Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a pair of Bells, and the female hardly ever comes out. I've had her for 4 months, and she seems as fat as the day I bought her, although I don't see her eat. She stays in the part of the tank (36" long tank) without heat. I'm thinking that maybe she is in some sort of "hibernation" phase. Is this possible? I've had leos go all winter without eating before, and they were no worse for wear.
The trouble is, when I inspected her this morning, one of her eyes was closed. There was no evidence of shedding gone wrong; it just looked like it was glued closed. After about 5 minutes of me holding her, it opened. It didn't look quite normal, but almost.
I suspect that Bells have bad eyesight to begin with; my male has never been a very good hunter. Since these are the only albinos with true pink eyes, is there something unique about their eyes that gives them trouble? Has anyone ever encountered this before? Is there anything I should be doing for her?

Thanks,
A Concerned Parent

Any chances of you using light as heating element? If do then remove it and use Under Tank Heater… I have over 10 Bell Albinos and I only notice problems with eye when comes to light or taking pictures with high powered flash. I think the cage is too big for a Leopard Geckos, they prefer smaller space and less stress. Closing eyes is one of sign for stress or dehydrated. That is all I can think… Give some more information if you can.
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Preston Berry
www.coolgeckos.com
restonberry@austin.rr.com" target="_blank">Prestonberry@austin.rr.com

Preston-

Thanks for your help. I don't keep a light over the geckos; only a heating pad underneath. They get hardly any light all day; only the light from a far off window. It's 88 degrees on the hot side, but the male hogs that area, so I'm worried that the female might be too cold. So, I bought a 75 watt red lamp for her that I'm planning to hook up today, over her hiding area. My landlord wont let me keep my room temp above 65, so that's why I think an additional heat lamp (with red bulb) would be beneficial.
Do you really think I'm giving them too much room? The floor area is 36"x12". I do admit, they aren't very active and would probably be okay in something smaller. However, I did'nt think too much room was possible. There are plenty of hiding places.
Thanks again!