So I just got a gecko for the first time about 5 days ago. He's a cool little guy, I named him Romero. He looked pretty healthy to me, and he's about 4-5 inches long (can anyone estimate his age?).

I don't know what morph he is but he is all yellow except his tail witch is grayish with black rings and a hint of orange at the beginning. He has black spots all over his body. His morph probably isn't too special but I love him anyway.

I have some questions too -
How long will it take him to get acclimated to his new 10 gallon home? I handled him a lot the first three days, and I think I stressed him a little bit. He had a slight case of diarrhea, but its getting a little better. I don't know if it's because he's stressed or if I should take him to a vet, but it's getting better.

Everytime I come near his viv he runs and hides in his rock, but if I can catch him he seems pretty calm in my hand, except sometimes he tries to climb down me and onto the floor. Is this all normal?

About his viv. It's 10 gallons with a 25 watt light on one side above the humid hide. I have a big rock for him to climb on the cool side and ai have a calci dish and water dish. During the day the temp only gets to the high 80's and at night the mid 70's. Every night I feed him 3-4 crickets. Am I doing everything right?

Thanks

Have our care sheet, it will answer most of your questions.

Welcome to the board!

Leopard Gecko Caresheet (Eublepharis macularius) - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Definitely read the caresheet. You should be leaving him alone to get used to his new home. The more you handle him, the longer the adjustment period can be because he's frightened. Its like someone taking you from your home and depositing you in the middle of nowhere having nothing familiar to you.

I'd recommend though getting a larger tank. Its very hard to get the proper temps in a 10 gallon and anything smaller.

Taking him to the vet though would be a good idea anyway to get a fecal done. Sometimes changes in the poop can be stress but other times it can be caused by parasites.

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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 (RIP) and Bear

you should leave him alone for at least a week to get used to his surroundings before you start handling him. only go to his enclosure to change the water and clean out poop etc.
get a bigger tank too if possible....the bigger the better!

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thanks.
I hope he doesn't have parasites or anything, because of his diarrhea! I'm not sure though because he acts fine. He's active and alert at night (though a little skiddish), he eats 4-6 crickets a day, has a nice plump tail, and he drinks from his bowl all the time. So he's not acting very sick.
could it be a heat problem? because I havent been using a Under Tank Heater so he could just be having trouble digesting. what do you think?

If they are not warm enough they will not digest properly. You need to make sure the temps are correct. Check the caresheet.

And sometimes herps will not act sick until its too late.

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Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
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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 (RIP) and Bear

Thanks guys!

And an update in case you're interested:
Last night I used a heating pad I found laying around. I put it under the tank, with a magazine ontop of the pad on one side to make it cooler on that side so he had a gradient. I woke up at night and saw Romero laying flat wth his legs at his sides, so I'm pretty sure he was basking. and earlier today I noticed he made a dry stool. So I think it actually was a heating/digesting problem. whew!

Glad to hear he is OK.

No advice to offer myself - i'm a first time owner too

Have you posted a picture of your Gecko?

I'm kind of confused what you mean by putting the heating pad under the tank then putting the magazine ontop to make it cooloer. A heating pad should only be under half of the tank to make a warm side, the cool side doesn't need any source of heat under or ontop of it.

What kind of heating pad was it?

__________________
Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
http://niksscalesandtails.com/



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 (RIP) and Bear

I put a magazine under the tank, but on top of the heating pad just to block the heat so it would stay cooler on that side. I didn't put the tank only halfway on because I didn't want it to be sloped. And I'm using a Sunbeam pad.

I'll put up a pic of my gecko when I get a chance to upload it