New Leopard Gecko, worried....

[wichitaw]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ptotherice Hi everyone, I just bought my gecko a few days ago and am slightly worried about him/her. I only could afford a 10gal with a 10 gal under tank heater, a moonlight heat lamp, a decent sized log for a hid and a large-ish water dish. I'm using paper towels for substrate until I get paid tomorrow and a Tupperware container with a hole cut in it and paper towels in it for another hide (log is on the warm side). The temperature (according to a stickie thermometer I got that I hope to replace soon) says 86 on the warm side. At night I tilt the lamp up so the temperature is about 76. Now what is worrying me is that he really doesn't move around a lot. He seems to just lay there all day and all night. I wake up a lot in the night so for the 2 minutes I'm up I check on him and he doesn't really change position. He may change his position once every once and a while but not often. And he doesn't really walk around. I put 5 crickets in his tank about 2 days ago and there are 2 left (one was killed but not eaten). I'm mainly worried about getting him back to the pet store and swapped out (it breaks my heart to think about that , but they know how to treat him if he is sick) before my two week guarantee thing is up. If you have any ideas they are greatly appreciated. Also, would it be bad to use pine chips (the ZooMed bark stuff) for his terrarium also? I'm going to use it for my corn snake.

I don't think that taking him back to the store would be best. I don't think they would be able to put as much care to him as you would. the vet is the best bet if something goes wrong. Otherwise, just keep at it. Take into consideration it is a new environment.

[Kelsea Shea]

I got my leopard gecko on Friday, December 11th, 2009. I wasn't sure when to start holding her. I just read that it was good to hold them. Well, I started holding her for a little bit on Saturday, December 12th. Do you think that was too soon? Because now that I'm reading to hold it within two or three days of getting it, it's beginning to worry me.

[Sasami]

Leopard geckos don't need to be handled, actually. No reptile "needs" to be, they don't crave affection like cats or dogs. Leopard geckos are usually calm enough that you can handle them but never feel like you have to . There's a really common misconception that not handling leopard geckos enough can make them less docile but I haven't found that to be the case. Even if I go months without handling a reptile, they're always just as calm/not calm as they are when I handle them more often. So it's up to you how often you want to take her out.

That being said, it's usually recommended that you leave a new reptile alone for a while (I would say a week MINIMUM, two weeks would be better) so that they can acclimate to their new home. Handling a new reptile can stress them out. Also, always make sure the reptile has been proven clean of parasites from the vet, is eating, and seems generally healthy before handling.

[Kelsea Shea]

okay, thank you so much! she eats good and when i take her cave out, she roams her cage. but when the cave is in there, she stays in there all day long. is that okay? or is that a sign of her being unhealthy?

[canadiancritter]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kelsea Shea okay, thank you so much! she eats good and when i take her cave out, she roams her cage. but when the cave is in there, she stays in there all day long. is that okay? or is that a sign of her being unhealthy?

She is probably coming out at night, as geckos are nocturnal.