Hello Leo fans, I've been lurking here for a while and thought it was time to introduce myself (now that I've finally got a pic or two). I'll do the formal blurb with much more later on (I think there's an intro forum, right?). In the meantime, here's the 411: I've got two Leopard Geckos I bought about a month ago, as juveniles..came as a pair, weren't sexed at the time but I believe I've got a male (for sure) and a female (will verify asap). I'll give a ton of details later, but for now here's a pic of the setup with one (Krown) coming out... feel free to blast me about items and so on.. so far no impaction probs, the smaller of the two was a bit finnicky for a while but (she's?) eating well now, and they seem really happy (and I am too!). More coming, I've gotta run..by the way, my name's Leslie (duh!) and I'm a guy. Happy Herping...
P.S. the pic attachment may be horrible..had to size it down to upload, sorry

Attached Images

setup.jpg (22.5 KB, 35 views)

HI Leslie,,,,,welcome to Herpcenter. I too am a slave to the Leo's,,,,among other things. Have fun and happy posting !!!

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Welcome to Herpcenter. WE are so glad u joined. Feel free to post lots of pics.

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MARSHA

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

Welcome to Herp Center....hope you enjoy yourself....Lyn

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

welcome to hc leslie, this is not to make you angry but is that substrate calci sand?

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The more you whine, the worse it will get.

Hello,
Welcome to Herp Center! I was wondering if that was calci sand as well.

welcome to Herp Center. can't wait to see more pics of the Leopard Geckos.

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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

Thanks for the welcome from all :-) it's nice to belong to a forum again. I still have to get over to the Introduction one and say more about myself and so on, and I just uploaded a bunch of pics to my server so I'll eventually give some links or when I update my website. I appreciate all comments and suggestions, and was expecting a few, especially on the substrate as I've been following all these debates for a while. There's quite a long discussion going on with chui'smommy et al about the pro's and con's and I do agree that the sands look more natural (even though yes, they do come from the more rock-based arid habitats). I forget now which brand I bought, it's not the calci-sand one but another well-known one like Haagen or something. I will likely move to something else such as carpet but just wanted to wait 'till my son gets here over the holidays and I also need to decide what I'm going to do. I work at a university (not in Bio) but I studied biology and spent a lot of time observing the reptiles we housed here...I'm support staff and know most of the profs and technicians and like a few people say in other forums, many of these "experts" advised that what I had would be fine, the guy I know from the petstore couldn't care less about the sales, he's a breeder and a naturalist and also went over a lot of the ups and downs and swears by this brand I've got..but I do like to make informed decisions and research things (spent about 3 months investigating herps before buying). So, yes, I'll likely change it within the next few weeks.. but in the meantime, my two new loves seem awesomely happy, poop daily and the "samples" are perfectly normal; since putting the sand in (I used paper towelling for the first while) they are avid burrowers and appear to love to dig and play and work on air/escape routes or whatnot with their hides. They eat well, and I often put my crix in a small container and lay it in the terrarium and they go in and chow down within the holder so they don't get a mouthful of substrate. The calcium you might see in the pics is because a friend was there with her camera and I dropped in a few crix to get them out to feed for her so there are poof marks where they fell..I clean up the areas so it doesn't sit there for them to lick. Nobody asked about a shed container...again, I tried one for a long while and through a few sheds they simply stayed in their own hides and haven't had a single prob yet..the guy at the store says they wouldn't use it there either and many folks I know here have had no problems without one..but I do watch them carefully to make sure and I would mist them if necessary or put the moist hide back (I'll probably try when I redo my substrate). Sorry if I'm rambling on, I'm sure this discussion would be more appropriate in the enclosure forum, but feel free to reply with more concerns. I'm certainly no expert, and I love my pets (friends?), so I do want to do what's best for all.

I'm not sure what you mean by haagen brand, so I couldn't quite know for sure if you use any calcium sand at all. But the SAFEST and more natural looking sand, rather than black would be washed out and sifted playsand. You can get it in any store like home depot for 50 lb's for about 5-0 dollars from what I hear. Ofcoarse you can do various store searches for a different colored sand than the orangish natural look. All you have to do is bake it for a couple hours in the oven to kill all risks of parasites from the sand.

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The more you whine, the worse it will get.

Thanks for the advice MoLdY, I may consider doing that..or I may just go for the carpet (although they seem to love to dig in their hides and lay on a slant with their heads resting at the top of the pile..they seem so content!). I think you're right about Haagen, maybe it was ZooMed, so many names, so much stuff...ok, the terrarium's Haagen, the thermometers..etc... I'm getting overwhelmed :-) And addicted, or enslaved, of course but it's just a given I guess..happens with everything, my fish, piercings, tatoos, the works...get one or a couple, gotta have another, and another.. now I'm asking Santa for a larger tank! Then I'll want a snake, or a different herp. Does it ever end?? I think not ;-) I've got a 30 gal long aquarium, and I'm wondering if I eventually transfer my fish to something else..can it be cleaned up enough to house herps or would there be too much residual algae and whatnot...can we use cleaning solutions to scrub down or sterilize something that's been used for fish for years and safely keep reptiles in it? Thanks for the advice folks!