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  1. #11
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    Thanks Cheese, yeah - BTS are on my wish list (so are red ackies OMG they are awesome), but man they are hard to find! I've found one breeder that does not import and she's got a 2 year wait list. I also love the beardies that I've fostered, but right now (and for the foreseeable future) I just don't have the space.
    If I have an animal, it's got to have the biggest cage I can afford - The one I re-homed went to someone with a 125 gal aquarium. I had been fostering a corn snake a while back in a 40 gal tank and felt like she was super-super cramped. She was nearly 5 feet long and far more active than the ball python. So the leos just seem perfect.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


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  3. #12
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    Everything else has pretty much been said.

    But on the topic of food:
    Mealworms are great! I feed my Leo's mealies with an occassional dubias snack for the ones who actually eat them. A couple have been picky.

    Vitamin deficiencies are also on Vitamin A and B(iirc) as well as the far more common calcium deficiency. Symptoms for that are usually eye problems, big swollen eyebrows and eye infections. I mix a little bit of the all purpose reptile vitamins in with my calcium. You can leave the dish in there 24/7. Every now and then, drop a few mealies in there to make sure they do eat the vitamins, but most are good enough to eat them on thier own.

    Substrate:
    If you are using a loose substrate, dry coconut fiber is what I reccomend. It's pretty fine and passes digestion fairly easily for them. Mine rarely eat it since I feed mealies from a dish . Still keep an eye on the feces tho. If they look like coco fiber turds, back to tile or paper with them. Better safe than sorry.

    I never use sand unless it's a very fine dust in a 'display' cage. The main substrate there is slate rocks and large river stones. The sand is just a little bit to get the crevices in the slate rocks. The natural habitat for these guys are rocky deserts, not Sandy ones. Again... always check the poop. If they're eating the sand, out with it.
    Last edited by Armiyana; 11-28-2018 at 02:36 AM.

  4. #13
    BPnet Senior Member Lord Sorril's Avatar
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    And 11. Should I quarantine my Leopard Gecko?

    Yes-Yes you should. Leopard Geckos are vectors for many reptile pathogens.
    *.* TNTC

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  6. #14
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    I will be doing a 90 QT without sign of illness. I plan on per-treating the cage with mite spray, and possibly wiping down the beast as well upon arrival. I will also be doing a fecal test for parasites and is anything is or becomes weird, I can run some bloodwork as well. Everything I get has a QT period, always have been thorough with de-worming following protocol even for my goldfish when I was into them lol.

    But out of curiosity can lizards and snakes share viruses? (like ferrets how can get both feline or canine distemper) - I have spent all my time so far on nutrition and husbandry, haven't gotten to pathology yet
    Last edited by Crowfingers; 11-28-2018 at 09:44 PM.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


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  8. #15
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    Quote Originally Posted by Crowfingers View Post
    I will be doing a 90 QT without sign of illness. I plan on per-treating the cage with mite spray, and possibly wiping down the beast as well upon arrival. I will also be doing a fecal test for parasites and is anything is or becomes weird, I can run some bloodwork as well. Everything I get has a QT period, always have been thorough with de-worming following protocol even for my goldfish when I was into them lol.

    But out of curiosity can lizards and snakes share viruses? (like ferrets how can get both feline or canine distemper) - I have spent all my time so far on nutrition and husbandry, haven't gotten to pathology yet
    I'm sure they share some parasites but not most viruses... Lizards and snakes are related but have branched off in the evolution tree so far away from each other, along with most viruses and other pathogens evolving with their corresponding species, it is highly unlikely. Like feline distemper (I believe is related to the dog parvovirus) cannot transmit to canines, although both are dangerous and can be fatal to its hosts.

    I am not sure about the mites. Lizards do carry their own mites, not the same as snake mites. However, for a leo, they have no scales: it is all skin with little bumps. If there is a sucker on it, it would be very difficult to miss. Hence, I know no leo owners, and most lizard owners in general, treating for mites in advance. Just don't see the benefit in it and there is a risk of harm to them if any mite spray residue is left behind because most lizards, including leos, LICK their environment. They get to know what is around them by taste. That is why any loose substrate is a bad idea: they will lick it with their sticky tongue and swallow whatever they touched. So I personally would not recommend pretreating the tank for the Leo.

    Same for intestinal parasites. Almost all lizards carry some in them as long as they eat live insects. Good news is that healthy lizards keep them in check on their own. Crickets are notorious for carrying pinworms but all insects are susceptible to any worms. The general rule in lizard care for intestinal parasites is: leave it alone unless the parasite load is too much and causing discomfort or illness in the lizard. If you give the wrong dosage of dewormers, you can make your lizard very sick. Staying too long on the dewormer can also make it very sick. Even after your lizard is off the dewormer, it can feel so unwell it won't eat for several more days. Some vets who claim to know reptiles make terrible mistakes in wanting to rid all of the parasites by aggressively dosing the poor lizard. The truth is, if your lizard poops look good, it is eating and shedding, it is fine. If your lizard is sick to begin with, then after it recovers, checking for and cutting down the parasite load will help. Just don't buy online OTC Panacur and try to DIY. The wrong dosage can kill your lizard. An experienced lizard vet must make that dose for you.

    I do a 30-day QT for all of my lizards. Usually you can tell from the start if you have a healthy or sick lizard. Watch how it eats : is it excited about its food or lacks interest? Is it alert when you try to pick it up? I normally avoid buying from any pet store that houses them in sand in case they already swallowed some sand.

    Make sure you have 3 hides: 2 normal hides plus a humid hide. One normal hide and humid hide on the warm side and the other normal hide on the cool side.

    If you decide to buy online feeders, I highly recommend Mulberry Farms. They also sell silk worms when they have it in stock or you can grow your own.

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  10. #16
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    Thanks so much. I have no other lizards so at least that is a plus. I'll be sure to house it as far as possible from my bp and avoid sharing contact with my hands / clothes in any case. So far I intend to go to the next reptile show in March as long as I find a breeder that is attending that I get a good feel for. They don't put the vendor list out until the week before or so, and I'd like to meet the lizard first in person. There is one online breeder that I would trust, but its more a gamble as to what personality I'd get. They do a ton of animals and don't have time to handle them all, so I'd like to find one that has at least had some human contact beyond feeding.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


  11. #17
    Registered User TayKiren's Avatar
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    Re: toying with the idea of Leos

    Hi! I know this is a somewhat old thread and I don't know whether you've decided to get a leo or not, but I'd like to add one thing: Leave pure calcium WITHOUT D3 in the cage at all times, as leopard geckos can overdose on D3

    Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

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