(Part 2) Top products from r/leopardgeckos

EDIT: Reptiles by mack has questionable feedback, ignore my recommendation for them!

We had a similar kind of problem with our very first gecko, but not as extreme. We'd only had him for a week and since day 1 he'd been acting like he had parasites (regurgitating constantly, not pooping at all, no drinking, etc), so we thought about it for a long time and eventually decided to return him (back to petco). It didn't feel good to send him back, but you'll feel a lot better once you have a healthy and happy gecko. The difference between our first gecko and our current little guy (who's from a breeder) is astounding, behavior-wise and overall wellness.

If you're worried about potential diseases or parasites being transmitted to the new gecko then definitely disinfect/sanitize the cage and its furniture with a reptile safe cleaner. I picked up some stuff called Nolvasan from our local herp shop and apparently it's on Amazon too! http://www.amazon.com/Fort-Dodge-104032-Nolvasan-Disinfectant/dp/B00061MT1Q I'd recommend it. It seems to have a good background and is safe for the animals of course. We disinfected our entire cage after having our first possibly infected gecko and it was easy. I was told that it's fine for killing parasites that may have been around but there are mixed reviews online. It certainly kills any bacteria, fungi, and viruses, so I think you'd be fine. Bleach is a bit much but that'll definitely kill ANYTHING in there.

Personally, if a breeder mislabeled their geckos age AND sent me a sickly one then I wouldn't offer them my business again. I'd return the gecko and search for a different breeder. Of course it could've been a fluke but I still would search elsewhere.
I recommend Reptiles by Mack http://www.reptilesbymack.com/leopard-geckos.aspx and Snakesatsunset http://www.snakesatsunset.com/leopard-geckos-for-sale/ . We got ours from Reptiles by Mack and he arrived very healthy, albeit a bit skittish (but babies are generally like that anyway), and he ate the same night. They've got a HUGE variety of morphs, which was nice! Snakesatsunset has great reviews and I really like that they're not a huge operation. You'd get a quality gecko from them, I believe.

Anyway, I think it's a good idea to send Haku back :( In my opinion, you should just get a refund and get your new gecko from a different breeder. It'd be nice to disinfect the cage too in case Haku had anything. I look forward to seeing updates!

In adult geckos, sand is probably less likely to cause impaction. However, the risk is still there. There are other problems with sand as well, it can cause shedding issues and possibly eye and respiratory issues. It's really not worth the risk, especially considering it's not really even their natural substrate.

As for the females housed together thing, yes, you can housed females together, but it's not recommended. Issues may still occur. Leos are solitary creatures and are always best when housed alone, the only benefit is human convenience. Like sand, cohabitation is another thing that's just not worth the risk.

A lot of guides and care sheets have some inaccurate information, in fact, I'd say most I've seen have something that should be changed. You really have to sort through all the information and facts and figure out what's right, there's a lot of misinformation out there and you really can't trust just one source (though as far as sources go, the care sheet in the sidebar of this sub is one of the best I've seen).

*****

Anyways, onto your original question. Not too bad, the hat's certainly... resourceful. It does look a tad cramped, can't tell what size it is from the picture but you might want to upgrade eventually. More space makes it easier to fit everything you need to in, plus extra room for the leo to roam. Space saving hides are great in the meantime, bulk-free hides (like coconut hides and paper towel rolls) and hides that fit right up against the wall are great.

Some things are harder to tell from pictures. Temperatures, particularly. If those things on the glass are the only thermometers you're using, you'll want new ones. Those are measuring ambient temperatures, and you need to measure floor temps. Use a thermometer with a probe or a temp gun. Also I can't tell for sure if you're using an under tank heater from the pictures, but a UTH is a must. Otherwise I'd just suggest that you check out the care sheet in the sidebar, maybe stick around the sub, and in general just keep learning and improving.

A couple of quick questions. How is her warm side heated? Under-tank heating is pretty much required, but supplemental heat from lights or a CHE can be added as needed. Be sure to monitor the temps for a couple days after adding supplemental heat, to make sure you aren't overheating your leo. You can get a lamp dimmer from Home Depot (or maybe even Wal-mart) to dial back the heat as needed.

