Hey im new to this site and new to lizards I had an iguana when I was younger and that experience didnt end well with the death in only the first week. I just bought a baby tremper albino leopard gecko (T-Rex) from a local pet palace and she seems to be healthy and active, she has a yellow and purplish banding and pinkish skin tone with nice red eyes she is about the length of my palm from nose to tail the tail is nice and plump given she is just a baby. I have done some research and set up a new 10 gallon tank with a small mulch substrate, a half log for the hide on the dry side 60w basking bulb (off at night) with 24 inch incondecent tropical bulb (off at night) (85-90 degrees), a good climbing branch in the middle and a plastick drinking stone on the cool side (78-80 degrees). I have read some threads and have some questions.

Questions:
I wasnt sure when my gecko was fed so I let her settle into her new tank the first night. The next day I bought live crickets with powder gutload and waxworms. I put 5 crickets in the tank after shaking them in the gutload. I came home from work and they were still in the tank. That night I tried to feed her a waxworm. The next morning the food was not eaten. It has been three days now since I fed her the crickets and I still see 3 of them in the tank moving around the wax worm dissapeared possibly eaten (hopefully) or might have burried in the mulch. Today I put another waxworm in the tank on a tupperwear top and it has not been touched.

Should I worry yet? the food is available along with clean water I have become comfortable picking her up and holding her in my open palm without her scrambling out of fear. I am concearned she is stressed and wont eat.

Is it a good idea to switch to can-o-crickets can-o-worms or another alternate food source? or should I feed her more of the live crickets and try to monitor any food consumption?

I apprecieate any answers to my questions I really would like to have this little guy for sometime and watch her grown into the cool looking lizards these things are...

Welcome to Herp Center.

Do you have heat on for her at night..like a human heat pad or Under Tank Heater? I would also get rid of the substrate and put her on paper towels until she is a juvie. Do no leave food in the tank all day. Crickets like to nibble and will eventually start nibbleing on your gecko. You also need a moist hide for her. Give her a few more days, she may still be stressed or if not using heat at night, try adding that and it may increase her appetite. To gut load, you need to feed the gutload to the crickets a few hours before you feed them to your gecko, shaking them in a bag, then feeding is not gutloading

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Welcome to HC Network...congrats on your new little leopard gecko. I completely agree about changing the mulch to newspaper...they can easily also ingest it and become impacted...I simply use newspaper for all my reptiles...and some use fine play sand as substrate for adult leopard geckos...I would lay off the handling for about a week to let her get used to her new home...and I suggest guloading the crickets 24 hrs before feeding them....she will also need a moist hide for when she sheds...and a small dish for calcium powder she can lick at her convenience....hope this helps....good luck and let us know if you have any other questions....

__________________
Warmest Regards from Lyn

Hello,

You should setup your leo exactly as I have outlined in this caresheet:

Leopard Gecko Caresheet

If you correct the Leopard Geckos habitat, and allow him to rest a bit, he will likely begin eating. he is stressed and your setup is less than adequate for the little fellow.

__________________

thank you everyone for the responses. Im going to switch the substrate this afternoon when I get home from work to paper towles. I am still wondering about the lighting and heating. I keep a peel n stick thermometer in the middle of the tank that reads 85-90 degrees when the basking lights on I also have a 20 inch 25microwatt UVB bulb on during the day. currently at night I do not use a light source so this means no heat. but my room temp around 70degrees.

Should I do something different with the lighting? i have heard heat pads were good in many threads but the guy in the petstore told me these lights are better probably because they are more expensive.

If my gecko is about 3 1/4 inches long is it a baby?

how shallow should the drinking dish be?

Should I let my gecko (Rex) settle in witht the new substrate or should I try to feed her this evening in the new substrate?

Also I am curious should I remove the climbing branch because it takes up a decent amount of room? but some nights Rex likes to relax on a branch and check things out from above.

The tape thermometer you are using is worthless. It reads the temperature of the glass it is stuck to, not the temperature inside the tank. Go get you a good digital thermometer about 10 bucks at your local gardencenter or hardware shop.
Some Pet stores will tell you anything to make a sale.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Hello,

If the branch isn't too high, it can be left in. I don't use them however. (I own 12 leopard geckos). The UV Light was a ploy. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal and do not require UV lighting. The under tank heaters are great. They don't heat the enclosure, but they create a great basking spot for the Leopard Geckos. Normally you would place a hide over the side of the tank where the heat pad is attached. (They attach to the underside of the tank.)

At 31/4" long, it is very young or very malnourished.

The water dish doesn't need to be deep. As far as feeding, you can use a shallow dish and toss some mealworms and waxies in there. The leo can then eat them as he wants them. If you use this method, you could add them tonight.

Once the temps are adequate, and the substrate changed, he will start feeling more comfortable.

__________________

If she likes the branch than I would keep it. My leo, Ducky, likes to climb up on her moist hide box and lay there. She also tries to climb up a little fake plant I have in her tank as a decoration.

I don't see why you shouldn't offer food again tonight. I offer my leo food every night. She is no longer a baby but definately still a juvenile. If my leo doesn't eat her crickets within an hour or so after I put them in her tank, I remove them. Ducky will not eat anything that is not wiggling or moving! She also will not eat out of a bowl or dish. It has to be on the the paper towel and moving.

I am not all that experienced, I have only had my leo since February. But most others on here will give you awesome advice!

__________________
Kelly

My pets:
Leopard Gecko ~ Ducky
Rabbit ~ Chester
Kitten ~ Lil Fang
Black Bear Hamster - Charlie
Parakeet ~ Ray
Eastern Box Turtle ~ Ollie
Hermit Crab ~ Mr. Crabs
Teddy Bear Hamster ~ Poppy RIP 7/12/07

Its been four days since ive had little Trex in my home in her tank I did not change the substrate to paper towles I went to the pet store and the guy in there told me to bring the little fella in and they will take her for a few days and try to get her to eat something. Right now my gecko is relaxing on one of the branches to the climbing log but no feed has been touched. I dont have a black bulb on because the bulbs keep blowing 25 watts I am worried so im taking her to the pet store tomorrow to hopefully get her eating. I am just worried she will become stressed if I mover her and then in a few days take her back but I will give it a try.. any suggestions I know people have replied but I told the pet store and they told me the substrate is fine that is what they use in zoos the same brand and everything as far as lighting it is needed because it acts as natural UV lighting for sunlight and the basking bulb is better than the heat pad because geckos get there heat from above sun light so I am still lost I am recieving contradiction from my sources I dont know what to do I am still very new at caring for lizzards, including my little gecko

Of course they did, because its a product that the store sells. I have never seen a zoo enclosure for leopard geckos set up with a mulch substrate. Soil and rocks, yes, but not mulch.
Leopard Geckos are nocturnal and so would not be moving around out in the sun much.
Again Leopard Geckos are nocturnal.

Pet stores are in business and in order to do that they push the products that they carry. Some are straight up with you but others will tell you anything to get you to make a purchase. I've seen the best and the worst!
One thing you can do to save yourself a lot of confusion is to find out what the animal's life is like in the wild. A little thinking will lead you in the right direction.
For instance the fact that leopard geckos live in an arid, desert type of situation. There would not be anything like mulch there. That would be found in a forested enviroment due to leaves and other plant material dropping. Leopard Geckos would be found on packed dirt and rock.
As for heat, the heat does come from above during the day while leopard geckos are sleeping in their burrows. After sundown when the geckos are awake and moving around the heat is radiating from the rocks and ground and the leopard geckos are getting the warmth thru their bellies.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!