New owner

[Moose1960]

Hi all.
Just got a Leopard gecko 3 days ago. I am new to reptiles. Any quick hints or advice is welcomed. I will be reading a fair bit it seems as this forum looks great. And i will be asking questions, cause my pets are important to me.

[Kyle Barker]

Kinda of tough to answer, but the leo book by avs is good for beginners. Do you have a cammara? Love to see some pics. Just a hint, if you need advice on something describe what kind of setup, and some details on your animal. Just easier to answer Q's then

kyle

[Moose1960]

15 gal aquarium with metal cage style top.
Repti therm undertank heater rated for 10-20 gal tanks.
Heat Glo Nocturnal Infrared Heat Lamp / 75W-120 V
one larger cave under heat lamp with terrimoss dampened inside.
one smaller log syle cave on cool side.
About 10 layers of newspaer on bottom for substrate cause I have been reading not to use sand yet. The pet store said "go ahead and use sand, we have never had any problems", but I desided to wait till he/she is older. They said it is about 3-4 months old. I am feeding crickets 3-4 a day coated in Rep-Cal phosphorus free calcium with Vit.D3. They also gave me Herpcare Vitamin supplement powder form and said once a week. I added it to the repcall yesterday and shake and baked the crickets. I am feeding the crickets oranges and some cricket food they sold me. Also give one meal worm a day. I have been feeding once a day around supper time. We have been picking him/her up and holding maybe 2 times a day for 2-3 mins for the first 2 days untill i read to not hold them for the first 5 days otherwise they hide.
One small bowl of water changed daily. Also one thermometer on outside of aquarium near bottom hot side but I dont think it works that great. or i stuck it in the wrong place. Temp hovers around 82 constant. he/she doesnt come out that often but i figured that was just cause of new environment but does come out when food is present. Also have grape vine branch in case he/she wants to climb. Will be taking pics tomorrow during day and hopefully posting them

Q1. What age is good time for sand, and is play sand alright or should i get the calcium sand.
Q2. How often and how much per day for food?
Q3. How to increase or get proper temp setting in tank?
Q3. Any other suggestions or hint welcome.

Am willing to take any constructive advice.
Thanks

[jakejeff]

I'll try to answer some questions?
1. I don't use any kind of sand just paper towels to be safe but alot of people do and have had no problems.

2. if its a hatchling or juvi feed once a day and feed only as much as gecko will eat in 15 to 30 minutes (remove uneaten crickets). If feeding mealies some people feed once a day in a shallow glass dish but I have heard of people leaving a dish with mealies all day for growing leo's?

3. I would suggest getting a digital Indoor/outdoor thermometer and test the substrate instead of the stick on type cause your uth should increase the air temp 10 to 20 degrees.

4. Go to a local pet shop and get the leopard gecko manual its an awsome book will answer alot of your ?'s also Just proper husbandry ie. proper temps, handwashing ect.

I am in no way an expert but these are some things that I have learned on this site from others and books also hands on with my leo's

[Moose1960]

I couldnt wait till tomorrow. Here is a pic of Him/Her and home. Colours are not that great.

[Kyle Barker]

Dude, that is by far the most in depth description ive heard and the pics are great!!! Your cage setup is awsome. Jakejeff is right you probably dont want to use sand. In my experience they licked it up (thinking its calcium), luckily they did not get an impaction, but i think that was pure luck. For substrates i would use one peice substartes (like newspaper) or other types, i really like eco-earth for everything. As for food you seem to have the right idea but i leave the mealworms (or kingworms if its an adult) in the cage for one day (in a deeper dish to prevent htem from crawling out). After 24 hours the uneaten ones go back into their own cage so that they can eat up and be fed the next day. The only suggestion i have for your cage is to put a small dish of calcium (that stuff you dust you crix would work great) in the cage for him/her to lick up, i use milk caps. Just a side note. I dont know your pet store, but as a generall rule dont listen to pet stores. They usually (not all) seem to have very limited knowlege of herps, and will just tell you something so that you buy more stuff from their store. Just my experience with pet stores. Great cage . Hope you have fun with your new pet.

kyle

[jakejeff]

set up looks good those eyes on your leo are so cool

[Moose1960]

Jake & Kyle thanks for the support and info.

Amethyst (what my kids named him.her started to wonder around tonight a bit as long as there wasnt much movement around. Which I hope means it's getting use to the environment. I will put the calcium in a bowl for him. I havent noticed if he is licking the paper when i put in the dusted crickets.
Now for the meal worms I was told by the store to keep them in the fridge so they hybernate until I need them.

Q1. So what kind of container for them and what kind of food for them?
Q2 can i raise them or is it not fesable for just one Leo?

Q3 is Repti Cage Carpet alright, I have heard astro turf type product can damage toes?

Again thanks

[Kyle Barker]

I would definatly raise them yourself. They are the easiest feeder to keep/breed, in my opinion. I just use a small tub, with lid. Put some type of bran/wheat/oat or a mix of all (i use straight bran with some oats thrown in occaionally, for the substrate. They do eat it as well. Then put in some sort of veggie for moisture. Thats it. If you want to breed them, just leave them alone (dont put in the fridge if your going to breed them, i dont ever put them in the fridge because some of them always die) and they will eventually pupate into beetles. The beetles will lay their eggs and die off in a month or two. Dont get worried that they are not breeding because you cant see any mealworms, they are just REALLY tiny and take a little while to grow up. It took me about 1 1/2 month to start getting ones to feed. Also keep their temps high. 85-90f will give you the fastest growth and better production. Good luck.


I will get some pics of their complete setup this week.
kyle

[Moose1960]

Will your leo eat the beetles also?

Also what about organ meats? I feed my fish raw beef heart, Can a leo digest this safely since it is high in protein low in fat?

Got another shot of him this morning.

[Kyle Barker]

I have never tried to feed it the beetles, but im sure when its bigger it would be fine, just crunchy. As for the organ meats, NO idea. I wouldnt just cause i dont know. But i do know people who use deer heart for their beardies and monitors.

kyle

P.S. is its front right (left in the picture) arm twisted or is it just the way its standing?

[Moose1960]

I had to check my other pics. It is just the way it was standing. Actually it was walking when i took it.

[depressor86]

ive heard that a diet of too many mealworms can cause impaction from their tough shells, but really im not sure.
also heard that d3 shouldnt be used in every feeding but 2 times a week instead. again im not 100% on either of those

[Alicewave]

Mealworms are slightly more difficult to digest because they contain more chitin than crickets. This will not be a problem for your leos if they are well gutloaded, the right size, and if your leo has a UTH to help aid digestion. Also, if you breed mealies you should always be able to find the mealies that have just shed which are easier to digest than crix. I find there are too many advantages to mealworms to list and I have not had any problems feeding them as an exclusive diet. Crickets are fine too I just fine mealies are easier.

Depressor you are right about the D3. You should alternate with a calcium powder that contains no D3. Repcal is the only company I know of that makes one.

Welcome to the family Moose! Nice looking setup and animal.

[SnowSnake]

Do NOT feed your leo a meal worm beetle! Very important because they contain wayyy too much chitin! this could injure your leos' stomach and cause internal bleeding.

cya,
SnowSnake