Sick?

[Black Hawk]

hey, my golden gecko isn't looking very...well...gold. it seems to be eating enough and i see it out of it's hide roaming it's tank at least once a day usually and it's active but i'm not sure. it's lost it's vibrant gold coloring it had when i got it. now it doesn't look very gold at all, closer to silver/gray. is this anything to be concerned with and if so what do i do to help it get it's color back?? I'm sure it's healthy for now but i don't want that to decline, i usually alternate it's diet between mealworms and crix but i think there should probably also be some sorts of other vitamins and stuff it needs. sorry if this is really obvious and i haven't noticed, this is my first and only reptile so far so i don't really know what i'm doing. any suggestions?

EDIT: now i think it might be because i haven't feed him fruit in a while so i'm addin back into his regular diet, any ideas other than that tho?

 

[ScorpDemon]

any possibility its about to shed?
I dunno anything about the reptile in question.. but most reptiles colors change, some more than others, just before a shed.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

hey, my golden gecko isn't looking it's lost it's vibrant gold coloring it had when i got it. now it doesn't look very gold at all, closer to silver/gray..I'm sure it's healthy for now

No it isn't.

i think there should probably also be some sorts of other vitamins and stuff it needs...
EDIT: now i think it might be because i haven't feed him fruit in a while so i'm addin back into his regular diet, any ideas other than that tho?

For God's sake. I don't want to be the token rude poster around here, but did you do ANY research on this animal before you got it? Three seconds on Google would tell you that you *absolutely* need to dust the prey items with vitamin powder once a week.

It is probably suffering from malnutrition at the very least. What is your enclosure like? Temps? Substrate? Humidity? What are you using for a heat source? Do you mist the tank?

The most commonly listed serious threats for this species are excessive handling, low humidity, and poor diet. I'm just saying.

 

[Black Hawk]

did you do ANY research on this animal before you got it?

no. it was a birthday present so i had no idea even what kind of gecko it was when i got it.:wall: i mist and keep humidity up and i have a heatpad on the back of the tank even though it doesn't use it but it's there if it needs heat. the substrate is ecoearth coco-bark. can u recommend any cricket dust or are they all the same more or less?

 

[Socrates]

Check out this site, they "specialize" in herps.
http://www.reptileforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15

---
Wendy
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PS. I dust my Leos food with "Bone Aid" (pure Calcium) at each feeding, and "Leopard Gecko Dust" by T-Rex twice a week.

 

[Black Hawk]

thx Socrates! that link was exactly the sort of thing i was looking for. I'm gonna boost the humidity in the tank as well. I hope his color comes back soon....i think it's a "he"?
@Mushroom Spore: thx for the wake up. i didn't realize alot of that stuff till u said it so "lovingly" I feel completely lost when it comes to reptiles. when my buddy asked what i wanted and i said "something cool" i guess he delivered cuz i like the gecko, not really what i expected tho and out of my area of comfort. i prefer more "spineless" animals.

 

[Socrates]

No problem, Black Hawk, none at all.

I've only been the proud owner of a Leo for less than a month, and I hope it was o.k. to post that link to another forum. (?? )

Good luck with your Golden Gecko.

---
Wendy
---

 

[Mushroom Spore]

@Mushroom Spore: thx for the wake up. i didn't realize alot of that stuff till u said it so "lovingly"

I know I get snappy, it's what comes of spending too much time on pet forums. But now it is definitely your responsibility to keep doing research and asking questions, because this animal depends on your actions just to live. Hopefully you can get the little guy back in good health before something like Metabolic Bone Disorder/slackjaw sets in (which can cause irreversible, crippling, and sometimes fatal damage).

 

[Black Hawk]

well, i went and got some cricket dust. is Miner-all good? i've never had to buy dust before so i don't really know. also, does anyone use dusted crix for inverts too? could it do any damage?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

also, does anyone use dusted crix for inverts too? could it do any damage?

There's been about ten gabillion debates on this over in the T forums...basically, there is no indication that it does anything good for inverts, and many people believe it results in molting problems and fang loss.

 

[Black Hawk]

thnx for the quick reponse i'll separate the crix then between my gecko and inverts. which already happened because i had a breakout from "death row" while i was at the pet store i discovered right after my last post:wall:

 

[Schlyne]

You want to dust the circkets right before you give them to your gecko, otherwise the dust will be cleaned off/fall off/be fairly useless.

Make sure you're using a calcium dust and a vitamin dust. One of the two supplements should have D3, but not both. D3 is needed for calcium absorbtion, but it can be overdosed.

 

[Black Hawk]

wait? is shouldn't have both? but i need both? that doesn't make much sense to me:? :?

 

[What]

do you handle your gecko?

 

[Black Hawk]

nope, only time i touched him was when i put him in his cage....and once on accident....then he bit me

 

[Mushroom Spore]

wait? is shouldn't have both? but i need both? that doesn't make much sense to me:? :?

Read that post again:

One of the two supplements should have D3, but not both.

 

[Black Hawk]

but the supplement i got has d3 and calcium. that's like, the main reason i got it. what should the second supplement have?:?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

but the supplement i got has d3 and calcium. that's like, the main reason i got it. what should the second supplement have?:?

Other vitamins, presumably.

 

[Schlyne]

but the supplement i got has d3 and calcium. that's like, the main reason i got it. what should the second supplement have?:?

Just vitamins

 

[Black Hawk]

well can anyone give me an idea what other vitamins i need to have in a second dust? this dust has: calcium, vitamin D3, manganese, zinc, iron, copper, iodine, cobalt, magnesium, and selenium.