Please Read If Asking For Help With A Leopard Gecko

Discussion in 'Leopard Geckos' started by 00luke00, May 20, 2007.

  1. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    4,853
    For the best and quickest responses to your questions, it is always a good idea to include a COMPLETE run-down of your set-up. We are not vets, and therefore if you feel this is a life or death situation, you do not have time to be posting on this site, as your gecko needs urgent medical attention. For a vet near you, visit www.herpvetconnection.com. A common question that people ask is eating problems. Some of the time, this can be rectified by a couple of husbandry adjustments, so it's always good to answer the following questions in your post.

    1. What substrate are you using?
    2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in?
    3. What are your warm side temperatures?
    4. How are the temperatures measured?
    5. What are you using as your heat source?
    6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperatures?
    7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they?
    8. What food have you offered?
    9. How often do you offer food?
    10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often?
    11. How old is your leo?
    12. How long have you had your leo?
    13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also
     
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  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. BonkersInc

    BonkersInc New Member

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    You forgot to mention:

    Please include cookies or chocolate with your request.
     
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  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. coors_the_gecko

    coors_the_gecko New Member

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    i found a one stop shop vet for me!! they seem awesome they take all my crazy animals! haha thanks luke!! i didnt know where to find a vet for coors!
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. reptile8493

    reptile8493 New Member

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    1. What substrate are you using? reptile carpet
    2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in? 10 gallon
    3. What are your warm side temperatures? 85 to 92
    4. How are the temperatures measured? thermastate
    5. What are you using as your heat source?heat pad and red bulb
    6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperatures?yes taking one source away if to hot, and adding one if to cold.
    7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they?one on the warm side and one on the cool side,log and a exo tera hide
    8. What food have you offered? meal worms and crickets and he eats them.
    9. How often do you offer food? i feed them a cuople times a week and offer them mealworms eveyday.
    10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often? yes calcium and vd3 supplements
    11. How old is your leo? just baught him dont know yet.will soon tho
    12. How long have you had your leo?day1/2
    13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also/ he eats good ,his tail is about the same size as his head.he likes his warm hide.he just pooped an hour ago an its the rite color. he is lazy like he wants to fall asllep real easy like all put him on my bed he walks for a sec then closes his eyes.im just wondering if lazeness is a problem or im just being paronoid,like i said hes only been with me for a day1/2should i just give him some time to get use to his new home for a while?also he is in half a 20g cause ive got one half divided cause igot 2 girls on the other side an the abino is a girl to and she is subadult im kinda hazzardness to introduce them together cause they might fight,so please help me with the prblem thanxxx a bunch josh
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. England Leapord Gecko

    England Leapord Gecko New Member

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    I've had my leopard gecko for 6months.. & he/she has been fine pretty active, eats mealworms & locus's, has reptile carpet for bottem of tank. Has 3 hides, a rock with moss, a log, & another rock... Pretty bigish tank... But today found something red in the tank, & its freaked me out it was near its mealworm bowl... & I've never seen anything like that in there before & now I'm getting really worried that something might be something really wrong??? PLEASE HELP
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    Welcome to the boards England Leopard Gecko = )

    Can you be a little more descriptive about this red thing in the tank? Did it look like blood? Blood + feces? An insect? What exactly did it look like?

    Better yet, can you provide us with a picture of it?

    Check your gecko over thoroughly and ensure that there are no obvious injuries... is he in any apparent pain? And behavior changes?
     
  12. Reid

    Reid Banned

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    147
    The big message up at the top is meant to be read, not ignored. We know nothing without information. "Something red" is pretty out there, too. A picture would be nice. Without a picture or correct information, I'm going to go ahead and make a guess (Based on the information you provided me) and say that your Leopard is not actually a Leo, but an alien from space. He was eating near his mealworm dish, when his hologram started to falter and some of his armor fell of, landing near the mealworm dish. I think you should meet his demands, whatever they may be. ( a "biggerish" tank, less "locus's" in his diet, putting in better substrate in the "bottem" of his "bigish" tank.)
     
    JessicaMyott likes this.
  13. England Leapord Gecko

    England Leapord Gecko New Member

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    4
    1. What substrate are you using? Reptile Carpet
    2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in? 19inches by 19inches
    3. What are your warm side temperatures? 80/85
    4. How are the temperatures measured? Thermometer
    5. What are you using as your heat source? Heat mat
    6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperatures? No
    7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they? 3, rock with moss, log, hollow rock
    8. What food have you offered? Mealworms & locus
    9. How often do you offer food? Everyday/ every other day
    10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often? Calci Dust
    11. How old is your leo? 8 1/2 months
    12. How long have you had your leo? 5 1/2 months
    13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also? Its very active, likes hunting food (locus)

    I don't have A picture of the red thing as I just wanted to get it out of the tank..it looked like half a mealworm or somthing but had a red liquid over it, can leapord geckos be sick? Has anyone else had this or something similar before?

