New Leopard Gecko

[Libby]

(03-28-2014, 01:58 PM)Catherine Wrote: The girls are beautiful. You will fatten them up in no time and have them eating out of you hand. I think they will do better with you. Look how well Jack(Allison) has done. It will be nice when you can put your pairs together. They will like it and you will love watching their interactions.

Lots of people use sand. There are different kinds of bark that are good. Finely ground cocoanut bark is fine. Shredded or chipped aspen works. I have the Hognose snakes on the chipped aspen. They like to dig through it. I have the pine snakes on the cocoanut bark. I think they all work just fine. It matters which product you can get and how reasonable a price it has.

I have seen the matting. It washes right? So you can reuse it.
It has it's good points. You will probably use different substrates over the years.
The peat moss is best for hatching eggs. I have that information from an experienced breeder. Vermiculite works, but it does not hold moisture as well as the peat moss does.

I use my egg laying tank as a back-up incubator. I set the eggs in an eggs box and keep it in the egg laying tank until I can get them into the proper incubator. It holds temperature and humidity very well for a day. If it was longer then I would have to work very hard to keep things steady. Nine weeks is a long time. It is easier to have the eggs in a proper incubator where things are controlled by a thermostat.

I have moist coconut fiber and moss mixed in their moister boxes to help with shedding. It doubles as an egg laying box too but don't know about using it all over the tank. It's cheap enough though. I think I may be sold on the mat for now though. I found some that are $4.99 for a 20 gallon tank. With tax it's $5.33 and free shipping. Can't beat it really. Leopard geckos don't burrow either so they wont be missing out on anything they do tend to eat sand and that's where sand impaction is a problem. Like you said I'll probably use different ones over the years and figure out what works best. After all if I'm going to be breeding Leopard geckos I need to know what to recommend and what to tell people to avoid.

I found a really good coil to uses with the incubator I'll have to figure out how to set it up but I think it will work much better than the aquarium heater. Which means I now need to take it back... again. lol I got another one but if this coil works I wont have any need to the other. I just hope that since I already returned it once they will take it back again.

[Catherine]

Lots of people use the ground up cocoanut bark dry as substrate for lizards. I use it for the bearded dragon and the pine snakes. I mix it with moss for the lizards that need moisture. It is pretty cheep isn't it. I can get a big block for $20.00. It is very compressed and you soak it in water to open it up. I misjudged how much it would expand the first time I used it. I just wanted a layer on the bottom of the tank and instead it half filled the tank. I underestimated how compressed it was.

That is a good price for matting. Leopard Geckos probably like it. As you say, they don't burrow and it is comfortable for them to walk on.
Sand can be dangerous for some lizards and different kinds of sand work better than others. Good clean reptile sand in the fancy bags is very expensive. Jonathan's tank had over $100.00 worth of sand in it. The other beardie tank cost $5.00 to set up with the cocoanut bark. Have fun testing things out. Price and convenience do matter and so does the safety of your pet. In a pinch, you can use paper towels. I use them for temporary set ups and quarantines and any medical issues where I might need to change bedding daily.

Let me know how the coil works out. Is it on some kind of thermostat?

[Libby]

the mat for the boys came today. I think I'm going to love it. their water will stop getting sand in it. I normally have to change the water 3 times a day. But I think I'm going to have to set up a box for Charlie with just coconut bark because when I was changing out his tank I set him in a small box filled with it and he started digging in it like crazy. I think he liked it. So I may change out the moss for coconut bark just for him.

but with the sand gone I don't have to worry about them getting it in their eyes and causing problems.

The girls are doing well. They have both eaten a few mealworms. not many but I'll take a few for now. They are still getting used to things and are both kinda spazy

[Catherine]

If the mats work for you and you can get them cheaply then they are the best way to go. Lots of people use sand, but you are right, it gets in the water and messes everything up.
I understand the cocoanut bark can be a bit to dry and finely powdered. You would need to keep it a bit damp. I use it dry for a beardie, but his head is much higher off the ground.

You will have to experiment and see what works for you.

Your girls are full grown and your boys are still growing, right? That would explain why the boys eat more. Growing lizards are bottomless pits when it comes to food.

