New Leopard Gecko

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Mvalenz

Mvalenz

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Went to the All animal expo in DuPage county yesterday and came home with this little guy.

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Don't know if it is a male or female. Just know that it is so cute. I haven’t named it yet either; any suggestions?

 
Aww! So cute! I have one too! Her name's Nemo. I thought it was male but when it got older. I knew it was a female. Nemo was my second leopard gecko. I got used to name her Nemo because of her colors. Oh well.

My first died two years ago due to parasites. Make sure you feed variety than just crickets. Parasites in crickets was the cause of my first leopard gecko's death. The treatment was working but she just died suddenly.

Right now, my Nemo 's on strict diets; Dusted Superworms & calcium worms. Did you know that these leos can be potty trained? c:

PM me if you have any questions! :)

Here's the helpful website of sexing a leopard gecko.

http://www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm

 
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Nice, I have a female albino named Penelope. Very tame and fun to handle. She ate dubia like a pig when she was growing but once she hit adult she would only eat one adult male dubia every 2 weeks or so. I was worried about this for half a year, but realized that it's pretty normal for her since she stays nice and active and at a good weight all the time. I want to get a male to breed her. :)

 
This is my Nemo! :) She's a year old and half.

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I wanna get a gecko, a Satanic Gecko! have you seen them!

Cute gecko, I have to persuade my mom that geckos are cute.

Make sure you use a Reptile Carpet layer instead of Eco earth or sand. They can accidently swallow it and die

 
mkayum said:
This is my Nemo! :) She's a year old and half.
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She looks beautiful. I have seen leopard geckos all look different. Didnt know they came in so many color patterns. Your gecko looks healthy with its fat tail. Mine hasn't come out of its warm hiding spot at all since I got it. I read that they need some time to get accustomed to its environment. Did it take some time for yours to become active and move about? When I bought it it was the most active in the bin, but now not so much.

Myrmecologist2 said:
I've always just used paper towel, easy and mess free.

Also, be sure to feed him good, looks a bit on the skinny side!
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Mine or Mkayums looks skinny? If it's mine it hasn't eaten since i brought it home. Hope it eats soon.

 
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I used to keep these years ago. They are such neat pets. They are like no other reptile!

Yeah, I also recommend paper towels. Also, dont forget they need a warm, moist hidding place.

 
Mvalenz said:
She looks beautiful. I have seen leopard geckos all look different. Didnt know they came in so many color patterns. Your gecko looks healthy with its fat tail. Mine hasn't come out of its warm hiding spot at all since I got it. I read that they need some time to get accustomed to its environment. Did it take some time for yours to become active and move about? When I bought it it was the most active in the bin, but now not so much.

Thank you! She's a tangerine leopard gecko. She ate way too much superworms. She's very picky. She usually eats one superworm per day.



Yes, you are right. It's normal for them to hide for few days till they get used to new home. My first (deceased)leopard gecko was easy because she adapted under my care and ate like crazy. But (Alive ) Nemo? It took her a month to get used to her new home. She got so sick and I had to feed her baby food & some special slurry. She was so tiny and very skinny. All of sudden, look what she became! She's healthy and happy big gecko. Haha!

They are nocturnal animals. So maybe your gecko would go out of its hide when you are sleeping. o.o

Mine or Mkayums looks skinny? If it's mine it hasn't eaten since i brought it home. Hope it eats soon.

She's in perfect shape. She'll eat as soon if she gets hungry. :) Make sure her tank are warm. between 80 to 90 degrees.

Also provide a humid hide and rubberware tub is an ideal shedding aid for your gecko! :)
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Psychobunny said:
I used to keep these years ago. They are such neat pets. They are like no other reptile! Yeah, I also recommend paper towels. Also, dont forget they need a warm, moist hidding place.
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1+

or you may use the shelf liner. It looks like this http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ll34vFsRzbg/TcizWwLvPFI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/gBTYqquVKC0/s400/nonslip.jpg

I use napkins as my nemo's litter. I would fold a napkin into a triangle and put it in corner where Nemo usually go poops. It's very easy to clean! :)

 
agent A said:
My mom thinks lizards smell

That's why she won't let me get one, but she let me kep turtles for 4 yrs

Do lizards smell bad??
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Eh, they can, most insectivores do and the meatier the foods they consume they stinkier the poop tends to be. The lizards themselves don't smell at all. Leopard geckos for instance, don't smell unless you don't clean their enclosure for a good few weeks, even then you have to stick your nose in the tank to really notice anything.

