Hi all,
Im from Grimsby and i have got a Leopard Gecko recently via someone i used to with with on facebook.
He put the add on there that it he is 3 years old and is fully grown.
And comes with

2.5ft viv
heat mat
heat lamp
hollowed out log
a cave
resovior
and a bit of what looks like drift wood.

The guys said it was his sons and he has now gone to uni so has been left with it and now really needs the room more than anything. Also the poor Geckos tank was on top of a guitar amp >_<

The guy who i got him from did not seem to really know much or care about him that much so im really pleased i borugh him home with me, and what to give him a really good home and care that he needs.

He said that the heat mat + lamp need to be on 24/7
Its a 2.5 foot tank, with a heat lamp at one end in the middle there is heat mat and nothing at one end.
In his viv there seems to be quite a few meal worm in there with him and a few that look like v small black things running about and 1 black cricket. Should i wait for him to eat the black cricket that is in there with him? or get rid of it?
I have also read about that you should dust your food in this calcium power stuff which i dont know if its ever been done for him or not but i doubt it.

One good thing i can say is that he has a nice big juicy tail

Gecko has been with me since sunday and have not seen much of him as i thnk he getting used to his new viv localtion around him. He has also shed his skin.

On the floor of his tank the guy was using some wood chip that im not to keen on and some ppl say that its ok and some say its not. i did ask in a local pet shop and one guy there said that he used to use the sand sheets out of bird cage, and i did read somewhere that you could also use some vinyal floor cut to size.

Thanks in advance

Right, do you have a thermostat for the mat and light? You realy don't need the lamp leopard geckos absorb heat through their stomachs so just the mat is fine. You can buy thermostats from any reptile shop to keep the heat correct for the gecko otherwise it could get burnt.

I would take the gecko and all his bits and bobs out and throw away ANY bugs inside the viv, it's always better to start fresh. yes you need calcium powder just put some in a bag, throw in the bugs, give it a shake and walla! yummy, supplemented bugs for your gecko, also get some kind of bottle lid and put some of the powder in that and leave it in your geckos tank so he can eat more if he wants.

Get rid of the woodchip, it's not the best for geckos. You can use vinyl if you want but i used newspaper, easier to remover, you don't need to clean it as you just put a new sheet down plus one newspaper will do you a long time I cleaned out my 3 geckos every few days along with refilling their water bowl every day.

Good luck with your gecko

"He said that the heat mat + lamp need to be on 24/7"

The heat mat can stay on (as balybee stated, heating devices should be monitored via thermostat) but lighting should be switched off at night otherwise the gecko will not know when to sleep and when to wake which can be extremely stressful - balybee was also correct in stating that heat lamps aren't completely necassary because of the way leopard geckos have evolved to absorb heat although I use heat lamps during the winter for additional heating.

Heating devices should be placed at one end of the enclosure to allow for a temperature gradient - one side warm - one side cool - the middle neutral, allowing for the gecko to thermoregulate appropriately.

"Should i wait for him to eat the black cricket that is in there with him? or get rid of it?"

Insects should not be left unattended with the reptile - the insects may themselves bite and feed off the leopard gecko which can leave nasty little wounds. I feed mine with feeding tongs so I know exactly what they have and haven't eaten.

Insects should ideally be gut-loaded 24-48 hours before being offered to the lizard. Gut-loading increases the nutritional value of the insect as well as extends its life. To gut-load an insect you can feed it various food items including carrot, apple, leafy greens (romaine, mustard greens, kale, collard greens) sweet potato, squash, bran, oats and various other foods. Commercial gut-loading products are also available. Remember that what goes into the insects is ultimately fed to the reptile.

Calcium suppliments are indeed extremely important as are appropriate vitamin suppliments (one specifically designed for Leos)

Any loose substrate for Leopard geckos is a bad idea because of the risk of impaction (gecko accidentally or intentionally ingesting the substrate which clogs up the stomach and if severe enough ruptures the intestinal wall).

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