Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey every one.. i just got 4 young leopard gecko from my friend who breeded them. unfortunately, 1 of them has break off its tail, and another has a deform tail. its tail is short,fat,and a crooked. but it makes him/her look like a knob tail gecko and its really cute! the other 2 are fine but one of them is kinda black.i kept all of them seperately. i house them in a small container each with *moist* paper towel as substrate. is it ok? i wan to wait till they are little bigger then i’ll change them into larger tanks with humid hides and stuff. in their container there’s also a water dish. i dont have calcium for them yet as my nearest pet shop doesnt sell the calcium for reptiles. can i feed them crush cuttle bone as a source of calcium? like how pet birds get theirs? i feed them small crickets and all of them except the one without the tail(the tail drop out) has eaten. what should i do? i need some advice. thank you!

Congrats on your Leos First, you need to get the correct calcium right away, it is VITAL especially for young Leo's. You need to get pure calcium, no D3 or phosphorus added. You also need a vitamin supplement which will have the D3 in it. I have never seen the cuttle bone used for birds, but the calcium for reptiles is in a "powdered" form. The crickets should be dusted before each feeding with the plain calcium 5-6 days a week and the other 1 or 2 days dust with the vitamin supplement. And do leave a shallow dish with the plain calcium in your Leos enclosures. If you don't get calcium your Leo's could easily end up with MBD (metabolic bone disease). If you can't find calcium & supplements locally here is a great site with low prices you can purchase them from:
www.reptilesupply.com
Maybe your friend even has some they can give you for now?

Your young Leos need a dry hide and a humid hide. Using damp papertowel as their substrate is not good. They need a dry habitat and the humid hide to get the humidity they require especially when they are shedding. Just use dry papertowels for the substrate. Also, how are you heating their enclosures? Do you have a warm side and a cooler side? A warm side floor temperature of 88-90 degrees is necessary for your Leo's to digest their food, if they can't digest they will stop eating. The cool side should be around 78-82 degrees.

There is a lot to learn about the proper care of Leos and lots of good information out there. Good luck with your Leos

oh thanks. i will change the paper towels. any way, will the defomity affect my leo's health? can i breed my geckos with each other in future? and how long does it take for a drop of tail to grow back?

You most certainly can use the cuttle fish for pure calcium! You want to scrape off the soft side into a small container which can then be kept and used when needed. But you will also need to buy a calcium/D3 supplement powder which is vital but only feed it say three times a week if your new geckos are tiny, if they are about 3 inches or bigger i'd feed twice a week. The cuttle fish powder you should put into a small lid and keep inside the viv for them to eat whenever they want.

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