New Leopard Gecko...New Leopard Gecko owner...

Hi there, this is my first leopard gecko. His name is Pharis (kind of like the part of the scientific name...inspired by Ferris Bueler). He is pretty young by my estimates (he is about 4 inches long from Petco). I have had him since Thursday. He is in a 10 gallon tank. I have one large rock hideaway, one shedding box, a water dish, a mealworm dish, and a small fake plant. He is doing really well, I think. He is eating pretty well. He eats all the crickets that I put in. However...he is having trouble finding the mealworms in the dish...actually he can't find them at all. The only way he eats them is if I hand feed them (when he comes out of the hideaway I put them in front of them and he eats them). Is there any way I can help him find the mealworms in the dish? Also, he seems to be pretty obsessed with staying in his rock hideaway. He stays in it pretty much day and night and only comes out to eat crickets or if I coax him out with mealworms. Is this normal? I felt like maybe he just isn't feeling too secure in his tank, so I put paper up along 2 and a half of the walls so that he might feel a little bit more secure. Can anyone give me any advice?

Leo's are crepuscular, and are active at the dawn and dusk hours if they have a consistant and natural day/night cycle. He'll generally stay in the hide because its dark, enclosed, and he knows no "predators" can come get him.

What are you using for heat, if I may so ask?

Back to your question though, some leo's are just not dish feeders and some are. If you can coax him over to his dish and then put mealies in, and do this a couple of times during feeding so he knows that thats where they go and thats where they'll be, he'll be more knowing about that being the feeding bowl for worms.

Many of my younger ones I feed that way because they are too insecure to come out of their hides. When they get older I slowly put the worms farther and farther away from their hides and lure them out that way. Make sure you give him plenty of time to settle in first. For the first few months I drop it RIGHT in front on their hides and then put them farther away by just a teeny bit until they are willing to come all the way out to get their food:) it is just building up their trust is all.

A couple other things to add is that if the leo is still new and being so young it is going to likely have a bit of a longer settling in period. What type of substrait are you using? Also movement of the feeder is very important to leos. The mealies in the dish aren't likely as active as a cricket jumping about the viv. More movement, more attaction, more stimulis to the prey drive/hunt/feeding instinct center of the brain. My boy won't dish feed wither, he likes his food dropped in front of him (like it's rainign superworms ) Be careful feeding crickets as they can carry parasites, make sure they come from a good reliable source, or avoid them altogether. You can vary a diet between several different types of feeder worms (mealies, supers, butter, wax and phoenix worms all are awesome feeders when in a rotation).

I am using a basking light for heating. I use repti carpet for substrate. I am afraid to feed my little guy super worms because I have read that they can bite him? Is this true?

They're no more dangerous than mealies.

I would personally change the repti carpet to tile; peel and stick or slate. It's inexpensive and cleans easier than the carpet.

I would also look into a UTH, they're more reliable and they are more useful because leo's digest through belly heat.

Okay so I should buy some super worms too then? Those are readily available at petco... I don't know about the other types of worms.
Yes I was thinking about the tile...I just need to find some that I like, I bought the carpet just until I can find some tile. I could probably get that at home depot or lowes...how much do you think it will cost for a 10 gal tank?
Also...I had thought about the UTH, the lady at the pet store told me the lamp would suffice. Will the lamp be good enough for now?

Heat lamps actually stress out leos and it does not help them. I am sorry you were lead astray that way. They need heat under their bellies to be able to digest their food. They need their belly heat to be able sitting at a temperature of between 90 and around 98. If your leo is younger it would not hurt to have it sitting closer to the 98 temperature.

Okay thank you. I will go buy a UTH. Maybe I can still return the light. Thank you so much for your help:)

For a 20 gallon long tank, I spent 8 dollars to get more than enough tile. The UTH should cover 1/3rd of the tank.

Okay, I was thinking about getting a small zoo med repti therm uth from petco. It says it is for 10 gallon tanks, the next size up is 20 to 30 gallons, so I think the small is good. I will hopefully get the tile stuff soon, do you think it will be okay without for a little?

Oh yes, just put down some paper towel if you want. That is how I house most of my new leos for a while anyways while they are under quarantine.

Alright, I got my UTH today haha. Couple questions...do I keep it on all the time? Or only during the day...and...is it safe to sit on a wooden dresser:p How hot will it get?

You can go to Lowes too and ask them for a light dimmer that you would plug a lamp into. It works wonders, Ive got two UTH's running off light dimmers at the moment since I'm out of work for the time being. I think their 10 USD each, and as long as you have a thermometer you can monitor the temps. Yes, it stays on all the time.

Good for you for getting the uth so fast. . Usually the maximum heat output for most uth is under 100*F so no different than say if you were to lay your feaverish hand on a dresser for a long time. It would eventually dry out the wood and the paint or finish could peel but the risk of fire is minimal since the UTH is literally stuck to the bottom of yuor tank and comes with little safety feet to put under the corners to help hold it in place off your furniture. You will very likely need a rheostat (or light dimmer) to help keep optimum temperatures, but you will have to adjust it yourself unlike a thermostat which monitors and turns off or on heating elements as needed when temperatures drop or rise out of a set range. They tend to be a little more pricy at $20-$30 starting price for low end thermostats. A rheostat will usually run between $5-$15. If you worry for your dresser surface you can take a thin hand towel and put it under your tank to kind of insulate the dresser from direct uth heat... this can also be helpful in redirecting your uth output upwards towards your tank as well so you don't lose heat thru the bottom of the uth. Also the towel is porous enough to keep most good UTHs from over heating. I've never had a problem using this method in the many years I've kept herps.

Okay thank you very much! For now to ensurre that the surface doesn't get too hot for the little guy I was going to use my hand...right now it feels warm, if it feels hot then maybe its too hot?

It should not feel hot. I breed leos and have several heat mats and cables running at one time and have never had ANY issues with any other them damaging any type of surfaces. I have it on wood surfaces, plastic shelving and even the cheap wood stuff and nothing has ever been damaged:)

Okay sounds good to me, thanks for all of your help!