    I appreicate any helpful advice not useless sarcastic comments like its not a gecko its an alian I joined this for help not rude comments!
     
  14. electrofelt

    electrofelt Member

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    232
    Hi, and again, welcome to the forum!

    Based on your description, I am guessing the red thing was a half digested mealworm with blood on it from the geckos stool. This can happen when the gecko cannot digest the food properly because the tank temperature are too cold. The hot side should be at about 90 degrees. If it is too cold, they will not be able to digest the bug completely which can cause partially digested bugs in their stool. The blood could be from the gecko having trouble passing the undigested mealworm. I would suggest that you raise the temperature on the hot side to 90 degrees and hopefully this doesn't happen again.

    I would also suggest that you keep an eye on your gecko for a while to see if you notice anything out of the ordinary. Pay close attention to any blood in the stool that your gecko passes. If it has blood in it, then your gecko may be having a digestion problem that will need further attention. If you find another red thing in the tank, take a good picture of it before throwing it away so we can better help troubleshoot the problem. Other members may have some more ideas for you, but I thought I would chirp in.
     
  15. England Leapord Gecko

    England Leapord Gecko New Member

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    Hi Thanks For Welcoming Me & Thanks For Replying Back, Do I Need Another Thermometer As I Only Have 1 On The Cool Side? And I Use A Heat Mat Under The Tank, And Its On All The Time I Never Turn It Off... What's The Best Way To Increse The temperture? I've Heard Some People Have Lights But There Are So Many Different Types, Just Don't Know What The Best Option Would Be? And If It A Light Do They Stay On All The Time Or A Few Hours? Thanks For All Your Help! & If I See Anything Like That Again I Will Take A Photo & Upload It On Here Straight Away! :)
     
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  16. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    5,483
    Great post Jess = )

    You'll ideally want a digital thermometer with a probe or a tempgun to measure your temperatures if you don't already have one. Not only are these the most accurate tools for monitoring temps, but they can be used anywhere in the enclosure. Sometimes the little plastic analog "stick-on" and aquarium thermometers can yield inaccurate readings.You'll want to shoot for a warm end temperature (side with UTH) immediately on the surface of the carpet to be be around 88-90 degrees F give or take as Jess suggested. The cool end (without the UTH) can drop down to room temperature so long as the warm end is within the right range.

    Undertank Heaters (UTH's) like the one you have are an excellent way to heat the enclosure. You can leave it on 24/7 if you'd like. Being nocturnal, leopard geckos do not require any kind of specific lighting and ambient light entering the room will be adequate for them to distinguish between a day/night cycle.

    If your one heat mat isn't quite getting the temperatures to the desired range, you can use a bulb for some additional supplemental heat. There are a variety of options to choose from... and you'll likely only need a very low wattage bulb since the UTH will be providing the bulk of the heat:

    -You may opt to place a fixture over the warm end with a low-wattage ceramic heat emitter (CHE). These produce no light, only heat. These bulbs can be left on 24/7 just like the UTH since no light is being produced. Red bulbs can also be used in the same manner as a CHE, or they can be used as described below for regular lights.

    -You can also use a regular household incandescent bulb in conjunction with the UTH to bump daytime temps up to the proper range. If you are using a bulb that produces light like this, only keep the light source on for about 12 hrs a day. The UTH can continue to remain on 24/7.

    This may be confusing, so feel free to ask away if you need anything cleared up or have additional questions! I also encourage you to read our leopard gecko caresheet as a sort of checklist to ensure that your husbandry is spot-on: http://reptileboards.com/threads/leopard-gecko-caresheet.59997/


    I would also like to sincerely apologize for the rude welcoming you received from one of the members. Such behavior will not be tolerated here and that member has received a warning.
     
  17. England Leapord Gecko

    England Leapord Gecko New Member

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    4
    Thanks Jeffreh! :)
    You have gave me some great advice so basically I would be better off getting a digital thermometer and putting it on the hot side, and then getting a low wattage ceramic emmitter used just for heat? I don't think I need a light but I'll defo be getting the digital thermometer & light bulb for heat !

