New Gecko-Clueless Keeper

MaryRose

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
6
Hello!
Due to a weird and unfortunate turn of events, I have become the proud and overwhelmed owner of a Gecko. I don't even know what kind he/she is. Poor lil guy was dropped off to me in a cardboard box. So, any help in identifying this guy would be appreciated, as well as suggestions for care. I plan on heading to the shop in the morning and picking up a suitable home and materials, but until then, I don't know where to find reliable info.
Thanks! 20161228_182638.jpg 20161228_182645.jpg
 

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Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
lol yes, leopard gecko. :)
keep him in a tank no smaller than a 5 gallon, get a heat pad and put it under one end of the tank, put a minimum of 2 hides, one on the "cold" end, and one on the hot end. water dish obviously, feed a few criks every other day or so and dust themwith calcium powder a few times a week. you probably want another hide with moss or substrate in it and keep it moist, he'll go there for shedding. substrate should be paper towels, not only ar they easier to clean but prevent him from swallowing substrate when hunting. they dont care for light too much so heat pad is much preferred over a lamp.
im no expert, just had a couple for a few years.
 

MaryRose

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
6
lol yes, leopard gecko. :)
keep him in a tank no smaller than a 5 gallon, get a heat pad and put it under one end of the tank, put a minimum of 2 hides, one on the "cold" end, and one on the hot end. water dish obviously, feed a few criks every other day or so and dust themwith calcium powder a few times a week. you probably want another hide with moss or substrate in it and keep it moist, he'll go there for shedding. substrate should be paper towels, not only ar they easier to clean but prevent him from swallowing substrate when hunting. they dont care for light too much so heat pad is much preferred over a lamp.
im no expert, just had a couple for a few years.
Thanks! I was wondering about the substrate because of conflicting info I was finding, but I love the idea of paper towels.
I just hope he makes it until tomorrow. Apparently, he spent the last 24 hours or so hiding in a couch, then the box, now my makeshift enclosure. Poor guy.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Thanks! I was wondering about the substrate because of conflicting info I was finding, but I love the idea of paper towels.
I just hope he makes it until tomorrow. Apparently, he spent the last 24 hours or so hiding in a couch, then the box, now my makeshift enclosure. Poor guy.
he'll be okay i think, looks fine. :)
 

Spidermolt

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
203
sorry I'm a little late to reply but I always use Exo Terra 24"x18"x12" for my leopard geckos (I have 3). they're nocturnal so they don't require UVB lights but do require a heating source which I always use 75watt blue lights because they're pretty warm and easy on their eyes. Temps should generally be around 85 at the hot end and 75 at the cool end. They should always have at least two hides, 1 at the heated end, 1 at the cooler end, and 1 humid box which is moist to aid in shedding. If you go to alot of unknowledgeable pet stores you will always see that their Leos always have skin stuck to them which will easily build up and cut off circulation causing missing toes because they don't know to use a humid hide.
Always remember one key thing that you should never do and that is to NEVER pick it up by its tail!!!!!!!!!!!!! "I have personally heard pet store employees say its ok when its NOT!!!" they can detach their tails if pulled too hard which causes stress on top of the fact that that's where they store their access fat.
To know if a leopard gecko is well fed just look at its tail. The tail should generally be about as wide as its head. if its thinner then it needs to be fed more often. If thicker then its ok but if its really fat then you may want to slow up a little on feeding (kinda like a Ts abdomen).
Leos are insectivores meaning that they will only eat insects. the best thing you can do is switch their food up once in a while like crickets one day, then meal worms the next, then a dubia the next, etc. if feeding dubias I wouldn't use adults unless you cut them in thirds because Leos will swallow their food whole and therefore it wouldn't be digested properly or could cause impacting. once a week you will need to dust their food in calcium powder and may even want to put a soda cap full of calcium powder in the cage (one of mine will actually eat it straight. One thing I do avoid are wax worms because they are much fattier and if fed too much they will become addictive and refuse any other food given!
For substrate I always hear that they can swallow sand and cocoa fiber causing complications so you should always use paper towels or a terrarium carpet (I use the later which you can easily clean and reuse). Also to keep them happy is to have plenty of decorations like fake plants and basking and/or climbing rocks (climbing rocks are pretty much stacked rocks that don't exceed 7 inches in height). Each Leo has a different personality and therefore may prefer different things for example one Leo I have loves to climb things, stay out in the open, and loves human interaction where my other two couldn't care less about people and prefer to stay low to the ground and close to hides. So as time goes on you'll get to know exactly what yours prefers for a cozy home.

I hope this helps and for any other info needed you can just ask here... GOOD LUCK!!!
 

Spidermolt

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
203
Also if you don't know the sex of your gecko and its around 7" just post a clear picture of the underside and i can held determine the sex for you.
 

awiec

Arachnoprince
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
1,325
I keep mine on a mix of bark, peat and moss. She seems to enjoy that type of sub quite a bit but is also big enough to not swallow it. When they are cranky they do a tail flick while walking, it's best to get away from the cage and come back later.
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
193
Make sure you have your heat mat hooked up to a Thermostat in order to control how hot it gets.
A lot of heat mats can get so hot they BURN the animal unless it's being controlled by a thermostat!
Burns can cause the death of the animal depending on how severe they are.
Never use heat rocks.

Leopard geckos can live upwards of 20 years or more with proper care, so make sure you're ready for that!
If not you might want to look into rehoming them to someone who is prepared for that.
 
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