New gecko and ??

[wafisherman]

I picked up a free gecko off craigs list recently. My first one.

The first thing I noticed about her was her size. I didn't expect her to be so big since the only ones I've seen have been juvies in the pet shops. She's 8inches and built pretty stocky. She appears to have 'normal' markings (still learning all of this). Is 8 inches a standard size for an adult female leo?

I think she is 5 or 6yrs old. She has not been handled much, and does not like to be picked up. But I found that after holding her for a few minutes, she turned into a little puppy dog and seems to like me. She jumps from anyone elses hands who tries to hold her... She does not bite, just makes a little squeak now and then...

Is it common for them not to eat after being moved? She has eaten a few meal worms, but that's it. Won't even consider a Dubia nymph or super. They said she was a terrible hunter and had to stop trying to give her crickets. They fed her mainly from tongs. So maybe she is just very finicky? She seems plump enough...

They had her on reptilite calci type sand. I got her off of it and now has slate with just a small patch of sand.

They never provided a humid hide. They had 2 UTH pads AND a bulb (not sure what type - roundish like a house bulb, but a slight purple color and no markings). Seems way to much heat to me. So right now I 'm just using an infrared light that is on day and night (75W). It is making a 90 degree basking spot, with a cool side of 70ish. Still working on the temps and tweaking things though. She gets natural light (indirect) from a nearby window.

I made her a nice humid hide now. She seems to have some shed around the toes, so I'll try a wet q-tip on those.

Anything else I'm missing? Oh, I put calcium powder with D3 in a tiny dish in the corner.

Thanks

[jrosen123]

When did you get her?

and are you sure SHE is a girl and not a boy, because males are pretty stocky, and are generally big.

Also, I would recommend a UTH on the hotside along with with lamp(Maybe reduce the wattage of the bulb to maintain safe heat)

[wafisherman]

Yes, she is a she
I just got her a buddy. A 9" las vegas giant (supposed...).

Yeah, I'm thinking an UTH would be good as well. I can put the lamp and the UTH on a rehostat and tweak the temps.

[jrosen123]

The reason I was askin when you got her, is because she may be just a little bit stressed from the move, but if you can, try and get her eating crickets and not only wax worms, because wax worms can sometimes be "addictive" in geckos, and they will not like other food as much

you can try "shake and baking" some crickets with the vitamin powder, because it may help get her attention towards the moving crickets

good luck

[wafisherman]

The reason I was askin when you got her, is because she may be just a little bit stressed from the move, but if you can, try and get her eating crickets and not only wax worms, because wax worms can sometimes be "addictive" in geckos, and they will not like other food as much

you can try "shake and baking" some crickets with the vitamin powder, because it may help get her attention towards the moving crickets

good luck

Thanks. She is about 6yrs old. But I just got her a week ago. I won't do crickets. I have supers, waxies, mealworms, and dubias. They said she couldn't catch crickets anyway.

Another question... do you ever soak a leo? Like a beardie for example?

[jrosen123]

I personally have never soaked any of my leos, but I would not say it is out of the question, why do you feel you should soak yours?

is this your first leo?

[wafisherman]

I personally have never soaked any of my leos, but I would not say it is out of the question, why do you feel you should soak yours?

is this your first leo?

Yep, I'm new to leos (any gecko actually).

I was wondering about soaking mainly because she had crawled in some urate and had a little smudge on her. No biggie, just wondered if it was common to give them a little warm bath now and then...

[jrosen123]

I'm not going to recommend it, just because I am not sure what the outcome would be, but in my 10 years of breeding and owning my leos, I have never soaked any of mine.

If you would like to clean the urate smudge a little bit, you can soak a q-tip with warm water and dab it away, or wet your finger, paper towel or anythin not too abrasive and just gently clean her.

So you have decided not to try crickets at all?

[wafisherman]

I hate crickets. Nasty things. I have a dubia colony for my beardie and water dragons. I know of others who feed dubias to geckos. And mealworms and supers should be good. Is there something special about crickets and leos?

[jrosen123]

No, I have just always given my leos a mix of worms and crickets.

If you have dubias all set up and ready for your beardies and water dragons by all means do what is easiest for you.

Just remember to dust with calcium