How are you monitoring temperatures? I strongly recommend an infrared temp gun to measure surface temps rather than air temps. Especially on the warm side, surface temps are the most important--leos absorb heat through their belly to power their digestive process. As you know, insufficient surface temps will slow or halt digestion, and your leo will not eat.

How does Luna look? Is she stick thin, or a little fat? Post a picture if you can. If her weight is good, she's fine to go a week or two without food. Perhaps she doesn't need to eat as much as you're trying to feed her, and she's rejecting food because she isn't hungry? If she looks healthy enough for it, give her a dish of mealworms (don't let crickets run loose in her enclosure--they will bite her and cause infection) and otherwise don't feed her. If everything else is good, she will eventually get hungry and eat the food available.

Remember, as cold blooded animals, reptiles don't need to burn calories to maintain their body temps. Therefore, they can eat a surprisingly small amount. Growing hatchlings and juveniles actually eat far more than adults.

Depending on the time of year you could make such a better setup yourself for a either a little cheaper or more or less the same price. Here's a little shopping list, some points have reasons by them.

• PetCo's 20 Gal Long Aquarium
  
  • During certain times of year you'll be able to get this in a sale called the Dollar Per Gallon sale. It'll be worth-while to DM them on Twitter and ask when it'll become available for your state.
    
  • Price: $39.99 + $13.00 for the lid. Sale Price: $20.00 + $13.00 for the lid. --- $33.00
    
• 11"x11" UTH/Heat Mat.
  
  • A heat pad is crucial piece of your enclosure as it'll make it super easy for your little friend to get his stomach to the necessary temperature to digest food - (90F). for $10.00 this seems like an adequate purchase.
    
  • Price: $9.56
    
• Thermostat
  
  • A thermostat is mandatory. You will need one whether you go down the light route or the heat-mat route. You'll use the probe on this device to stop the heat mat from exceeding 90F as much higher may cause significant burns.
    
  • Price: $16.59
    
• 3 Hides. Cool Hide | Humid Hide | Hot Hide
  
  • 3 Hides is the recommended minimum. Humid hide should be half-on the heating pad in order to raise humidity. This is easily achievable with a 20 gal-long... much harder with a 10 gal.
    
  • Price: $30-50
    
• Supplements -> Multivitamin | Calcium + D3
  
  • These two supplements are mandatory. Both will last you atleast half of the reptiles life time. I ordered 500g of Calcium powder to be used between my three Geckos and I've not even touched the surface in 3 years.
    
  • Price: $25.00
    
    Decor/Plants/Bowls can be added if and when necessary. Substrate can be of your choice, as this is your sons reptile I'd avoid the loose-route for now. This brings our grand total to, roughly, $114.59 - Preshipping at the cheapest route. You can knock a few dollars off of this if you manage to find some cheaper hides and cheaper supplements. Since I'm in the UK I couldn't find the products that I'd normally use as supplements, ours are a lot cheaper - seemingly.
    
    ​
    
    If you need any more help/advice you're more than welcome to reply or PM me.

We actually only have one of these at the moment. We bought the tank and accessories off someone on craigslist and at the time thought it was adequate. I'll be stopping by petco later today to pick up a thermometer that can read the belly temp. She does have an UTH that feels nice and warm to me but definitely going to get that thermometer just to be sure. Thanks for the advice!

Woke up this morning to find that she'd pooped a niiiice big log, although she still wouldn't eat more than one worm. Maybe she's too sleepy. I'm definitely less worried now though.

Once you have a under tank heater, it will probably be warm enough that you won't need the lamp. I'd also get a thermostat, in my experience heat pads will be 10-20 degrees above where I want them depending on what substrate I'm using (With slate tile it's 95 on full blast, with paper towels/news paper it will get up to 110). You could also just use a lamp dimmer from Lowes/Home Depot attached to the UTH.

Lamps will raise the ambient temperatures more and UTHs will directly heat the ground, which is what leos need, so they're always the best choice. You'll want to get a reliable thermometer that measures ground heat. So, a digital thermometer with a probe or a temp gun. Temp guns are great and can be bought at home improvement stores (but they're cheaper online). The warm side should be around 90 and the cool side should be around 75.