    Thanks for all yout input and information on this for me, you've been a great help!
    And that's alright, it wound me up abit at 1st cos he's message has nothing to do with my gecko, but you don't need to apologize on someone else's behalf.. You have done nothing wrong you've given me some brilliant advice which I am extremly thankful for!

    I think I have everything my lizard needs other than those 2 things, but I will check out the link you sent aswel :)
     
    electrofelt likes this.
  18. electrofelt

    electrofelt Member

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    232
    Yup, all you will need is the digital thermometer and a low wattage CHE and you should be all set. The great thing about the CHE's is that they last a really long time so you wont need to replace it for a while. Also, one thing to double check when setting up the CHE is that the fixture is rated for whatever wattage bulb you buy. The heat emitters can get fairly hot, so you want to make sure the fixture can handle it. The best ones will have a ceramic base where the bulb screws into.

    I wish you the best of luck with your gecko, and feel free to ask any more questions. We are always happy to help! : )
     
  19. brianah

    brianah Embryo

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    11
    hello my teacher is breading leopard geckos for my class to have some can you tell me what we need in order to keep him safe and healthy??????????????????????????????
     
  20. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  21. brianah

    brianah Embryo

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    thanks JEFFREH you are a great help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  22. brianah

    brianah Embryo

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  23. Yode

    Yode New Member

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    8
    We are very excited that Santa brought a cute little Leo to my 6yr old son. So we have had him just a week. He seems healthy for the most part, (Skin looks good, has all toes, mouth nice and smooth, bright eyes. May be a bit on the thin side). I just want to make sure we are treating him well. He was eating well til tonight when my son spilled the Calcium sup into the tank and the mill worms got covered. Strangely though he ate the supplement and not the worms.

    I am afraid I did not research enough before we got him, so I am a bit behind and slow to get things right in his habitat.

    Main questions if you don't want to read all the details (I am rather lengthy):

    I read it is good to keep calcium for them to lick in the tank (without D3) and that you can over suppliment. Why without D3, and with all the dusting and such how can you not over suppliment?

    Can I use my heat rock if it is covered in other rocks, or is the under the tank heater best? I got scared to use the under the tank when I read you can't get the glass wet above it or it may crack the tank- but I can't keep the humidity up with out squirting the tank frequently, and my 6 yr old is going to spill.:

    1. What substrate are you using?
    we went from paper towel to some river rock that I washed really well and then soaked in 10% bleach for 2 hours- then let dry completely before introducing. (did that yesterday along with having to soak his foot to remove shed skin from a toe - he did not like that at all) Did not get the moist hide in until yesterday- that may have helped his toe.

    We switched mainly because I was having trouble keeping any humidity in the tank. (kept sinking below 20% even with squirting several times a day - which dropped the temp - which we are haveing a little trouble keeping up) Also have question about heat rock as extra source of heat instead of under tank heater. I have read these can be dangerous for the little guy, but the package said safe for all lizards.
    2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in? enclosure is 20gal I think. Seems pretty big for little guy.
    3. What are your warm side temperatures?
    I can't make heads or tails out of the temps. Have a stick on for temp and humidity on one side and a little plastic one that the little red line goes up on the other. They both read low usually about 70F on one side and 80F on the other. We got a gun and the surface temps seem better with the lows being in the mid 70's and the highs all the way to 105 (he avoids this spot on the heat rock so I have not worried about it too much). He tends to like around 75F the best.
    4. How are the temperatures measured? Mostly rely on the gun.
    5. What are you using as your heat source?
    We have 2 lamps one with dark heat and the other light heat we try to switch them back and forth, but I Have had to run them both together a few times when it got to low 70's
    6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperatures?
    Fiddle with the lights til we get it close
    7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they? He has 3 hides one on each side made from larger flat rocks forming a crack for him (they are very stable- but not glued down) and I put in a tall container with peat moss (sterilized in oven for an hour) with a cut out lid, for his moist hide. I put that on the heat rock and the temp on top reads upper 70's
    8. What food have you offered? He came with big crickets which he did not eat, we found some small crickets and mill worms at another pet store which he was eating until tonight.
    9. How often do you offer food? we were offering 2x day (my son wanted to feed him in the morning, but he would only eat at night, so I am only feeding in evening now)
    10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often?
    I have had a hard time researching the supplements. I put the little crickets in with the Fluker's high calcium diet and some of the cricket quench with calcium. We have the mill worms in a wheat bran substrate (I added a bit of the Fluker's high calcium cricket diet to it as well) I put the worms with a little zoo/med repti calcuim (no D3) in my had to coat them then put them in his dish every night. - it is a plastic plate with 3 sections fairly steep sides, I put water in 2 sections and feed him from the other.
    11. How old is your leo? not sure- he is about 5 inches long
    12. How long have you had your leo? week
    13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also[/quote]
    He is very sweet, will tolerate being handled by a 6 yr old fairly well. We got him a bit stirred up a couple times when he made a dash for the furniture. He has been hiding a lot more in his Rock habitat than the papertowel one with the cardboard hides.

