Goodbye Louise, hello albinos

[geckomom]

After just losing Thelma, my other girlie Louise went the same way. I think part of it was my fault, probably too much amature vet "help" on my part. I think the stress of all the syringe feedings probably played a big part in her demise. I'm still desperately looking for a herp vet, still no luck, but if I run into problems again, I'll at least ask for a fecal at my regular vet for my dog.

Ok, I went back and forth - wait awhile to get new geckos, or replace them right away...I know I probably made an impulsive move, but...after spending hours disinfecting the cage, disposing of ALL cage furnishings and replacing with new stuff, I...found the most wonderful albinos!

They're juvies, and I think (I'm not very good at sexing :o ) one is male and the other appears to be female. They are SO tame - haven't handled them much, want to give them time to adjust, but they seem very calm (maybe the stress of the move). They're very active, eating well, the male(?) already shed today!

Of course, I miss Thelma and Louise, but it's so nice to see that empty tank filled again.

Now all I have to do is come up with names...which will be kind of difficult until I determine the genders...

I probably shouldn't have rushed out and gotten them so quickly, but I've really learned to love geckos, and these are soooo beautiful...if I can figure out how to post pics, I will. :p

bobbie

[Slannesh]

Hey Geckomom,

Sorry to hear that Louise went the same way Thelma did. Losing any pet is hard. I'm sure you'll have much better luck with your new albinos.

[geckomom]

Thanks! Yes, it's hard, I guess that's why I felt like I couldn't be gecko-less for long.

Definitely hope my luck is better this time, but I'm going to do a lot more reading, hopefully find a vet, and hang around this board a lot, hoping to learn from more experienced gecko-keepers.

bobbie

[Dani33]

I am sooo sorry that you lost Louise too. I hope that things go better with your new babies. I hope that you find a vet soon.

[Youkai]

If they are quite young, and you suspect that they are in fact a pair, I hope you are housing them separately...

[Slannesh]

I've found a lot of good information here, as well as hitting every LeoGeck site with a caresheet on the net that I could fine... Some of them have some pretty whacky ideas but in general the agree on the basic points. I'm new to keeping Leos as well but both my girls are doing very well and are quite active and feeding ravenously ;) If you ever have any questions i'd be happy to offer whatever advice I can.

[geckomom]

Originally posted by Youkai
If they are quite young, and you suspect that they are in fact a pair, I hope you are housing them separately...

Yes, they're housed separately for now, as the one I suspect is F is a bit smaller than the one I suspect is M. I don't want to take any chances with my beauties.

Thank you so much for the reminder - I'm always open to suggestions and info from those who know more than I do - and that's just about everyone!;)

[Youkai]

It's a little thing new keepers overlook a lot, I've noticed. Can never be too careful.

But you've obviously done your homework, and I hope these leos do really well for you. :)

[Wilma]

That sounds great about your new leos! A good shed is always a sign of good health! any pictures?

[drewlowe]

Sorry you lost louise also. It's a sad thing to go through. At least it didn't stop your enthusiasm with these wonderful reptiles. Leos were my first "offical" reptile and i still love them.

If you don't mind me asking how did you clean your previous cage. Certain methods you use only gets rid of certain parasites. and not knowing what the exact cause was it's always better to be safe.

[geckomom]

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/511/3458lizard1.jpghttp://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/511/3458lizard2.jpg

These pics are so bad, they're really overexposed so the colors don't show. Actually, I'm wondering if these are albinos - they're snow white, with very light yellow horizontal bands, and red eyes.

But I don't care what they are, they are both little sweeties!

Drewlowe, thank for checking up on me, I need all the help I can get! First I thoroughly wiped down the tank with a dilute bleach solution and let it set for awhile. Then thoroughly rinsed it out. Then I used Zoo Med Wipe Out 1, following the directions exactly, except after the tank was totally dry and ventilated, I rinsed it real well again, dried it down and let it set empty for a few hours.

If I did anything wrong, please let me know. I guess it's too late now, but I'm always eager to learn.

[drewlowe]

Very nice looking albinos you have there. the set up looks good i bet their enjoying thier new home.

Not knowing what it was that did this i would have taken an extra step I would have also clean the tank out once with diluted ammonia (5%) but when cleaning with bleach and ammonia you have to make sure the tank is rinsed out very very well. Because you don't want the 2 chemicals to mix together. But i'm a big clean freak so i always take an extra step.

I'm going to jump to something new with you. What substrate are you using??? If i'm wrong then correct me but it appears as if it's colored calcium sand (from the pics). Personally i don't care to use any type of sand because of the risk of impactation. The safest thing to use would be paper towels or newspapers. Or if you want a more natural enclosure i recommend bed a beast (eco earth), or slate tiles.
theres another tread asking about sand substrates in the leo forum you might want to check out. If you have any questions please ask.

[geckomom]

Actually, it's a green "cage carpet"! I started my original 2 geckos on sand (recommended to me by the "expert" where I bought my supplies). As I caught up on my reading (which I should have done beforehand), learned about the problems w/sand, so took all sand out about 3 days after I'd gotten them. Poor things, a new home, then a new home 3 days later....:(

I've been using the carpet stuff since then, I rotate them as I clean them.

As far as you know, are the carpets ok?

oh, btw - I only had the 2 of them together to take the pics, they actually have separate homes
:)

PS: thanks for the cleaning advice. I'll be sure and remember that!

[bob_thesnowman]

sorry to hear about you loss,it's always hard,but your new leos look very nice indeed!

Chris