# First time Leopard Gecko advice



## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

Hi,

I've just recently bought a leopard gecko. I've had her about three days now and I just have a couple of concerns and potentially dumb questions that I want to ask.

Firstly she hasn't eaten anything at all in the three days I've had her but from what I hear this is normal due to the stress of moving, her viv cooling down while moving etc.

I have a tub of Hoppers ready to feed her when she is ready however I was wondering if they could potentially grow too big for her while waiting? From what I have read, hoppers are basically Locusts that are not yet mature. I was in the pet shop the other day and noticed a tub labelled Locusts and they were some 3 inches in length. Now the hoppers I have are nowhere near that, they are only about an inch in length but I was wondering how long it takes them to grow? I'm not sure if they are already to big for her, I put one in her viv last night (she is fully grown by the way and about 3 years old) and she stalked it a little then got up close to it licked it and then walked off. Could this be solely due to not wanting to eat due to stress or as the hopper is potentially to big?

I've also read that it is not good to keep live feed in her viv with her if she doesn't eat but then others saying that only applies to Crickets as they will take bites out of her and Hoppers should be fine as they are vegetarian. Can anyone please just confirm this for me or should I still take the hoppers out of her vivarium if she doesn't eat them?

Also I have a quick question about the heat of her vivarium. I have a head mat down and also a lamp. The lamp is supposed to only be there to help her notice the difference between day and night (I have a red tinted bulb for night and a clear/green tinted bulb for the day) however the heat from the lamp is causing the thermometer to raise to about 35 deg C. If the lamp is not on the temperature falls to about 20 deg C. I'm currently using the green lamp throughout the day and then at night I use the red bulb until I sleep and then turn off the lamp completely when i'm asleep. Could this cause the viv to be going to cold? Should I leave the red lamp on all night, or could this cause the vivarium to be getting to hot? Both the lamp and heat mat are on the right hand side of the viv though even the left hand side of the tank but the air all around the viv feels very warm.

Thanks in advance
Michael.


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## magick (Aug 18, 2009)

My thoughts in brackets.



taeleon said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've just recently bought a leopard gecko. I've had her about three days now and I just have a couple of concerns and potentially dumb questions that I want to ask.
> 
> ...


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## esp121281 (Oct 26, 2009)

Maybe doesnt like hoppers could explain the tongue flick and leave. I have to keep changing what I feed mine cus they will do this when they are bored of what im feeding them. Have you got a stat attached to the bulb to regulate the temp? If so put the sensor on the substrate at the hot end under the bulb and set the stat to about 90f this will cut power to the bulb when it gets to temp and stop over heating 

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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

do you know what she was fed before you got her?
a lot of people use mealworms `cause they stay in a dish and are easy to gutlaod. ( you`d give regular sized ones to an adult leo )
if you stick to feed thats will fit between the leos eyes you wont go far wrong.

how are you measureing the temperatures?
with a digital thermometer?
leos like belly heat, it helps them digest their food, have you got the thermometer probe on the top of the heatmat where the leo sits?
you want the temp about 30-32 degrees c there.

if the light bulb is making the temperature go up too much you can change it for one with a lower wattage...or use leds


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## reptileman99 (Jul 28, 2011)

i would say to give her a constant supply of mealworm and every 2-3 days give him/her some crickets as hoppers may be a bit to big 

well thats what i used to do with mine
:thumb::


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

pigglywiggly said:


> do you know what she was fed before you got her?
> a lot of people use mealworms `cause they stay in a dish and are easy to gutlaod. ( you`d give regular sized ones to an adult leo )
> if you stick to feed thats will fit between the leos eyes you wont go far wrong.
> 
> ...



LED's are the best hardly any extra heat given off :2thumb:


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## roddymclaren (Mar 11, 2011)

Not eating normal, mine lick food , ignore it then 10 minutes later go scoff it. Hoppers will be fine. I put veg carrot whatever in viv and also fish pellets they will leave alone, remember a hungry bit of live food is an angry live food. £20 for a mat stat is a must have and lighting I have a 15w bulb on a dimmer. Hope this helps


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## NewtyBoy (Jun 4, 2011)

I think others have covered the bases, so good luck  Dont forget to update us on how you are doing


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

Thanks guys.