Do you know their sexes? Leos can only be housed together if they're both females and very similar in size. Males will fight and males with females can breed and/or fight. Even if they are both females, I'd be very careful. Bullying can happen even with females, and sometimes it's hard to see the signs because reptiles' social cues are way different than humans. They really always do best when housed alone. If you do choose to house them together, I'd double your hides. Two cool hides, two warm hides. The more hides there are, the less chance of fighting there is.

edit: forgot to say, yes that UTH should be fine. A rule of thumb is that it should cover about a third of the bottom of the tank.

I found it at my local reptile store, but amazon has it too

One minor issue I have is the suction cups, but I have newer, stronger ones coming in the mail to be more secure. As you can see, I put it on top of his warm hide and he handles it safely.

I know a lot of people have commented, but if you're not using supplementation, start using ReptiCalcium w/D3 and w/out D3 by dusting his food each meal. If you are, please take him in for a checkup, he looks very underweight and could have something like parasites. Action sooner rather than later could extend the life of your pet :)

I just got a young Leopard Gecko about a week and a half ago. He was eating consistently up until 3 days ago. I have him in a 30 inch 20 gallon tank with a Zoo-Med under tank heater + coconut fiber.
I was using a red 100 watt heat light for the first week, but realized that was probably overkill. I now have a 12 watt white UVB light in there, but the temperatures haven't managed to stay consistent like they had. I think that's why he's not eating?

I purchased a heat mat thermostat ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LBGWMV9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_poPIDb1DAT35P ) but despite setting it to 90-94, I haven't gotten a temperature reading above 80 Fahrenheit. The day after I made the change, he started ignoring any mealworms or crickets I stuck in his tank.

Should I buy a new thermostat or higher output white light? Does he just need more time to adjust? His tail is thinning a bit and it has me worried. Thank you guys in advanced, this is my first lizard and I want to make sure it has the best life it can

No worries at all, undertank heater, especially with a wooden ebclosure would want a thermostat just so it doesnt burn. What Ive done ia actually put the heat pad (you can buy these in stores buy Ill make sure to link one) and put tile over it. Tile is a lot safer and ironically more natural to them (arid rocky desert, not really sandy) and will conduct the heat well. To measure temp youll want a digital prob thermometer or what i ususlly recommend more so is a temp gun (will also link). Knowing temps is really important since all their metabolic functions depend on them. You want a 88-90 warm aidd and a 75f cool side. This allows them to regulate themselves.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=heat+pad+reptile

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019TRGYW2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503263283&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=temp+gun+for+reptiles&dpPl=1&dpID=41Y5W8Q-7aL&ref=plSrch


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=theromostat+for+reptiles

So would the heat mat thermostats work with the lamp, and for the dimmer do you mean something like this? Thanks for all your help.

This is what I feed her
https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-1-2-Ounce-Freeze-Dried-Crickets/dp/B0002DRJDG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OEX3N98TKKR&keywords=freeze+dried+crickets+for+leopard+geckos&qid=1568307646&sprefix=freeze+dried+cri%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-3
and it claims that they have been gut loaded and the reviews seem pretty positive overall

Of course! I went through a few, but this is the one from my post (and the best one I've bought so far): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076H3SRXG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dg4kDb8283C81

Wyze Cam v2 1080p HD Wireless Smart Home Camera with Night Vision, 2-Way Audio, Free Cloud, for iOS and Android (US Version) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076H3SRXG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JTTwCbYM3C7S1

Hi all,

So I did something not so smart and bought a gecko from petsmart. I had done research beforehand and while doing some research on supplies, ran across this guy (not named yet), and found him too cute to resist. This was about two weeks ago. I'm not sure how old he is, but he's about 4 inches long at the moment.

Before you comment on my hygrometer reading, the picture was taken right after I set up/misted the tank. It is currently and normally at ~40% humidity. I have a 10 gallon tank with warm, cool, and moist hides, and the surface temperature on the warm side is in the mid 90s.

