fat tail gecko

Question
QUESTION: Hello. We have a fat tailed gecko that we had to purchase from a reptile show due to my 4 year old was petting and playing with its tail when no one was looking and the tail came off. How long does it take to grow back? Also, we do not have a the things needed to house this reptile- I am concern about a heating lamp, the reptile always "feel" cold to me by the touch. Is this serious? How long can it survive without the right heating temp? What can I use to keep it warm in the meantime- for now- we have it placed under a lamp. He is in a medium plastic box and will get a tank later this week. Thank you for your time and help.

ANSWER: Gen,
This is a very bad idea to keep this reptile without a proper heat source. Without proper heat, these lizards cannot digest properly, they will not receive the nutrients in their food. The good news is that this is a relatively low-maintenence reptile. This reptile is a nocturnal species, therefore, it does not require any source of UV. You should only really be worried about getting an enclosure set up. I will paste the info below:

Housing
An aquarium is a perfect home although many people have success with plastic sweater boxes. Since they are a terrestrial species, a long aquarium is better than a high one. A 20 gallon long aquarium is adequate for 3 or 4 geckos. Make sure that you only have one male per enclosure as males will fight each other. The substrate can be anything from sand to newspaper. Sand creates the most natural setup, and you can buy playground sand from any hardware store. Rocks and logs can make the terrarium more natural looking and they provide your lizards with places to climb and get exercise. A hide box is also recommended for each lizard for use in times or conflict and for sleeping.

Lighting and Temperature
Leopard geckos are a nocturnal species so no form of UV lighting is necessary. A simple spotlight with the appropriate wattage bulb can provide both daytime light and heat. Daytime temperatures should be around 90 and the nighttime temps can go down in the low 70s. When I say 90 degrees I mean this should be the temperature directly under the spotlight. This will allow the rest of the cage to remain from anywhere to the 80's to room temperature. I feel that it's best to provide any reptile with a temperature gradient and let them regulate their temperature. I have problems with undertank heating pads and hot rocks as they don't raise the ambient air temperature in the tank and their surfaces often produce extremely high temperatures.


As far as the tail break is concerned, this could take months to grow back entirely. You should notice a big improvement by 3 months. It depends on how much of the tail fell off because the more that fell off, the longer it will take to grow back. You can get a basic infrared heat lamp bulb at any pet store for under 10 dollars and a clamp to screw it into for 10 more. Please do this immediately, it is not fair to that reptile to keep him cold.

Thank you for your question and please follow up with any further questions.

Sincerely,

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org

Good Diet + UVB Radiation + Proper Temperatures + Set Daily Schedule = Healthy + Happy Reptile

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again. Thank you for answering my previous question. I have mentioned that we have him under a lamp and I have noticed that he is staying in his spot under the light rather than in his hiding spot. Does this mean he is doing a little better and getting some form of heat? I know the temp does not reach 80 degrees but I wanted to do something and I am very concern about him. Also, he does not appear to be eating much, could this be due to him being somewhat cold? I plan on getting the heating lamp sometime this week but want to make sure he would be fine for now. Thank you again in advance.

Answer
Gen,

Yes, I saw you mentioned that he is under a lamp, but I dismissed it thinking of a regular household light bulb. That is not sufficient to pass for a heat lamp. He is hovering under that lamp trying to be warm. I think if he was warm enough, he would prefer to hide out, especially during the day because he is a nocturnal species, so during the day, he should be sleeping. It sounds like he is choosing to spend his time under that lamp trying to stay as warm as possible rather than sleeping like he should be because he is probably cold. Yes, he would not be eating much if he is too cold...lizards will not eat like they should when their temps are too low because digestion does not begin until an internal temp of roughly 87 degrees for most lizards. He should be fine for a little while longer if he is strong, it's just that heat is his one and only necessity for survival other than food, so by keeping him without a proper reptile-strength heat source, it is screwing his behaviors up and his appetite, etc. If you wait and continue to keep him at below healthy temps, his internal bodily functions will start to suppress (including his immune system) and he will begin to suffer physical damage. I don't want to give you a time-frame for how long he will last without a proper reptile-grade heat source because it is urgent to me and as far as I am concerned, the longer he waits the worse off he is, it's not fair to him.

Sara