Mushu and Evelyn [3-22 update]

Hi y'all!

I've been a long time lurker of this site and love reading, almost everyday, the stories and pictures that I just couldn't help myself; here I am.

My name is Kyle, and about two years I bought BD based on some info from a friend and Petsmart...mistake. Long story short, I learned alot. I was down'n'out about owning another beared pal as my old viv laid in the corner of the house for about a year. My pet-loving girlfriend decided to buy me a beardie on Dec 23rd,2013 from Petco! I was reluctant at first; but instantly fell in love with Mushu!

Here is my photo bomb!

I've got more for later.. work in the AM!

-Kyle

 

[zandi202]

I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Petco is very wrong about the care of leopard geckos like they are with beardies. I'm more than happy to go over the care if you want to.

 

[swiLLest]

Hi Zandi, I hope you are doing well!

Yes, I know that PetCo takes terrible care of their animals; I have informed them twice about a sick looking beardie, to which I found out( and they found out..) was dead.

But the gecko was only 14$! I couldn't resist, plus then I would be able to take him out of that terrible environment. I don't ever go by PetCo suggestions; I have a good report with a local "ma'n'pa" reptile shop that specializes in breeding certain reptiles.

I would love to go over the care of the leo. I have him by himself in a 10gal with the smallest sand substrate I could find. I use a feeder dish, alternating between 4 crix a night or 4 mealworms at night. I use an infrared bulb for heat, its roughly between 75-80 on cool side and 91 on hot side. He has a humidity chamber, water dish and small dish of calcium.

Am I missing anything? Please do tell!

 

[zandi202]

Don't worry about it, all my babies are Petco rescues. I know exactly how you feel.

As for care:
-a 10g is fine for now and as they get older a 20 long is what you'll want in the end.
-leos also get compacted from loose substrate. The only one I've seen recommended is eco earth, but even then people prefer paper towels or tile.
-heat source - they do not need lights though their cage should be near a window or in a well lit room
-leos digest with their stomachs so you would want to get a UTH, a dimmer that you can get for $10 at Home Depot (ask for the one you plug lamps into) and a temp gun
-adjust the heat so that the heating pad is 85-95 so they can properly digest
-leos needs a moist hide (usually Tupperware with a hole in the top filled with paper towels or eco earth moistened daily) kept near the hot spot will help them shed
-they also need a hot hide, cool hide, and water dish to keep humidity up
-leos take a lot longer to sex - I would say maybe 6-7 months old
-as for food, babies eat a lot but as they get older, they can skip food for weeks at and end when they are older - don't worry when this happens because leos store fat in their tails (fatter the tail the better) and will live off of the fat in their tails
-keep of a dish of leopard gecko repashy with d3 in it in the cage - use it to dust their food with and leos will lick when they need to - some leos like my Ava can't absorb powder and need the liquid stuff to be syringe fed to them, but that seems to be rare - Petco has the powder, at least mine does, just make sure it has d3

I think that's everything and I hope you have fun with your new member. Such a cutie. Leos are fun once they're older. Babies tend to be crazy and require huge amount os handling.

 

[swiLLest]

As for care:
-a 10g is fine for now and as they get older a 20 long is what you'll want in the end.
-leos also get compacted from loose substrate. The only one I've seen recommended is eco earth, but even then people prefer paper towels or tile.
-heat source - they do not need lights though their cage should be near a window or in a well lit room
-leos digest with their stomachs so you would want to get a UTH, a dimmer that you can get for $10 at Home Depot (ask for the one you plug lamps into) and a temp gun
-adjust the heat so that the heating pad is 85-95 so they can properly digest
-leos needs a moist hide (usually Tupperware with a hole in the top filled with paper towels or eco earth moistened daily) kept near the hot spot will help them shed
-they also need a hot hide, cool hide, and water dish to keep humidity up
-leos take a lot longer to sex - I would say maybe 6-7 months old
-as for food, babies eat a lot but as they get older, they can skip food for weeks at and end when they are older - don't worry when this happens because leos store fat in their tails (fatter the tail the better) and will live off of the fat in their tails
-keep of a dish of leopard gecko repashy with d3 in it in the cage - use it to dust their food with and leos will lick when they need to - some leos like my Ava can't absorb powder and need the liquid stuff to be syringe fed to them, but that seems to be rare - Petco has the powder, at least mine does, just make sure it has d3

Yeah, I just picked up a 10gal because I wanted to be cheap at the moment until I get a permanent housing unit for my reptiles.. I'm thinking big here!

Is the heat bulb not good enough? I use a digital therm, stick it in sand, and it is at least 85.

I've read a couple of guides that say that impaction is possible but sand is generally okay, especially using a feeding dish. Is it ok to have the feeding dish the same as the d3 dish?

He won't eat in front of me.. but when gets comfortable I'm hoping he will. Mushu has been absolutely lovable towards me as of past couple days. He knows I will take care of him :mrgreen:

 

[zandi202]

Nope, the bulbs aren't good enough unfortunately. You really should have a hide over the hot spot and that would cancel out the ground temp and leos digest through heat to their stomachs. They also tend to like hides more than being out in the open and exposed so the odds that he would bask on his hide or on that spot are very slim. Not to mention if he sat on that spot long enough, the belly would get cold because the heat of a light cannot reach underneath them and the spot would cool down. Also, red lights are damaging to a leo's eyes. We learned that the hard way with Ava - she has trouble hunting and seeing things.

