Geckos

[Angi]

We came home from the reptile show with a Lepord Geko. My 12 year old son had been wanting one for a year. They don't really excite me, but maybe it will grow on me. Anyway I need as much geko advice as you all care to give. He is in a tank that is about 3'X1' he has a food dish a water dish, a humid hide with damp moss, a dry hide near the heat, a heat pad under the substaight and santi-chips for the substaight. I am going to put a half log in too. My torts out grew it, so I washed it in bleach water rinsed it real well and am letting it sit in the sun.
What do you think? Anything else I should do? Does anything sound wrong? THANKS!

---

Sorry it is a Gecko not Geko.

 

[N2TORTS]

RE: Gekos

We came home from the reptile show with a Lepord Geko. My 12 year old son had been wanting one for a year. They don't really excite me, but maybe it will grow on me. Anyway I need as much geko advice as you all care to give. He is in a tank that is about 3'X1' he has a food dish a water dish, a humid hide with damp moss, a dry hide near the heat, a heat pad under the substaight and santi-chips for the substaight. I am going to put a half log in too. My torts out grew it, so I washed it in bleach water rinsed it real well and am letting it sit in the sun.
What do you think? Anything else I should do? Does anything sound wrong? THANKS!

Sounds like your on your way to a happy camper .....just a note .. BE CAREFUL about the full sun exposer. Tanks will heat up very fast and act like a cooker when exposed to full sunlight ( even thru a filtered window).
Here is a pic for your son ..... these are the geckos I breed.
Lygodactylus-williamsi aka. "Electric Blues"

You and your son enjoy your new little buddy!

JD~

 

[Angi]

RE: Gekos

That is very pretty. I will watch out for the sun. He is in Landon's room under a window, but the blinds are usually closed and we planted trees when we built the house to shade the bed rooms on the west side of the house and keep it cooler. I am not in to high A/C bills.
Landon wants to know how you can tell how old it is and if you can tell if it is a boy or girl?
JD~ What do you charge for your geckos? You said you were at the show are you a San Diegan?
They said to keep the enclosure dry except the humid hide. Is that right?
BTW~We got it from LLL.

 

[N2TORTS]

RE: Gekos

That is very pretty. I will watch out for the sun. He is in Landon's room under a window, but the blinds are usually closed and we planted trees when we built the house to shade the bed rooms on the west side of the house and keep it cooler. I am not in to high A/C bills.
Landon wants to know how you can tell how old it is and if you can tell if it is a boy or girl?
JD~ What do you charge for your geckos? You said you were at the show are you a San Diegan?
They said to keep the enclosure dry except the humid hide. Is that right?
BTW~We got it from LLL.

yup was at the show .....3rd gen Diegan' but now in HB. When I have them, the blues are 55-75 . There where only two at the show and were sold to another dealer. They are small and more of an " ornate" gecko...not much for handling, as they are ultra quick. But I can assure you they are one of the most incredible blue/purple lizards out there. You also have to be careful of which ones you get... if you see them , ( they are very hard to come by) most seen on the market are wild caught and loaded with mites,and usally dont survive in captivity very well. For your Leo' Around 6-7 months is a good age to be able to start to tell. (Breeders and experienced herpetologists can generally give a good idea before this time though.) When they mature, male Leopard Geckos get a row of very noticeable pores shaped like a "V" between their legs in front of the vent. If these pores are "invisible" or hardly noticeable you have a female. Males are generally larger and have blockier heads while females are more streamlined in the head area

JD~
PATRICK HENRY 83'

 

[ChiKat]

RE: Gekos

Here are some pics to help you sex your leo.
http://www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm

I have two leopard geckos- one male, one female. Cute little things

 

[fuzzylogix]

RE: Gekos

everything sounds great except for the sani-chips. i would suggest a non particulate substrate such as tile, butchers paper, or even paper towels. you also want to make sure that your under tank heater is connected to a thermostat. you want the surface of the hot side to be between 90-95 degrees, and most UTHs are notorious for temp spikes. here is a link to my care sheet that should be helpful.

http://lonestarreptilesyndicate.com/forum/index.php?topic=3754.0

as far as sexing, depends on how old the leo is. if it's a baby, you won't be able to tell right away. if you want, you can post clear vent pics here and i would be more than happy to help you out. oh and congrats on your new addiction. we started with one leo and since we decided to breed, are nearing 300

 

[Angi]

Thanks for the info. I have a couple more questions.
How often do they eat? We have had two meal worms in the bowl for two days and he has not touched it. We got one of those meal worm bowls. Are they easy to eat out of? How do I let him know where the food is. I have tried sticking his face in the bowl. He seems to get freaked out when I do this. How do you get them to not be so skittish? Should he have an over head heat source? Do they do better alone or with a friend?

THANKS!

 

[fuzzylogix]

Thanks for the info. I have a couple more questions.
How often do they eat? We have had two meal worms in the bowl for two days and he has not touched it. We got one of those meal worm bowls. Are they easy to eat out of? How do I let him know where the food is. I have tried sticking his face in the bowl. He seems to get freaked out when I do this. How do you get them to not be so skittish? Should he have an over head heat source? Do they do better alone or with a friend?

THANKS!

i usually feed my adults every other day during the summer, and every 3 to 4 days during the winter. depending on the size of your gecko, he/she could eat 10-12 mealworms a day. i usually just leave a bowl full of mealies for my adults and they eat when they want. forcing a leo to do anything could stress them out. if it gets hungry, it will hunt for its food. as far as handling, the older they get, the more docile they get. if you just got this gecko, i would give him/her a couple of weeks to settle in. leos digest their food with help from belly heat. i don't recommend an overhead light or heat source. just the under tank heater will be fine. if you are wanting to add another leo, you need to sex this one first. you don't want two males together, and if you put a male in with a female, well then you will end up like us

 

[Angi]

Thanks Fuzzy. I will see how my son does with Smallz before getting another. So far he is acting like a new mom. I was about to buy an overhead heater, so I am glad you told me not too. What about the red light? Is it okay? If he did really get in to the Geckos and breeding I would to totally supportive. But it has to be something he is really into.

 

[fuzzylogix]

you can use a low wattage red light for viewing, but make sure it's not a heat lamp style. most people use the blue lights as well to see them at night. as long as you monitor your temps, you should be fine. gecko breeding is very involved but extremely rewarding. it's something that my entire family enjoys and even my 8 year old twin girls can name most of the morphs. if you ever have any questions at all, feel free to PM or email me at [email protected]. i would love to see a pic of your new leo

 

[Angi]

He eats about 3 meal worms a day. Is that too much? He is so darn cute I am afraid I am going to be a bad grandma and over feed him. Can you over feed a gecko? Yes he has grown on me. I don't want my son to know that he is not the only one taking care of him because Smallz is his responsability but when he is not home I go in and check on him LOL, my son told me not to pick him up. He is afraid I am making Smallz nervous, and he is probably right. Oh and the reason I feed him is my son wont touch a meal worm. But he does everything else.

 

[fuzzylogix]

geckos can over eat and regurge, but if he is keeping them down, you should be fine. can you post a pic of him so i can see what size he is?

 

[Angi]

Yes I will take some pics. I will have to email them to you because I just can't get posting pictures down. I have spent hours reading dirrections and trying and have given up.

 

[Angi]

I took some pics last night but they are kind of fuzzy. And I couldn't hold him without him freaking out so it is hard to tell his size because there is nothing to compare it to.