Onto my actual concern: Should I be worried about indigestion? So I've been feeding him crickets, and he eats about 2-3 every night. I also leave a bowl of mealworms in the tank, which he's only touched twice when I came home later than his usual feeding time. However, I notice that he is pooping irregularly. He was pooping the first three days I got him, and now it's only every other day. I've also noticed that the poop seems drier than it was before, and possibly pieces of undigested cricket shells and some white stuff that might be extra calcium powder? I know geckos need belly heat to digest properly but this gecko really likes to climb things. If he is done eating or pooping, he immediately climbs up into his hide and doesn't come out. He also seemed pretty shy and I would have to leave the crickets, turn off the lights, and come back later to take out the extra. It's not too hot on the warm side, and he never uses his cool hide, so I guess he just likes to be in total darkness. But is this an issue that affects digestion? The only time I've seen him actually sit on the warm side after eating was the one time I caught him eating and snatched the tree away (terrible, I know).

I've removed the tree hide because I have a problem with him climbing up and never coming down, like this. It was a problem for me in terms of cleaning the terrarium, so I've recently replaced it with a rock hide so he has his total darkness but I can secretly peek too, and he loves it. But once again he's climbing up onto the upper shelf asap, and I haven't seen poop yet after two days. He came out of the rock just now (noon) and walked over to his usual pooping corner, looked around and opened his mouth a few times (didn't make sounds though), made some jerky movements with his head, then crawled back into his rock. I'm worried about possible constipation. It's probably not impaction since I've been using a carpet and not sand. How bad does this look? Should I wait it out or try to find a vet asap?

edit: holy crap that was long. Tl;Dr Gecko doesn't like to use heat pad for belly warmth and isn't pooping regularly. Should I be worried?

Sure! The bulb I use 13 W Exo Terra Repti-Glo 5.0 Compact Fluorescent: https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Repti-Glo-Fluorescent-Terrarium/dp/B00101JI2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472851211&sr=8-1&keywords=exo+terra+uvb+100

And a 5.5 inch dome lamp, the brand doesn't matter. This fluker's one is nice though cause it has a dimmable switch! https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Clamp-8-5-Inch-Ceramic-Dimmable/dp/B003H200QC/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1472855742&sr=8-18&keywords=reptile+lamp

Really appreciate the reply! Was unsure about a regular lamp dimmer, had been looking at this one on Amazon, so it's good to know something similar will work. Thanks again.

I really recommend a lamp and che over the heating pad. It basically doesn't do anything on the side of the tank. It's designed to warm surfaces not the air unfortunately. If your heating pad on the bottom doesn't have a thermostat it needs one too! They can get to 120F unregulated. I use this thermostat on all my heating pads.

For a ceramic heat emitter I use this bulb and this lamp

Not sure about the best scale, but this is the one I ordered. It even has a little bin you can put your gecko in to weigh it, that is also a part of the case for the scale. It's pretty small though, the scale will weigh up to 1,000 grams, but I'll have to use a bigger container to weigh her in when she's bigger.

These bowls are awesome. If I'm not hand-feeding, I just throw a bunch in there and they cannot escape.

Exo Terra Reptile Den, Medium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AR5BU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RLPBDb53G529P

I got mine off of Amazon here :)

you can easily find them online just by searching “leopard gecko plush” heres one i found on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Adore-Leopard-Stuffed-Animal-Plush/dp/B07P75C9GJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=leopard+gecko+plush&qid=1570707838&sr=8-1

Looks like this one. I think they are designed so mealworms can't get out.

Zoo Med Mesh Reptile Hammock, 17.5-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQDKO/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_1LZ4yb5DWJ438

For ten gallon tank

T Rex skull: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OQPYOJS/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_f8KLDbR8M2K5R

Dinosaur eggs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KSKO508/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_C9KLDb89DAMVN

Cave:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1EOR0K/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_h-KLDbSSN9RG3

Platform: https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habitats-and-decor/habitat-decor/all-living-things-slate-basking-platform-37985.html?cgid=500116

Cork hide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVC8SC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_acLLDb5GZK5B4

I got mine off amazon, ill get you a link

Edit: Heres the link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001OVGPN0/ref=psdcmw_2975518011_t2_B0002AQDKO