Yup, some people do you have both dishes. I don't because my guys like to hunt their food and don't like to eat from a dish anymore. Even my beardies are preferring that now. :roll: I know one leo who belonged to a friend on here that used to eat out of a dish, but then decided he would only hunt his food after that.

Leos go through relocation stress as well so he probably won't eat much at first and it will take time getting used to his new surroundings. When I first bought Koth, he was a big boy in the store, about 7.5" long and so were the other 12 leos that were in there with him in a cage smaller than a 10 gallon - they literally had to walk over five leos to get anywhere. When he got home (I had a spare 10g at the time until her got the 20L) he was so confused - he kept looking everywhere for the other leos. He seemed to have missed them. After a while he got used to going it alone though.

Leos are definitely fun once they get older. The babies tend to be more wild and crazy and scream at you. I've been screamed at by Nissa a lot and it is the scariest thing ever. Ava and Koth never screamed though Koth was pretty big when we bought him.

Mushu is a little cutie! id you name you're leo yet?

 

[swiLLest]

Poor Ava! I've read that leo's don't see that spectrum, but there is alot of misinformation on the internet as well. I will switch to an UTH today and a dimmer.

I have a soft white bulb that I use just to set the photoperiods of night/day simulation. Is that ok or generally not needed? It's not a UVB or UVA or anything. In fact its rather bright.

I need name ideas! I like Eve, mainly from League of Legends and he's nocturnal
But if it's a male..Eve doesn't quite complete the puzzle. Any suggestions?

 

[swiLLest]

WOW! I had to youtube leopard gecko's screaming! That's wild! I don't know how I will react if Eve ever does that..

 

[zandi202]

The pink ones are the only ones I've ever heard scream so Eve may not.

 

[zandi202]

As long as they are near a window light bulbs aren't needed. Saves on electricity lol.

Ava has a hard time with mouth-food cordination and I'm pretty sure it is from the bulb. If the bulb produces heat, it could get too hot in there.

Boy Names:
Gideon
Venser
Garruck

Girl Names:
Elspeth
Lilliana

I like Eve

 

[swiLLest]

Evelyn is what I chose to go with! She is still being timid.. I got UTH today (finally) and now gotta mess with the temps. Also a new hide as well!

I have today off of work, finally but the weather is so bad I may get a call from one of my contracts and they may need me in the middle of the night; so I've been resting all day with the babies!

I wish Evelyn was ok with me handling her, but Mushu will get extra cuddle time now

 

[zandi202]

Leos take a lot of handling before they settle down. She will once she's older though.

I'm sure Mushu doesn't mind.

 

[swiLLest]

Look at that belly!

The two meeting each other briefly! Mushu looking PO'd.

Fallin' asleep in momma's comfy zone..

Evelyn and I hangin'

Hopefully final day of shedding..

shedd

 

[swiLLest]

Welp, Deanna and I split mutually and for the better. It is still rather disappointing, but life will go on.

Mushu and Evelyn have been doing exceedingly well! I put about 8 mealworms in her dish last night and almost instantly she came out of her hide and ate! It was good to see her eat as she normally won't touch food when I am around. Eve is also getting alot better about being handled; even lets me pet her softly every so often!

Mushu is still being a champ. He's eating 20+ crix a day finally, if he can catch them all... and I put them in a dish to help him out! It's almost like he's too lazy to hunt. Oh well, his belly sure isn't an indicator of the sort.

I will post more pictures tonight! I am leaving work early today, going to get some much needed cleaning done and plus spoil my two babies with lots of attention! It's been a good coping mechanism for me so far...

I'm also getting my tax return tomorrow, I really want a blizzard Leo! So I may have ANOTHER addition to the household..

 

[zandi202]

Sorry to hear about you and Deanna, but I'm glad it wasn't a nasty break up.

I'm glad to hear Eve is doing well. Leopard geckos definitely play by their own rules and it takes a while before they have us trained to their approval.

Mushu's getting big there, huh? :lol:

Can't wait to see some of the pictures. I hear you - all I feel like I ever do is clean, clean, clean. :lol: It pays off in the end.

 

[swiLLest]

Well, I was just leaving the nasty part out...It was a nasty break.

I'm definitely still trying to feel Eve out..it may be a while. But she is definitely an awesome creature and I adore her( or him!) The only concern I have is while I am feeding mealworms..they aren't being dusted in calcium, I have calcium in its own dish. Is Eve getting the calc she needs?

Mushu takes a bath almost every day, and I bathed him today before work, then I come home and BOOM, it looks like he shed everything and everywhere! SO I gave him a bath after work as well, and seemed like the happy dragon he is! I will give him a couple treats here in a minute for being good :lol:

I'm still working way too much, and its starting to leave me empty a little. I don't go out and have fun as often as I should, but yesterday I also got an offer last minute to go to the Detroit Pistons vs Dallas Mavs COURTSIDE SEATS! It was the best basketball I've ever been too and had alot of fun! Definitely much needed escape.. But work is going well, my fundraising events have been doing pretty well and only going to get busier, next month I am fundraising every Thursday at my restaurants for Scleroderma foundation; no known cure, no known cause. I absolutely love that I can impact people in need every day of my job, although not always in front of me. Sorry I feel like using this as my blog too. I feel the novel will be worth reading years later! (atleast for me!)

Greg Monroe!!! I could hear the player chatter..

Look at da' belly!