spotted gecko

Question
QUESTION: My gecko is about 2 years old and sleeps through till 11PM or so ((if she gets upafter that I'm not sure).  But she used to come out as soon as I turned off the light.  I used to feed her 2 or 3 crickets a day but have slowed that down because she doesn't eat as much(is it possible I was feeding her too much?)  So what I have done every other night is pick up her rock and take her out to roam around with us.  She usually goes pretty much back into her sleep area afterwards  Also, I keep her out 30 to 40 minutes - too much?.  I use the cricket food that has calcium and the proper bulb for daylight.  We love her so much - someone said she might have fatty liver disease from too many crickets?  also her substrate is those sand-like coconut shells I believe.  If she has a water dish misting is not necessary, correct?  When she sheds I do mist her to help her out.  Thank you so much for volunteering your time.  Our aol account might knock you off so the verizon account is the better bet I believe.

Ann Coll

ANSWER: Ann,

Hello, and thank you for your question and concern regarding your gecko. I do want to tell you that I cannot see your email address(es), that information is kept private and so I do not know if you will get this because you mentioned your AOL account is unreliable.

Anyhow, it sounds like you have a darling gecko that you love very much and you are concerned that you are doing things properly for her. From what you described, I do not see anything that stands out as poor care on your behalf. You mentioned you are worried she is not eating as much, but I really think there is a lot to be said for the fact that she is no longer a hatchling/juvenile. At 2 years old, she should be considered a sexually mature adult. Adults do not need to eat as much as quickly growing hatchlings/juveniles. They are no longer growing as fast and are not going to be as energetic. It is recommended that you only feed adults every other day, but if you chose to do so every day, that is fine, but may be the reason she doesn't eat as much.

Also, taking her out to get exercise is a wonderful idea. I think you are doing well with your care for her. Are you taking her out to play in a dark room or in a room with lights turned on? Leopard Geckos are nocturnal species, as you know, so perhaps if she is out playing/running around in a brightly-lit room, it may be like someone turning off the lights in middle of the day and wanting to play with their kids in the dark...it would make them sleepy. If you are playing with her in the dark, perhaps the stimuli is tiresome to her because these are generally docile creatures and should be considered to be like a very introverted person...interaction is tiresome for them. Regardless, it is not a bad thing to take her out and exercise her and no, 30-40 minutes is not too long if she is participating and doesn't appear too stressed by it.

Also, the misting should not be necessary. These lizards come from the middle east where it is hot and dry (it is a desert). These creatures thrive on dry, arid, hot conditions. A small, shallow water basin should be provided, but misting is not essential. During shedding, you can mist if you want to, but again, in the desert, they are not misted, so there is no urgency to mist. It can help shedding, but if you prefer, maybe apply some vitamin E oil to her skin if she is having trouble shedding instead.

The substrate sounds good because it is like sand, which is what the desert is like, but is more easy to digest if it is coconut shelled-sand. I think you are doing good with that.

As far as being concerned with fatty-liver disease...I HIGHLY doubt she gets something like that at age 2. Usually, this happens to older reptiles who's diet has been poor over the course of many years. If you are worried about her diet, make sure you are feeding her gut-loaded crickets so she doesn't get too much exo-skeleton in her diet and also you can try to mix things up by using mealworms or waxworms occassionally...diversity is always good.

I would say that you are doing good as of right now and just keep watching her closely for any other changes in behavior/diet before you really become concerned. Good job and keep up the good work.

Here are some good websites about Leopard Geckos

http://www.leopard-gecko.org/caresheet.htm#leocare

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/lizardsaspets/p/leopardgecko.htm

http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html

Thank You and I hope this helps.

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: Thank you so much for yourresponse.  I am not doing anything different than I always have, but she just doesn't come out like she used to - she is eating, however.  And  I just put in a potato for the two crickets that are in the cage so they won't bite her. Also, what are gut loaded crickrts?  I just read not to feed her any that are larger than the area between the eyes.  I will also vary her diet per your suggestion.  I used to put calcium on the crickets b4 I fed her but now am using a food that has calcium in it.  I noticed she licks the powder from the side of the rock that I hit  the cricket tube against.  Can I put calcium in the cage in a container ofsome sort?  I'm concerned she's not getting enough of it.  Also, with that substrate ifshe digested some when she ate a cricket is there any way to give her something to "spit it out?  I will try to keep her out for the next week only with low lighting too.  Just a note:  last Christmas (2008) she got loose and we thought she was a goner.  In March, we were watching TV and she crawled out from under the TV - wow.

Answer
Haha, I bet you were surprised to see her reappear! She probably kept the bug-level down in your house, LOL. Yeah, um...have you tried wetting the crickets and putting powder over them, then shaking a bag/container so it coats them? That is a good method to use. A calcium carbonate powder is a good call. Gut loaded just means that the insects have recently fed and they are full of their own nutrients, not starved...it passes on their nutrients to the lizard. You could feed the crickets where you keep them housed so they are gut loaded when you introduce them to the gecko. I have not heard of the rule about keeping the prey smaller than the area between the eyes, I have always gone by keeping the prey about 2/3 the size of the lizard's head. The substrate, if there was any digested will just have to pass, you can try to keep her hydrated so she has an easier time passing her bowels, but I have never heard of another method for getting out substrate that may have been digested. Feel free to shoot your situation at another reptile expert, too...all of us may have different experience and different methods for doing things, so it can't hurt to get as much opinion as you possibly can.

Sara