# First Time Leopard Gecko Owner



## stephxo (Sep 24, 2013)

So I realise now that the post I made should have been made here I just need some advice on care for my new baby gecko as I am a very paranoid person and I like to be reassured on what to do when I'm not given solid information (kind of like what the pet shop gave my mother) because my mother bought me a gecko for christmas because I absolutely love them and have been really wanting one as I have been working with them in college, not sure how ready I was for it though. 

Two things I am concerned about, feeding and the appearance of Toothless' jaw. I'll start with the jaw and that I noticed it looked rather odd compared to other geckos, he is rather young so I am not 100% if this is normal but I don't think it is. It's just Toothless appears to have a funny shaped jaw, haven't been able to get a good look because I want it to settle before I handle it (it because Toothless hasn't been sexed yet) it looks a little wonky but this could just be me because my eyesight unless I am able to get a good look is rubbish, also Toothless has a lot of pattern around the mouth so it is hard to tell, I will get a picture as soon as I can but I have read up and I'm worried that it could be some sort of MBD (baring in mind I am a very paranoid person who will worry about the slightest thing that doesnt seem right when it comes to my animals) So any advice would be appreciated!<3

Second thing is the feeding like I said, when my mother bough toothless she was told to feed two locusts a day or that he can be fed crickets. This is probably a dull question but would it be better to feed in the evening due to Geckos being nocturnal. Also I have read that locusts are fattening and should be given in small quantities (think I read it on the care sheet, might be different for babies though). My mother was given a tub of large hopper locusts and I'm worried these are too big for him, we have put two in earlier however and he ate them both. Also is two locusts a day enough?

Any extra advice that anyone could give that they may think is important and that you think I may not know even if it just the simplest thing go ahead and mention because I don't want to do anything wrong with this little precious! Thanks for all the help<3:flrt: Sorry for the long post<3

Here is a pic I managed to get of Toothless!










Steph xx


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## Neonblack123 (Mar 18, 2013)

A picture of Toothless' jaw may be able to provide an answer to that part. I realise you are giving him/her time to settle in first though.

I'm not too sure regarding the size of the locust but "large hoppers" sound big to me. Generally the insects shouldn't be that much bigger than the width of the geckos head, if I remember right. 

IMO, I would use locust and not crickets. Crickets can have the tendency to bite lizards especially if they do not get eaten right away. You can feed them mealworms too and if you place them in a deep enough bowl, they can't escape.


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## GoatBeans (Aug 21, 2014)

Hey, yeah I agree with Neon. The locust should be no bigger than the width of your Leos head.

My gecko (Harold) had a 'wonky' jaw when he was little but it didn’t stay like that for very long and sorted itself out as he got use to eating and catching his own food. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about yet but keep an eye on it.

I started Harold on crickets but at about 4 months old he stopped eating all together and wouldn’t eat anything but locust. From what I have read Locust seem to be more nutritious for Leopard Geckos and they main reason why crickets are suggested by a lot of people is because generally you get a lot more for your money and for breeders this can mean a significant saving! So i tent to stick to locust and feed him a wax work every now and again for a treat 

Just for advise, Harold had a bit of a problem with shedding because he was so young; he wasn’t removing the skin off his toes properly and if you leaving it too long it will become tighter and tighter until your gecko loses a toe. why to keep an eye on his/her feet during sheading and don’t be afraid to give him/her a soak and help with a cotton bud if needed.
(a lot of people go against the easy sheading sprays but because of the problem Harold had I tried it out; I can honestly say it worked wonders for the tighter skin around his toes)

Hope this helped and good luck!

P.s love the name Toothless!


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Yes you should be feeding more that 2 prey items and they should be the correct size. Those locusts also sound too large to me.Young babies and juvies will have big appetites so a suggestion would be around a dozen insects to start with and what gets eaten within 10 mins is usually a good guide to how much the individual animal will eat.


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## Ba55ca5e (Jul 16, 2011)

I feed a mix of all foods, meal worms, crickets, hoppers and the occasional wax worms. make sure the are all properly gut loaded to give your leo the best nutrition possible. 

regarding the shedding make sure youve got a good moist hide, especially when your leo looks like hes going to shed. 

A pic of his jaw would be helpful


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