[Leo] Worried About Class Pet

[Shard]

Hello there! I haven't been on these forums for awhile, and since I'm on this one, I thought I'd post here. I hope that's okay!

So for the past month or so there has been a class pet in my science class, a leopard gecko named Sheldon. However, the entire time I've been worried about him. Can you please help me figure out if he's okay? I've never really researched leos, so I can't be 100% certain.

Tank:
I couldn't take a picture, being that I don't have a phone (I don't even think I can legally take a picture on school grounds anyway), so I tried my best to edit a picture to be as exact as possible, down to the shape and color of the water dishes. Also, the blue dish seems to contain insect food, specifically Fluker's cricket feed and some dried-up green jello cubes for insects. There is no heating pad and I don't know what kind of lightbulb is being used. The bulb is blue, and whether it's on or off the thermometer is at 80 degrees. The humidity seems to be about 10-20% at any given time.

Diet:
Originally he had crickets and wax worms, but he would only eat the wax worms. Also, he would only eat them if they wandered right in front of him. He later got mealworms and superworms, but does not appear to be interested in either. Now he doesn't appear to be eating the wax worms, even just walking away when he spots one. Sheldon doesn't seem to utilize his water dish, either. He does not have any kind of supplements.

Behavior and History:
He was brought in from another school and soon after shed. Every weekend my teacher brings him home with her, and (sometimes if she remembers) returns him the next school day. Sheldon often rests under his hide, which is understandable as he is nocturnal. However, when his light is shut off last period he sometimes gets out of his hide and either stares at the class or wanders aimlessly. Very rarely in the morning he'll be seen resting on top of his hide. Sheldon does not appear to be defecating, however the teacher says he has been.

Do you think he's alright? I'm honestly concerned.

Edit:
Just thought of some info I may have missed.
Age: Unknown, appears to be grown.
Class: 9th/10th, some periods can be rowdy.
Handling: Someone tries to handle him at least once a day.

 

[kornel351]

I won't even doubt that he isn't sick rn.Poor Sheldon all this moving is Prolly giving him so much stress not to mention all that handling he gets from the classroom students .Leopard geckos need belly heat not body heat .That blue light Prolly affects his sleeping patterns too they are nocturnal they don't want to be in light.Wax worms are treats not food and crickets arent even that good .This is why reptiles in class rooms don't mix sometimes .I would say what your teacher is doing might be indirect animal abuse .Does he even dust the insects or gut load them

 

[Shard]

Does he even dust the insects or gut load them

My teacher hasn't even bought calcium powder. When they first came to the class I recommended getting a cricket cage and food to gutload, which she bought. Upon looking up the food she bought, it is called "Total Bites" (looks like cubes of green jello). The crickets ate it, but Sheldon wouldn't eat the crickets. After all the crickets died she hasn't even put any of the worms in the cage to gutload instead. In case you're wondering, I did suggest giving Sheldon dubias. However, she thinks roaches are gross and refuses to keep them.

 

[kornel351]

That LEO might get MBD

 

[Shard]

Managed to get Sheldon to eat a superworm today, and turns out Sheldon's a girl! The teacher is now calling her Amy.

Also it looks like my teacher tried leaving a dish of mealworms in the tank for Amy, but...they forgot to remove the sawdust-like material. Upon notifying her, she said it was okay, because "it would be on the mealworms anyway". I'm pretty sure Amy shouldn't be ingesting whatever that is.

Edit: I just remembered, for some reason when I tried to feed them another superworm they just walked off and stared at their reflection in the glass. They've been doing that since they came into the classroom. Is this normal?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Leos are such neat little critters & aren't real difficult to keep.
I agree that they do greatly benefit from underbelly heating such as an undertank heater on low or a heating pad on low.
When we kept leopard geckos in the past, we used a low wattage basking bulb & a low output UVB tube bulb, also. I felt that it helped out a lot with the overall health.
Definitely providing calcium is very important for bone health. Leos are vulnerable to getting metabolic bone disease.
I hope your teacher makes a few changes for Sheldon, otherwise known as Amy now.

Tracie