperature seems like a small thing, is crucial to your pet's well-being.

Well, just to be sure, since I feel like some of the literature that I have read has steered me wrong, what temps are optimal in the tank? Hide spot... basking spot.. etc...

Jeff

One of the best sources I've found for information is www.drgecko.com There is a LOT of detail in each section, with answers to any of the concerns you might have, like geckos not eating, setups, etc. The Leopard Gecko Manual also is a well-respected source of info. Most people seem to recommend a basking spot in the high 80's to 90 degrees for optimum leo health.

Basking is not what leos do. They need to have the heat source from below
rather than from above. It would be best to get an UTH to keep
the warm area for her rather than a light from above.

Nina

For when your leo is eating and settled in: I think you posted earlier about live plants. I have successfully used live plants in my leo enclosure. They are non-toxic haworthia (sp?) and aloe plants. I use an ordinary flourescent light from Home Depot, no special plant light, and the light is on about 12 hours/day. They have been in the tank for a full year, and are doing great. I water them a little every few weeks. The pots are set into the substrate. I trimmed all the little sharp tips off the leaves... just in case. I also use fake plants in my African fat-tail's and skink's enclosures. They look just as great, and the advantage is I can sterilize them regularly with bleach.

Are you aware they are nocturnal? Best bet is just to leave her alone and let her acclimate. Stressing her more by trying to handle her is a bad idea at this stage. Give her a couple of days, then offer her food.