Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had a leopard gecko since around september 3, 2004. when i got it it was about 6" long. now whenever i go to the retile shop, they full grown adult leos are a lot bigger and more built. my leo right now is about 9".
i was wondering how long it takes for them to get to the adult size?

thank you

9" is about as big as it'll get. Mabye they seem well built because yours may be underfed? Can you post a picture of it.

I think I might know what you are talking about. Do you have any extra heat on the gecko? How much/often do you feed it? Do you dust the crickets before feeding?

Thanks,
Andrew

I have one heat lamp for the tank and thats it. It's a 30 gallon tank. Do you think that thats enough heat?
I dust the crickets with calcuim powder usually before i feed them to her. She never really ate crickets before until about 1 month ago, before that all she ate was mealworms. She usually only eats like 4 larger crickets a week, and i try to feed her more, but she just wont eat them.
Do you have any advice?

It should be easy to tell wether you have enough heat in the tank by reading the thermometer. If you dont have a thermometer then you need to get one, either buy a digital thermometer with a probe from home depot or walmart (about 5$), or a tempgun from www.proexotics.com. The stick on type thermometers are not very acurate and are also not moveable. Either a digital or a temp gun will give you a more acurate reading and you will be able to move it around to read the temps in different spots in the cage. The hot spot should be around 90degrees, and the ambient temps of the cage should be in the mid 80's.

If you are concerned that your leo is not putting on enough weight then i would get a fecal done at a vet. Simply collect a fresh fecal sample (within 24hrs) and drop it off to the vet, these test are usually cheap (15-30$) and will tell you wether your leo has any parasites. Parasites will make it so your leo has a hard time gaining weight no matter how much they eat. If parasites are present a couple of rounds of dewormer will take care of them. Even if you dont suspect parasites fecals should be done yearly just in case.

If your temps are ok and the fecal comes back negative then maybe your leo is just on the small side or is just taking time to gain weight.

How big is the tail in porportion to the head and rest of the body? (the tail should be as wide as the head at least)

If you can post a pic of your leo on this forum people should be able to tell you if it looks to be a healthy weight.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

I cant post a picture right now because im in Minnesota visiting family and my gecko is in Montana where i live, so my mom and family are taking care of it, sorry.
I dont think that the hot spot in the tank is at 90 so that might be a problem. how can i raise that up?
Also she will eat a bunch till her tail is fat and then she will just stop for a week or a week and a half until fer tail is skinney, and then she eats again.
People talk about feeding wax worms to add weight, will that help too? does the gecko need to be a certain size before she can eat wax worms?

I would get a thermometer and make sure you are acurately measuring the temps before you try and adjust them. You wouldn't want to be wrong in assuming the temps and accidently cook her Once you have a thermometer, if it reads that the hot spot is lower than 90 you can add an UTH or put a higher watt bulb on the tank to raise the temps.

Wax worms and pinkies are both used to fatten up leos but the problem is thats exactly what they do, they add fat, not necessarily many nutrients or other healthy things. Its sort of like eating twinkies...they will of course help you gain weight, but not healthy weight. Waxies and pinkies should be used as treats only, or for females after they lay their eggs or extremely malnorished individuals. You must first get to the root of the problem as to why your leo is not gaining weight, this will help you to be able to effectively fix the problem. You can use waxies to help add a little weight but only use them in moderation.

I would start by getting a fecal run and posting a pic when you get back home. If the fecal is positive, treat for parasites and then see if she gains weight. If the fecal is negative you may want to set up an appointment with a good herp vet to have her evaluated to make sure she is in good health and there are no other issues causing her to not gain.

Another good thing to do is to buy a digital scale so you can keep a close record of her weight. I try to weigh all my animals on a weekly basis to measure any weight gains or loses. Mapping the weight might help you to see a pattern in her gains or losses.

I would definately start with a fecal nad probably an appointment and then try to feed her more. Also, if the temps are too low this may well be affecting her appetite, check the temps and adjust them if necessary.

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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

Im not even sure that there are vets in montana around where i live that would be able to do a fecal test.

i also have her on a fine sand substrate and a lot of people talk about impaction so should i just be safe and empty it and put in repti carpet?