I had a mali uromastyx one, since they're mainly vegetarians it's poop and enclosure didn't smell at all.

 
I have my leo in a 10 gallon tank. Thought it was going to be big enough but not so sure now. What do you guys think?

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I have a heat mat under the tank and an infrared heat bulb on the left side keeping it at about 90 degrees. I have nothing on the right side keeping it around 80 degrees. Moss in the hiding place on the heat side to keep it humid and I keep it dry and cooler on the right side.

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I have a little water cap i fill with drinking water everyday. and throw a couple crix in with it as well. However, I think the crix are just hiding in the moss in the humid hiding place on the left. also I'm not sure if the heat from the mat is penetrating the moss. Do you guys think I should remove it all together? He seems to like it in there with the moss.

 
Looks good, do you see him eat? Also...are you sure that's a 10 gallon tank? Looks more like a 5 gallon. I have my adult female in a 10 gallon and it's just enough room.

 
Myrmecologist2 said:
Looks good, do you see him eat? Also...are you sure that's a 10 gallon tank? Looks more like a 5 gallon. I have my adult female in a 10 gallon and it's just enough room.
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I thought it looked small also so I double checked and it is a 5 gallon. Ugh!!! I'll get a bigger tank soon.

I haven't seen him eat at all. Aren't they usually aggressive eaters? Haven't seen him drink either.

 
Mvalenz said:
I thought it looked small also so I double checked and it is a 5 gallon. Ugh!!! I'll get a bigger tank soon.

I haven't seen him eat at all. Aren't they usually aggressive eaters? Haven't seen him drink either.
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The ones I've had always ate very well as juvies. Babies should most certainly eat every day as well. I rarely see mine drink either, but I do see her drink. Try dipping your finger in some water and tapping his nose, since leopards usually lick when you do this it should lap up water if it needs it.

 
The juvies take some time to get used to their new home as they get stressed very easy.

It's best to cover the front of the terrarium for a few days so he doesnt freak out when he

sees movement.

It's normal for the little ones to take a few weeks before they eat.

It's best to just leave them alone until they get used to where they are.

Also, if its getting ready to shed (sometimes they eat their old skin) they will stop eating.

 
Didn't know if y'all know, but we breed & sell leopard geckos (I have a bunch of eggs in the incubator as of right now, as well!) Many different "morphs", but there are literally hundreds of morph combinations out there.

We keep all our geckos on paper towels or newspapers. Change once a week and they will not stink...ever. Your lil guy is NOT too skinny...he's just fine for his age, which I would put at roughly 6 mos. He will continue to fill out as he gets older & have a very fat tail in another 6 mos.

Definitely keep a moist mossy hide in there at all times. Most of ours spend 90% of their time in the moist hide and only come out at feeding time. We also use ONLY orchid moss, as the cheaper stuff molds quickly & is a pain to keep clean. You can utilize a 16 oz deli cup with an entry hole cut into the lid as a moist hide to keep the moss in one place. We also give them regular hides, with no moss, but they tend not to use those.

We also do not use supplemental heat, as they don't need it unless you are keeping your house VERY cold. (i.e. 70 degrees or less) And they absolutely do NOT need a "basking" lamp. They are nocturnal & live in the deep rock crevices in Pakistan & northern India, so they do not naturally get exposed to a lot of light/heat.

They DO need a grit substance which they need to properly digest food (like birds). We make ours with clean sand, ground egg shell & calcium supplements (which they need to prevent metabolic bone disease.) We sell this premade, but you can mix up your own.

In order to sex your gecko, you may need the assistance of a bright light & a magnifying glass. He looks like he *should* be big enough to sex without the magnifying glass, but it can definitely help. Turn him over and look near the "vent" area. You should see a 'V' shape of scales there. If there are actual PORES in those scales, your gecko is a male. If there are just slight indentations or no pores at all, it is a female. If you are having difficultly, see if you can get someone to take a pic of this area (on macro setting) while you hold the gecko on his back...and I can look for you. :)

As for food, he'll eat crickets, mealworms, roaches & smaller superworms right now. I just put the mealworms in the dish of calcium grit, so that they get coated before being eaten, but you can also dust roaches, crickets & worms in a baggie with calcium, too. They need a LOT of calcium, so dust all the time! (Use NO D calcium...they don't need Vitamin D, and too much can kill them.)

Let me know if you have any questions at all, and congrats! These guys are one of my favorite geckos! :D

 

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