Just an update this is what I’m doing/going to do:

With regards to the eating I’ll give her another few days and if she still isn’t eating I’ll just get some smaller hoppers and try her with those. (Previous owners said she doesn’t like Crickets but does eat Hoppers as she is the one who gave me the tub of hoppers when I got her).

I’ve got a lower watt bulb for both day and night and the temp seems to be an acceptable level now as I’m also using a timer for the evening night bulb to be on for an hour then off for an hour etc, which is keeping the temp at a nice 24C. I would have got an LED but the shop I went to don’t sell them, I’d need to order one online I think. The temp is measured by a gauge thermometer which is attached to the heat matt. I also have a regular thermometer at the cooler end of the tank (but this more often than not reads the same as the one attached to the heat matt)


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> Just an update this is what I’m doing/going to do:
> 
> ...


A regular thermometer being one with mercury in it? I wouldn't use that if I was you...if it's exposed image if it managed to break it would be fatal for the Leo if she/he managed to ingest some.

Nav x


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> A regular thermometer being one with mercury in it? I wouldn't use that if I was you...if it's exposed image if it managed to break it would be fatal for the Leo if she/he managed to ingest some.
> 
> Nav x
> 
> ...


Sorry no, I meant a regular one in that it's not hooked up to anything. It's a liquid crystal one that sticks to the wall of the viv.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> Sorry no, I meant a regular one in that it's not hooked up to anything. It's a liquid crystal one that sticks to the wall of the viv.
> 
> image


Ohhhhh that's ok then 

Nav x


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

Day 7 of ownership but day 10 without food.

She has now gone 9 days without eating a single thing. Since I got the lower watt bulbs the ground temperature has cooled a little on the cooler side of the tank while remaining hot on the right side. The air temperature as a whole is still quite warm though, is this normal?

She has now started to come out of her hide a little more, for a while now she has not come out of her hide on the cool side at all (unless she is coming out a bit once I've gone to bed as I sit just a few feet away from her viv normally on my computer). However now I've noticed her half coming out of her hide and watching me through the glass and occasionally taking a quick look around her viv and then going back to the hide. I guess this is an improvement but still means she is not quite used to her new environment?

How much longer should I wait before worrying about her not eating?

Thanks again for the help.


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## sarah.douther (Jul 5, 2011)

Hey!

Not too sure how old this thread is but thought I might offer a little advice.

I got Optimus about 6 weeks ago and panicked for 16 days when he chose not to eat anything.

He was brought up on crickets however wont even touch them any more he eats around 20 mealies every other day and locusts on a Friday :lol2: All dusted and gutloaded.

He didnt hide from me at all - but he is a confident little monkey - thats what me decide which little leo I wanted 

He just didnt eat he drank and had calcium but not a single worm/ cricket / locust / wax worm. In the end I just kept cleaning and changing his water and after the 16 days he finally decided " Am starving am gonna eat something now" :lol2:

And now hes a greedy little monkey... I think they just take a long time to settle in depending on the Leo and their previous environment. 

Optimus now comes out every night, eats all his food and enjoys a bath 

Thies is him now if you fancy a nosey 

IMAG0129 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! 

Hope all is well and what I experienced eases your mind / helps. 

Sarah xoxo


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

sarah.douther said:


> Hey!
> 
> Not too sure how old this thread is but thought I might offer a little advice.
> 
> ...


Aww cute! Lol

Nav x


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## sarah.douther (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks Nav! :2thumb:


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

sarah.douther said:


> IMAG0129 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


He is cute . I got a new light completely. I think the air temp was to hot. I noticed she would constantly stay on the cooler side of the tank. I had a white light for day and a red light for night and even at night she would hide in her cooler hide.

I've now got the Repti Glow tube for the day time and a Moon Glow bulb for night both on timers to switch over at certain times of the day.

Now i'm worried my tank is not hot enough. I have two thermometers in the viv, one on the "cooler" side and one on the "hot" side. They cooler side reads 80 and the hotter side 84. Though I have a heat mat on the hotter side but not sure this is heating up her viv enough. Time will tell though as it's only been set back up (after installing the new light) for about an hour so it might warm back up over night.

