Hello, i just bought a leopard gecko. I have a heating lamp, a cool hide, warm hide and a moist hide. i brought him home from the pet store today (i couldnt find any breeders nearby) and im wondering how long it'll be before he eats. the guy at petsmart told me that he will most likely not eat at all today, but to try tomorrow, can someone tell me if it's ok for him to wait that long? he's around 5 or 6 inches long.
Waiting for tomorrow would be alright. It's most likely that your new leopard gecko isn't going to even eat tomorrow! The time period of when your leopard gecko first comes home is going to be a very stressful time! Dropping a couple crickets in the cage won't hurt. Maybe he will eat! Wait to handle him until at least 3 days also. Hope you have a great experience with your new leopard gecko!
He has a 10 gallon tank, a red night bulb for heat and 3 hides, anything else he might need? they tol me the UTH isn't necessery yet as the bulb will give him suffficient heat...im sort of paranoid it might burn out while im not home....any tips? also, thanks for the info, it's a load off my mind
Anytime that's what I'm here for! You should be fine with no under the tank heater. Even if your bulb burns out, it isn't automatically the end of the world. If it were to burn out just get a bulb as soon as possible, he isn't going to drop dead. If you have any more questions I'm here!
ohh man, thank you. You just lifted a load off my mind...I guess im not doing that badly then. in a week i will buy some backups so i dont have to constantly be in fear of the bulb burning out on me.
Yup, I'm bored so I'm just gonna' give you some things about your leopard gecko you might want to know! Make sure that your moist hide stays at 60 percent humidity and no lower. Your warm side should be around 85 degrees during the day, and your cool side goes no lower than 73 degrees. Make sure that when you feed crickets in his cage, you don't leave the crickets in the tank! Those things will literally eat up your gecko. Stick with crickets though, worms like waxworms are very fatty and should be fed as a treat, if ever fed. Your leopard gecko baby needs to be fed every day (when it starts to accept the fact this is its new home) and should be given a calcium dust every other day. When at 6 months of age, feed every other day, and when at 1 year, feed every 3 days and dust twice a week. Want any more? I know I'm ranting, I like leopard geckos a lot and they are one of the animals that I have intensely studied. Any question you have... Give it to me!
you're awesome! thanks! so, what sort of humidity thermometers should i use? how can i maintain humidity levels? how do i know how old the little guy, rex, is? hes about 5 inches long but not very big so i think he's at most 4 months. i left him water in his water bow (not enough or deep enough for him to drown) does that help with the humidity? umm....im using paper towel as substrate, thats ok, right? you're awesome, thanks for offering
Use a Undertank heater. Leo's take their heat from their stomachs. You also should look into vitamins for the Leo. Repashy has one that is imo the best on the market. Humidity range of a leo isn't high at all. A moist hide is more than enough for that requirement you don't need it through the whole tank. Their natural habitat doesn't consist of sand at all. Its very rocky, very dry soil with scrubs and small plant matter that makes up the region they are found in. Never use sand as it can cause impaction. I would use a rug (they make this really cool one that looks like rocks and sand) or slate tile. I use slate tile with sand as a base to cushion it and absorb heat from the UTH (Under tank heater).
oh and before I forget. Heat range should be from 92-94 on the hot side (96 doesn't bother them either since they can just walk away) the cool side usually ranges about 78.