Have fun playing around with their set ups. And Happy Birthday(in case you didn't see the thread I started)

[Libby]

Jack is the only one that is full grown or close to it. Charlie will be full grown in a few months I suspect. Kate is about the same size as Charlie. So maybe by Midsummer Kate might can be introduced to Jack. And Claire is little bitty so It could be Fall or almost Christmas before she can be with Charlie. I just have to see how she grows and let that determine when she can meet Charlie.

I think the girls are still getting used to their new home so they aren't chowing down just yet. Charlie didn't start eating real good until I had him for a week. So I hope to see the girls appetites spike in the next couple of days (Thursday or Friday).

The coil is more of a long heating wire. No thermostat but I've heard of ones you can by for them so I'll look into those. I just got it the other day and haven't had time to mess with it just yet. So I don't know what it heats up to. I wanna say 80 degrees.

[Catherine]

I am sure the girls will start eating once they settle in. Lizards are sensitive to change and a move is a big change.
Have fun introducing them. I find that part interesting. You can sense how they are responding to each other. You can feel their response in their body language. I hope they all like each other in the pairs that you want. There is no guarantee on that. They have personal likes and dislikes just like we do.

You will have to play with your incubator to be sure you can hold the temperature steady. Some kind of heat source with a thermostat would make things easier. You want to be able to leave the set up alone while you work and sleep. You have lots of time since the girls and boys are not even living together yet.

[Libby]

(04-03-2014, 02:04 PM)Catherine Wrote: I am sure the girls will start eating once they settle in. Lizards are sensitive to change and a move is a big change.
Have fun introducing them. I find that part interesting. You can sense how they are responding to each other. You can feel their response in their body language. I hope they all like each other in the pairs that you want. There is no guarantee on that. They have personal likes and dislikes just like we do.

You will have to play with your incubator to be sure you can hold the temperature steady. Some kind of heat source with a thermostat would make things easier. You want to be able to leave the set up alone while you work and sleep. You have lots of time since the girls and boys are not even living together yet.

The only thing I'm worried about is if Kate already has eggs or not already. I read the girls can keep the sperm in their bodies for up to a year. So even with her not being with a male now she could still lay eggs cause she had been with a male previously. it will just have to be a play it by ear thing. When I do introduce Jack and Kate I'll do it little by little. Let them date a little before they get married and live together so to speak That way I can try and ease them into a relationship little by little. I can't wait. If Jack doesn't like Kate I will have to try Claire with him but he will have to wait until she is fully grown.

[Catherine]

If you think that Kate might have eggs, it would be best to give her an egg laying area in her tank. Later when you know your girls you will know if they are pregnant or not. One thing, just before they lay eggs, reptiles stop eating. So he not eating much could be a sign of eggs. Does she look pregnant?

[Libby]

(04-04-2014, 03:43 PM)Catherine Wrote: If you think that Kate might have eggs, it would be best to give her an egg laying area in her tank. Later when you know your girls you will know if they are pregnant or not. One thing, just before they lay eggs, reptiles stop eating. So he not eating much could be a sign of eggs. Does she look pregnant?

I can't tell if she's pregnant or not. She looks a little round in the mid section but the boys, Jack and Charlie, are kinda round in the middle too. So I'm not sure if it's a leopard gecko thing or her being pregnant thing. I'll just have to keep an eye on her. She has an egg laying box. She hasn't gone in it yet tho. I may give her a second one so she has options in case she doesn't like the one I gave her.

I have the incubator set up now I just need a humidity gauge and thermometer so I can make sure everything it right. But it's all working. The coil or wire isn't very hot (15watts I can hold it in my hand when it's on) so I put it under the moss. Then the aquarium heater I have on the side. The humidity feels right so I hope everything is right. One less thing to worry about. Once I get the gauges I'm going to keep it running for a week to see if I need to do anything else to it.

[Catherine]

Well done on the incubator. You are very handy when it comes to building things. If you run it a week you should have a sense of how well it is holding temperature and humidity. Most of the humidity comes from the damp peat moss that the eggs as sitting on and from the damp sphagnum moss on top of them. The lid on the egg boxes holds the moisture in. Reptile eggs are prone to molding and that is fatal to them. I always wash really well before I handle the snake eggs. Peat moss and sphagnum moss are good at inhibiting mold.

It would be great if Kate was pregnant. She probably likes her nest box just fine, but they don't feel the urge to nest until they are ready to lay eggs. Just before egg laying you might see the bulges of the eggs inside her.
Keep me posted.