already having gecko problems

sylorna

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Hey guys
so I went away, leaving Rawr (my leopard gecko) in the fine well experienced hands of my boyfriend (which is where he's been living the whole time). A couple days after I left, he stopped eating, and then had a shed, but hasn't eaten since. His shed was on the 22nd, so lets say he hasn't eaten for 6 days.

The tank is at the right temps, and he's active, crawling up the back wall and exploring...no other signs of being ill at ease...he's even still pooping and his tail hasn't dropped weight!
The last of our crickets died on Ryan the day before christmas, and the petstore hasn't opened yet (grr!) so he's been trying to feed Rawr dusted worms in a dish (which he can be fussy about to begin with). Apparently Rawr will go in the dish and check them out occasionally, and they wiggle around but he doesn't eat. my boyfriend has counted the worms, so we know for sure he hasn't eaten.
I've heard that sometimes lizards just stop eating for a few days, and I'm hoping he's just being fussy for crickets, or that he needs that special way I drop the food into his tank...or something. Getting mentally prepared for a trip to the vet soon.

Any thoughts or support?
 

strange_wings

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Instead of saying "right temps" list them please, and are you using a digital thermometer to measure on the warm side? If you are trying to use a stick on one or a gauge type that measures air temp, it will not work - you need surface temps. -This is a common mistake, so if you're not making it just understand I'm covering a basic problem most new gecko owners make.


Baby geckos are odd little creatures, you'd think they would be super hungry all the time because they grow so fast. But geckos, leos in particular, can be very fussy with food.
At that age they really prefer crickets. Some will transfer over to worms easier than others, but most won't touch them till they're at least a few months old. Luckily leos are hardy and can go without food for a little while. Still unnerving though.
Do you have a pair of hemostats or tweezers? What worms are you trying? If mealworms, practice picking them up so that they will wiggle around. Slowly move this back and forth in front of the geckos face. It can trigger some of them to lunge and grab the worm.

Anything else you should share about the setup? Type of heating? substrate used? what is used in the humid hide?

You may want to give some thought to ordering your crickets online. Order younger crickets so that they live longer and won't chirp till they're adults.
http://www.reptilefood.com - is the one I currently use. A little pricey (especially shipping) but they have good stock.
http://www.grubco.com - is another one many herp keepers swear by.

If you have or do get a beardie in the future you'll eventually find that buying crickets at the petstore is sort of crazy, they can eat a lot.
 

EnzoLeya

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Baby geckos should eat a few times a week and adults will slow down to once a week. However you must remember that they are wild creatures and are not adapted to having food on hand at all times. You're gecko might have eaten his fill and is now digesting and resting his system. He seems to be shedding fine to me
We had a baby gecko and it's 5 years old now.

I really wouldn't worry about him not eating. At least not at this point. If the crickets are live and he has a warm place to lay his belly on he'll be fine.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Baby geckos should eat a few times a week and adults will slow down to once a week. However you must remember that they are wild creatures and are not adapted to having food on hand at all times.

...If the crickets are live and he has a warm place to lay his belly on he'll be fine.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Please do not offer bad advice which could kill this gecko. I suggest you do a bit more research concerning the care for the one you have. Even though they're a resilient gecko, it doesn't mean you should slack any on care.


A baby leopard gecko should be offered food every single day for several months. Around 5-7 months they tend to slow down.

Adult geckos need more food then just once a week! On average they eat every other day, unless fed a very large meal - then they might not be hungry for 2 or 3 days.

Leopard geckos you see in stores are not wild. These are captive bred and have the morphs to show it - albinos, for example, would not survive in the wild. Because they have been bred so much, sometimes inbred to get quick results, they do not possess the skills to care for themselves as well as a wild leo would. There are often some individual geckos that refuse to chase their own food entirely. (I have two like this, lazy bums.
)

A "warm place" needs to be between 89F-92F degrees, anything cooler will not allow the leo to properly digest and anything warmer could harm it - or more likely cause it to stay in the cooler side of the cage which will not let it digest either.



Another thing the OP should consider, how much light is the gecko getting per day? are there any drafts? what's the room temp? These can sometimes send a leo into winter slowdown, though it's not as common with babies.
 
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sylorna

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Strangewings:
Thank you for your concern. Haven't gotten my daily update yet, but hopefully will have news soon.
As for the temperature, it seems that I am in the position of having a gauge type that says "77f" in the cool section. When looking for "digital thermometers" online...like at Futureshop where I could easily buy one, all I see are indoor/outdoor ones...where would I get such a thing, or is that the right type?

My boyfriend has been trying mealworms with a pair of tweezers, as well as leaving them in a bowl, to no avail (that I know of). He's quite good with the tweezers though (the boyfriend), as his bearded dragon was hand fed at this age. Maybe rawr just prefers crickets, like you suggest.

Heater is undertank, and covers about a third of the bottom. Substrate is brown paper towel, humid hide is also papertowel, in a plastic container with an exit. it's kept moist.

I'll consider buying crickets online, but wont it be a problem getting them in canada? The beardie does love her giant crickets already and you're right...we do call her "big pig" from time to time


Light is about 12 hours I'd guess, though a UV light that was bought with the tank (yes, I know they don't need it, it's a second hand tank and it lights up the tank nicely). We turn off the lights and let the room glow into it about 20 mins before feeding time, because he is albino and can see better in that "evening" light.

