Hello!

Hello everyone!

I'm new here, so I thought I would pop in and say hi!

I'm a relatively new gecko owner too. I have had Matilda for about 6 months, and I guess she is about 9months old now. I'm a mega paranoid mum, as I have never owned reptiles before and I don't know anyone who does/has! I get all my information from the internet and just read as much as I can - it's so confusing!

I was hoping someone could tell me if she looks OK and if her set-up sounds OK. She is in a 24''x16''x16'' tank with an underfloor heat mat set to about 31c, using a thermostat and a probe thermometer, this covers **about** a third of the tank. On top of that she has lino (leftovers from my mum's new kitchen floor ), she was on repti-carpet but kept getting her mouth/toes caught and didn't seem to like it very much. She has three hides, one warm log, one cool rocky one and a tupperware tub that is half and half with damp kitchen roll inside. She also has a nice bush (plastic)

She is fed crickets, about 6,7,8 every other day, or just depending on when she comes out looking for food. They are about 1-1.5cm in size and are fed porridge oats and carrots/apple/cucumber in a big tub, then moved to a smaller tub where they get ProRep 'Bug Grub' and fruit/veg for 24hours before being fed to her. (I read they can die v. quickly if fed this long term)(the crickets that is...)

She isn't a very good hunter, she misses a lot, and I usually take some of her furniture out to help her, and sort of keep flicking the crickets in her direction until she sees them and manages to grab them. Useless creature!! She is albino, so maybe she is short sighted??

She comes out quite a lot for a run around on the sofa (under supervision!) and a general cuddle. The whole family are quite taken with her! My mum has even decided that she has to live downstairs in the living room rather than my bedroom so 'she doesn't get lonely!'. When she wants to come out she tries to climb the glass front of her tank! Does this suggest her tank isn't big enough? I didn't think reptiles had 'personalities' as such and did things like wanting to come out...am I reading too much into her behaviour??? Argghhhh what a minefield!!

Anyway, here she is not long after I got her:



And here she is a few days ago:



Sorry for SUCH a LONG post!!!!!! And Thank you in advance for any feedback you can give me!
xx

Forgot to add, she has her bug dusted with Nutrobal once or twice a week too. It has calcium and d3, as well as other vitamins in it. The man in the (reptile) pet shop said that was all I needed! And he did seem very nice/knowledgeable and caring about his reptiles! x

she looks good. has a nice plump tail. and im sure your tank is big enough to keep her in.
They say you can keep an adult leo in a 10 gallon, 20x10x10.
And your leo just seems friendly and a people person, no reason to worry when she stands up on the glass, she just interested on whats going on on the outside of it.
And your setup sounds good to me, is the substrate your using have the sticky side to where you just stick in in the bottom of the tank? or do you just lay them in there?

you have a good looking gecko there!

Thank you! She is my pride and joy haha.

Thank you for the feed back, it's just nice to get some reassurance that you are doing it right!! The lino is just laid in there, it means the crickets occasionally sneak down the back (where the cable for the heat mat is) and poo underneath, which makes it fun cleaning her out!

xx

Some people actually put sand below their tiles, and also between them like grout.
They pack a thin layer and wet it and pack it in and keep doing that until it is even with the tiles. maybe this would help with your cricket problems lol

Yes, that's what I used to do with my tiles. I put a layer of sand on the base of the tank, and lay the tiles on top, so that there's no gaps in between any tiles.

I'll deffo look into that. I was thinking about creating her an 'upstairs' in her tank, just a little platform or something for her to climb on. I'm going to get my thinking cap on I think Banana is GORGEOUS btw, do you let him/her out on the grass then? xx

Id just make sure you wet and pack the sand that shows between the tiles so your gecko doesnt accidentally eat it and get impaction.
And a platform would be a good idea. im currently working on one too.
Using styrofoam as the main building block is good, then covering it with non-sanded grout to make it stiffer and then sealing it with some grout sealer. And then if you want it a certain color use acrylic pain in a spray bottle.
There videos on youtube how to do it also.
Heres a link to some guys website who has information on it and videos.
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/index.html

Oooooh thank you again, that can be my project for the weekend! x

Of course.
just make sure everything is completely dry before putting it in your tank.

look fine! lovely tail as well

Welcome to the forum! Everything sounds awesome, you are doing a great job!

Thank you everyone! x

hebbie88 wrote:I'll deffo look into that. I was thinking about creating her an 'upstairs' in her tank, just a little platform or something for her to climb on. I'm going to get my thinking cap on I think Banana is GORGEOUS btw, do you let him/her out on the grass then? xx

Thankyou
And yes, when the weather is sunny.. I'll let her walk around in my garden We loves it! I haven't tried it with my other gecko yet, I'm not sure if he'd run off or not haha

Pinned27 wrote:Id just make sure you wet and pack the sand that shows between the tiles so your gecko doesnt accidentally eat it and get impaction.
And a platform would be a good idea. im currently working on one too.
Using styrofoam as the main building block is good, then covering it with non-sanded grout to make it stiffer and then sealing it with some grout sealer. And then if you want it a certain color use acrylic pain in a spray bottle.
There videos on youtube how to do it also.
Heres a link to some guys website who has information on it and videos.
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/index.html

Clear floor vanish is a safer option then a grout sealer,