I have noticed though that since I put the new moon light lamp in she is out and exploring her viv a lot more and not just sat away in her hide, so good sign there I guess.

Just hoping she will eat something. There are some hoppers in with her now, let's see if they are gone by morning. Wish me luck!


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> He is cute . I got a new light completely. I think the air temp was to hot. I noticed she would constantly stay on the cooler side of the tank. I had a white light for day and a red light for night and even at night she would hide in her cooler hide.
> 
> I've now got the Repti Glow tube for the day time and a Moon Glow bulb for night both on timers to switch over at certain times of the day.
> 
> ...



Are you trying to reach the desired temp through the light and not the heat mat?

Nav


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Are you trying to reach the desired temp through the light and not the heat mat?
> 
> Nav


No, I'm trying to use just the heat mat. The lights I have now don't give off very much heat which is what I wanted as I think the other lights I had where making the ground to hot on the hotter side so she didn't go near it at all, even at night.

I'm just hoping the heat mat warms the ground up enough now.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> No, I'm trying to use just the heat mat. The lights I have now don't give off very much heat which is what I wanted as I think the other lights I had where making the ground to hot on the hotter side so she didn't go near it at all, even at night.
> 
> I'm just hoping the heat mat warms the ground up enough now.


Oh yeah that should be fine then, i take it your controlling it with a habistat?


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Oh yeah that should be fine then, i take it your controlling it with a habistat?


Not at the minute, the shop didn't have any in stock but said they are getting more in tomorrow so i'm going to go back to get one.

I've spent almost as much adjusting the viv as to what I paid for her and the original set up. XD

The original set up had a basking light and heat mat on the hotter side and the basking lamp was on a timer to be on for an hour and then off for an hour. I didn't like that. I wanted something constant which is why I've gone for this new light which doesn't give off heat. The red lamp at night again was on the same adapter as the basking lamp just changed the bulb over, so again didn't like that but use that now for my moon glow blub and on a timer to come on at 8:30 PM and off at 7:00 AM which is when the repti glow light will come on and go off.

It also had a treated log in it but I got rid of that as the Hoppers just kept crawling into the middle of it which was a tight space so the gecko wouldn't have been able to get to them if wanted to, replaced it with a half log which can be climbed on and used as an additional hide.

For her moisture the previous owner used a kitchen cloth, i've taken that out and put in some moss which I put under the half log which is half way between the hot and cold side.

And now tomorrow I'll get a habistat to control the heat mat temperature though i'm not convinced it's all that hot as it is but i suppose my body heat would detract from the temp a little and it would feel a lot hotter to my gecko.

Well no one can accuse me of not trying to be a good owner! XD Lol.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> Not at the minute, the shop didn't have any in stock but said they are getting more in tomorrow so i'm going to go back to get one.
> 
> I've spent almost as much adjusting the viv as to what I paid for her and the original set up. XD
> 
> ...


Haha that's good. I did the same thing for my first set up spent a fortune but all worth it in the long run 

Once you get your habistat youll be able to regulate your temps better, dont trust the dial set the dial to the reading your thermom is giving you. 

You want around 31-33degC hot side (87-91F) and cool side about 24-26degC (75-79F)

Nav


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## taeleon (Jul 28, 2011)

nsn89 said:


> Haha that's good. I did the same thing for my first set up spent a fortune but all worth it in the long run
> 
> Once you get your habistat youll be able to regulate your temps better, dont trust the dial set the dial to the reading your thermom is giving you.
> 
> ...


Habistat: Thermostats & Heat Mats. The climate control Specialists

Would that one be ok do you think?

Also how would you "control" the temperature on the cooler side? This is obviously only for the hotter side.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

taeleon said:


> Habistat: Thermostats & Heat Mats. The climate control Specialists
> 
> Would that one be ok do you think?
> 
> Also how would you "control" the temperature on the cooler side? This is obviously only for the hotter side.


Yeah thats the one I use.

It should generally produce that type of gradient if there is enough ventilation in the Viv  might be a bit warmer at the moment seeing as it's hot lol. But should be ok!

Nav x


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