No drafts in the room and the room temperature is cooler than I'd like it to be. We'll be talking about me moving him to my apartment when I get home. It's much warmer there, and I'm closer to the reptile store for crickets.
 
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sylorna

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Tonights update!
Rawr ate 2 crickets tonight! We're on the right path yet again.

would still like to know about the crickets and thermometers though, so I can be a better mom.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Sylorna

As for the temperature, it seems that I am in the position of having a gauge type that says "77f" in the cool section. When looking for "digital thermometers" online...like at Futureshop where I could easily buy one, all I see are indoor/outdoor ones...where would I get such a thing, or is that the right type?
Like this http://www.reptilesupply.com/product...roducts_id=392
They cost $7-$10 at petsmart. You can also go to walmart and look for in indoor/outdoor digital thermometer, but it must have a probe that you can put down on the surface of the warm end.
- I suspect temp could very well be your problem.

Originally Posted by Sylorna

He's quite good with the tweezers though (the boyfriend), as his bearded dragon was hand fed at this age. Maybe rawr just prefers crickets, like you suggest.
No mealies for bearded dragons, especially babies, it's a wonder that the lizard survived this.
They're fine for geckos as they can digest the tough skins better then a beardie does. But yes, baby leos tend to like squishy crickets better.
Once your gecko is large enough you should let it try out some superworms - they really pack the weight making a leo get a nice fat tail.

-Heat and substrate checks out. Was it on carpet at the store or was it on sand?
Originally Posted by Sylorna

I'll consider buying crickets online, but wont it be a problem getting them in canada? The beardie does love her giant crickets already and you're right...we do call her "big pig" from time to time
There are lots of Canadian herp owners and obviously your store gets crickets from somewhere. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any of Canadian suppliers, though there are some.

Try leaving the lights off the tank completely and just make sure it gets plenty of ambient light. Some people with albinos have mentioned that because their eyes are lighter and more sensitive to light that it is possible that having a light directly on the cage can stress them. If you need light to see the leo and extra heat you can use a red bulb - make sure it's made for reptiles as the party bulbs (painted) are too bright.

As long as the cage stays the proper temps and there isn't a big change in temp it shouldn't bother the gecko too much.

Edit - just saw the update! Good! and uh oh... you have a picky baby.
 
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sylorna

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Will go looking for thermometer ASAP.

I'm not sure what the beardie was eating when she was a baby, she's about a year and a half now, and has been eating a mix of crickets and worms (super as she's gotten bigger and meal slightly more often) as long as I've known her (about 9 months). Most of the people on my reptile forum feed mealies...that surprises me that they have problems with them.

I can't remember if he was on carpet or sand. Probably carpet, since that's very popular in that particular store (especially for babies).

I'll take the lighting into consideration. I don't remember but I thought I heard that red lights were bad for geckos. If he moves to my house he'll probably be on a more "ambient based" lighting schedule anyway...because I am an energy hog when I'm writing my essays.

Picky babies I can deal with! lol
 

cococat

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Strangewings gave you very good advice for your Leo.
Hope this list helps
Online Canadian Feeders

Ontario
•\thttp://www.canadianfeeders.com (Windsor)
•\thttp://www.canadiansilkworms.com (Toronto)
•\thttp://www.silkworms.ca (Mississauga)
•\thttp://www.recorpinc.com (Erin)
•\thttp://www.globalexoticpets.com (Kitchener)

Alberta
•\thttp://www.bugorder.com (Morinville)
•\thttp://www.arachnophiliacs.ca (Innisfail)

British Columbia
•\twww.timelessspirit.com (Agassiz)
 

cococat

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Also wanted to mention that there are several sites (like this one) devoted to Geckos that you could join

And also for Beardies, Beardies are VERY specific in their care needs, they need certain bulbs and have specific care requirements, joining a forum wouldn't hurt, plus, they are fun
 

strange_wings

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^ More organized that I am!



Sylorna - Which forum are you on? I always suggest Reptile Rooms as it has a very active leo section and very informed beardie keepers (if they're still around..).
http://www.geckoforums.net/ has a lot of informed users and several breeders.

Leos can't see red light, provided that it isn't a bright red that's letting other wave lengths through as well. ESU have super dark red bulbs for their regular shaped bulbs and would work well for just heat. Some complain that Zoomed are too bright, and I can't remember how the exo terras were.
 

cococat

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If you are interested you can get a device that adjusts the temp for you. My reptiles enclosures are on timers, heat, light, everything is adjusted daily without me even having to worry about it. I always check on it, but that way things can stay consistent on the warm and cool sides without me having to worry too much.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...7.2862257&sr=1

You can get digitals very cheap at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart.

Glad to hear you are caring so much about your cute baby.
 
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sylorna

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I'm on reptile ontario, and have looked at reptile rooms...find it overwhelming in size so far.

Thanks for all the links! I had no idea there'd be so many!
 

strange_wings

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RR isn't so bad.
I mostly stick to the turtle, tortoise, and general gecko (when people ask about goldens) sections though.

The leo section is very busy. The amount of young teens that have joined in the last year and their complete lack of any attempt at grammar or spelling can be rather daunting. The mods are usually good at helping and using the search function does provide some good information. There's also a Canadian herp keepers section.
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by Sylorna

I'm on reptile ontario, and have looked at reptile rooms...find it overwhelming in size so far.

Thanks for all the links! I had no idea there'd be so many!
For Beardies, I like this forum. beardeddragon.org, then go to forums
 
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