    Thank you for taking the time to read and help out. This is an awesome service you are providing for those of us who are new.
     
  24. Reid

    Reid Banned

    Messages:
    147
    First off, welcome to the forums!
    I'm glad Santa blessed you with such an amazing
    animal. I've got one myself, and I love her.
    If the gecko went straight for the Calcium, that just means he felt like he needed some.
    It's nothing to worry about, it's about the same as you
    drinking a some milk.
    1.An issue with the rocks I can forsee is if the gecko knocks one a little bit,
    it could roll onto her little foot.
    The substrate I use, and recommend to my customers, is slate tile.
    Take the INSIDE measurements of your tank to your local
    Home Deport and find a nice slate tile with a little bit of texture.
    It's their natural flooring, and it is wonderful at holding heat from the U.T.H.
    2.If it's a 20L (20 gallons long ways) you'll be set for life
    unless you got lucky enough to sneak a Giant or Super Giant Leopard Gecko.
    3.Throw out the Stick on thermometer. It's useless. (I'm assuming you got the
    Desert Starter Kit from Petco/PetSmart)
    What you want is This or This. I use the latter. Always read the temperature
    above the U.T.H and on the opposite side.
    It's helpful to keep a track of all the readings to make sure its steady.
    4.See above.
    5./6. (This will also answer a question previously asked.)
    I use lights and a U.T.H.
    NEVER use a Heat Rock. They kill.
    When using a U.T.H make sure it's elevated off the surface of whatever
    you're setting the tank on.
    It should come with 4 little clear pegs to put on each corner of the tank to hold
    it off the surface, so put those on and you'll be fine.
    7. Hides are fine, keep an eye on the Humid Hide (As stated above, remove the Heat Rock ASAP.)
    I actually don't use a Humid Hide. Some geckos will never use it
    and shed just fine without.
    If he is using it, just make sure it's always warm enough for him and always
    clean.
    8. If he is a baby like the ones we sell, he won't be eating
    large crickets for awhile.
    Personally, I dislike feeding crickets because they tend to nibble
    on sleeping geckos.
    Plus, I know what kind of care they get and I'm not always fond
    of how we tend to keep our Crickets. Kind of messy.
    I love Mealworms, though. My Ember eats those and she is VERY fat and healthy.
    Avoid Waxworms, unless its a treat, a few times a year. They are addictive and extremely
    unhealthy. (Think Twinkies of the Reptile world.)
    9. With this, if you use Crickets tend to offer early morning, or late at night.
    Geckos are nocturnal, so feeding mid-day will be unnatural for them.
    I just leave my Mealworm dish full, and she eats as she pleases.
    10. You're doing fine. Coat the mealworms or crickets as
    you see needed. It's always helpful for baby Leos.
    11. He'll be only a few months old.
    13. Try not to stress him out too much. Keep handling to a minimum.
    In all honesty, the fact it's only been a week and
    you've been doing it this much is a little bit much.
    Generally you give them a week or so without disturbing them.
    This allows them to get settled into their environment.
    Its stressful to move from Petco to your new home!
    When you do decide to handle her, try to make a bit of noise going in,
    letting the gecko know you're coming
    then let it see your hand and maybe lick/sniff it before you scoop her up.
    This will prevent it from being scared and dropping its tail.
    Good luck with everything! Keep us up to date with lots of pictures and
    always feel free to ask anything! We're always here!!
     
    StikyPaws312 likes this.
  25. Yode

    Yode New Member

    Messages:
    8
    Thank you so much for the reassurance. We got a heat gun from Home Depot which was a bit more expensive, but hopefully will work for other applications as well.

    this Leo was held frequently at the petstore so I was thinking that we were doing well to give him rest during the day and only handling him in the early morning or evening. I will insist on more rest time for him the next week or so.

    I think I am going to go with the mill worms in the tank. Any suggestions on how to keep them from drying out and or dying? I just put a couple in the dish and by morning the ones he did not eat are usually dead. Do you put them in the oatmeal or gut loading material for him to pick out? (I would think this might cause impaction) How do you gut load the worms if they stay in the tank?

    Thanks again.

     

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