New Leopard Gecko Addition! :)

[FreakedOutMama]

Hey again! I (just very recently) acquired a 9 year old male Leopard Gecko from a friend. Does anyone have any advice on his UVB lighting or foods? It looks like he wasn't taken care of properly and has REALLY bad toes- I am assuming a poor shed or two. I will upload some pictures tomorrow. He seems to be doing okay. She had him in a 30 gallon tank- no UVB and I have no idea what his daytime light was.
Any advice would be awesome as I have never owned a Gecko before- I am staying up all night doing research and will go to the pet store tomorrow to try out any suggestions.
THANK YOU.
(I also dont know his name- any suggestions for that are welcome too)

 

[kingofnobbys]

Never had a gecko but I think you might find a caresheet if you google the leopard gecko care sheets.

 

[thebalkan]

Congratulations! I picked up a 3 year old ex-breeder Leo at Repticon about a month or so ago. They're definitely different from beardies but very cool! Much like this forum is for bearded dragons, geckoforums.net is a great resource for Leo care sheets/info.

These little guys are nocturnal so UVB is not needed as they wouldn't be getting much of it in their natural habitat. However it's still important to provide them with some sort of light during the day, just to keep things natural. I have an outlet timer set and he climbs out of his hide right around ~7PM every night as the light goes off.

Provide a moist hide, warm hide, and a under tank heater. A 20 gallon tank is perfect. I feed mine a couple of superworms and dubias every other day. He doesn't eat nearly as much as my beardie (not even close!). You can tell their overall health by the look of their tail (should be nice and thick). Overall extremely easy care in my opinion.

PS - Don't freak out if you see him eating his shedding skin - all normal !

 

[FreakedOutMama]

Congratulations! I picked up a 3 year old ex-breeder Leo at Repticon about a month or so ago. They're definitely different from beardies but very cool! Much like this forum is for bearded dragons, geckoforums.net is a great resource for Leo care sheets/info.

These little guys are nocturnal so UVB is not needed as they wouldn't be getting much of it in their natural habitat. However it's still important to provide them with some sort of light during the day, just to keep things natural. I have an outlet timer set and he climbs out of his hide right around ~7PM every night as the light goes off.

Provide a moist hide, warm hide, and a under tank heater. A 20 gallon tank is perfect. I feed mine a couple of superworms and dubias every other day. He doesn't eat nearly as much as my beardie (not even close!). You can tell their overall health by the look of their tail (should be nice and thick). Overall extremely easy care in my opinion.

PS - Don't freak out if you see him eating his shedding skin - all normal !

THANK YOU! the people that had him before me (by the way, my fiance named him: "Enrique Prime"!) didn't provide any light for him, nor have they provided heat for him at all. I have no idea how he has survived 10 years! He is very weak and his toes are falling off. I believe yesterday was the first day in his life he had calcium. I guess time will tell?

 

[thebalkan]

...I have no idea how he has survived 10 years! He is very weak and his toes are falling off. I believe yesterday was the first day in his life he had calcium. I guess time will tell?

They are tough! Someone at a local pet store recently told me that one of their Leos escaped and got lost for three years before they finally found him in the garage alive and well, living off the bugs that he found. Crazy stuff.

Best of luck with getting Enrique Prime back to good health.