Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I got my leopard gecko about 2 days ago. She's about 6 inches long, so I don't know whether or not she's as big as she'll get. Anyways, the first night she ate about 8 or 9 calcium-dusted crickets. The next day and night, she slept and ate nothing. This morning, she slept. ... ... ... Guess what she's doing now?
Tell me if I have everything:

-10 Gallon aquarium
-Water Dish
-Sand substrate (I dunno if I should really have this because it's from my yard. The pet shop guy is getting some finer grade sand in tomorrow... it's the kind he kept her in when I got her)
-Hiding spot (it's a plastic skull)
-$30.00 light fixture made for reptiles. Can't remember name

The main things that I believe I'm missing are the hide box and a heating pad... most importantly the heat pad. I think that she's not active due to the coolness (we keep it about 74 in the house; however, the light above her should heat it up a bit) because we have no heat pad. The pet shop guy was out of stock with those, too... I don't think many people buy reptiles from him 'cause he's always out of stuff (pet shops don't last very long in my town, but this one, surprisingly, is still here!!!)

So, is she so tired due to lack of heat? Using sand instead of kitchen liner (though she LOVES to dig)? Or is she just going through a relocation phase (I hear bearded dragons do that). Also, can anyone give me an estimate on her age? She's 6 inches long, if that helps. The book I have says to feed adult LG's once every 3 days, and this is the second day since the first feeding. Any suggestions? There's a pic of her habitat posted here. She likes to sleep buried beneath the skull.

You really ought to have read some care sheets before you brought your gecko home. There could be almost anything in that sand. Use slate floor tiles instead. The temps should be 90 on the warm side down to 80 on the cool side. Use a red heat bulb, not any other color including white. you must provide a humide hide on the warm side, a dry hide on the warm side and a hide on the cool side. There is almost nothing right with your setup. I dare you to post that pic and the same questions over at The Reptile Rooms website. Why didn't you do any research BEFORE you brought your geck home?!

one. sand is no good for leos, use some slate tiles like jammerz suggested, or papertowels, they will eat the sand and eventually become impacted, and pretty much die if vet attention of not immediate

the temps need to be at least 90-93 degrees on the warm side and at least 75-80 on the cool side

you must provide a humid hide, as well as a dry hide, calcium dish, food dish, and water dish

they will slow down when cooled, i'm surprised she even ate, you really must provide some heat to her, and you really should have read as much as possible prior to getting this gecko

please do some research on this gecko, read as many caresheets as possible, theres even a link to one at the top of this forum page

i also have a caresheet on my website ManhattanHerps.com, please visit and read it, i cannot stress this enough, WHEN YOU ARE CONSIDERING A NEW PET, RESEARCH IT BEFOR BUYING!

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Dan Quinn
Manhattan Herps

Actually, I did about two months worth of research before buying it (including checking this forum) and when I brought my setup to the guy at the pet shop, he said it was perfectly all right. He said that out of all of the sand he's used, he's never had a problem with geckos getting impacted. So, I took his word for it. I asked if I needed a hide box and he said that it wasn't necessary, so here I was with several clashing pieces of research. I'll get it fixed and repost a photo.

, well, theres proof that you never listen to a petstore, unless they actually know what they are doing
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Dan Quinn
Manhattan Herps

Sorry for the misunderstanding about the research, sounds like you just got some bad advise from the pet shop guy. You are not the first, and sadly will not be the last.
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7 Leos
Milo(my adult male) Mongo, Raptor,and Spaz
Popeye and Boo(named after Monster's Inc. Character)sex unknown, but I am pretty sure they are females.
Pumpkin the Patternless (he's a boy too.)

1 Female Sandfire X Blood Aboriginie Red Bearded Dragon. Tequila Sunrise, Tequila for short

1 dog
Baby (Peekapoo)

2 Cats
Mr. Kitty and Shelly (my adopted senior citizen. She's 14!)

I lost my baby blizzard before I even picked out a name. May he/she Rest in Peace

Thx for the info. The guy who runs the pet store does, however, know A LOT! Possibly just a little fuzzy in the reptile areas. I'll try and get rid of the sand as soon as possible (I'm on a school computer and I hope my teacher doesn't come by) and replace it with some of the reptile turf that the guy had for sale (the kind that you unroll, cut, and place). Heat pads are just unavailable at the time, though he has some coming in. We put some cloth towels over the tank to keep some of the heat in, and my dad says that it's working. Also, she was awake and alert this morning. My dad said she ate a few crickets last night. So, as soon as I can, I'm dumping the sand and getting some Rep Turf and a heat pad, plus some more hiding spaces... sound good? or am I forgetting something?

--Thx for the responses, though they hurt. I'll update later with some more info on how well Sobe's doing after the tank change.

I'd get rid of the sand immediately and use paper towels as a substrate. Then you can either stick with the paper towels or switch over to the reptile carpet when you're able too.

-Alice

Although I agree withe the others impatience at your leack of preperation before buying your gecko, it is a too often made mistake. You have it now so being chastised isn't going to do much good, for you or your gecko. The temps they told you about are right, and I would really recommend that you get it off the sand. If you must use sand, NEVER just use sand from your yard. There is no proper way to sanitize it, and to get rid of all the pests. I myself was told sand was fine by a pet shop, but I've heard far to many horror stories to trust it. I have mine on paper towels, but others have had more luck with tile. Just make sure with any substrate that the under tank heating can get through to your gecko. As for heating, geckos need to have belly heat in order to digest their food. This is a must. Hiding spots are good to lessen the stress on your gecko. There are many helpful care sheets available, just use a search engine, keywords leopard gecko care sheets. Please contact me if you have any further questions. I will respond.
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7 Leos
Milo(my adult male) Mongo, Raptor,and Spaz
Popeye and Boo(named after Monster's Inc. Character)sex unknown, but I am pretty sure they are females.
Pumpkin the Patternless (he's a boy too.)

1 Female Sandfire X Blood Aboriginie Red Bearded Dragon. Tequila Sunrise, Tequila for short

1 dog
Baby (Peekapoo)

2 Cats
Mr. Kitty and Shelly (my adopted senior citizen. She's 14!)

I lost my baby blizzard before I even picked out a name. May he/she Rest in Peace

ok wow lol i agree with every 1 else get newspaper or a reptile carpet. NO SAND ESPESALY FROM UR YARD. u need a hot side and cold side. u need a dish of calcium. u need a meal worm dish and heating pad that bnout it goood luck