first gecko need some advise please

hi,

I bought my first leopard gecko about 3 days ago from a local pet store.
I did read up first before buying them but now i have a few questions as the owner
of the pet store isnt really intrested.

Well i bought the tank which came with the heat mat allready attached to it and it covers the whole floor apart from a small 3 inch wide gap at the side of the tank. Ive heard it only needs to be on half is this right? I have a uv bulb above with wood chippings as substrate and coco fibre which i have put under her log she hides in. The log is on the cold bit of the tank is this right? i think i added to much substrate before because the tank wasnt getting warm so i removed some and the floor is now reading about 93f and the air is around 80f is this all ok?
Im really worried aswell because shes not eating at all. and also do i need a humid hide and should this go on the warmer side of the tank?

sorry for all the questions
would appreciate all the help

cheers

ok first off, get the substrate out any loose substrate will be eaten by the gecko especially since its probably a juvenile, right? put paper towels for now until you figure out the best non loose substrate that works for you. second, yes, the heating mat should cover about 1/3 of the tank not almost the whole tank. i think you could get away with it by adding climbing space or thicker slate rocks on one side so the gecko could regulate its heat. how big is the gecko and how big is the tank?

temps were fine but recheck after you make the changes. you do need a humid hide, look up on google how to make cheap ones out of a gladware container. it should be on the warmer side. give the gecko a few more days/week to see if he/she eats but then i would seek a vet or return it just because petstores are notorious for having animals infested with parasites or worse (first hand experience).

good luck!

thanks for the advise the gecko is a year and a half old and i did ask the owner of the pet store if the substrate could cause impaction but they are quite large pieces of wood bark about 10mm wide and he said it will be ok
the gecko is around 6 to 7 inch and is female and the tank i would say is about meter and a half long by half a meter wide and a meter tall the hide box she has is a hollowed out log which is quite cool inside because i added thicker substrate and its also on the part with not heat mat and i added this coco fiber that i was givn she also has her water bowl and a large log to climb up i went out this morning and bought a ice cream tub for the humid hide and i will put this on the hottest side of the tank so im glad to hear that the tempratures are good is the ambient air temprature as important as the floor?

I also have crickets, millworms and have calcium and vitamin dust for the bugs.

Also does she need 3 hides like ive heard or is a cool hide and a humid hide fine ?

many thanks for the adivse

Yes she should have minimum 3 hides, hot, cool side, and humid hide. This way she can properly thermoregulate. No air temps aren't as important as ground temps. Leos are thigmatherms and regulate their core body temperatures by things they lay on rather than heat from overhead like dragons do. You want your probe thermometer directly on the floor, above the substrait, for the most accurate readings. Leos are terrestrial (ground dwellers) so as long as the ambient air temps don't go bleow 65*F you should be fine. Remember temps will be a bit warmer in the hides as hot air rises it will get trapped in the hides. If you're uncomfortable with it going that low you can add a low watt (15-25 watt) incandescent frosted bulb which will add between 2-4 degrees to your overall temps.

Don't believe everything the petshops tell you. They are more often wrong than right. We see a lot of new owners come on here that are equipped with the wrong set ups because "this is what the petshop told me I needed". You can check out this link for making the best most natural viv for your leo: http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t166-proper-housing-for-leopard-geckos#1558

thanks for the info and link i have put her humid hide in now on the hot side but her cold hide with the coco ruck that she sits on if i take her out of there her belly is really cold is this normal ?

she finally ate a cricket tonight very happy! now she has her cool hide and a moist side the floors are reading 93f all over apart from her cool hide which is reading around 20c is this temp ok?

Thats pretty good. 20*c is about 68*f so youre pretty good. For younger leos (6 mos and younger) tend to like it a bit warmer. I would consider 93*f for the hot side as a minimum. My adult male thrives best at 95-96*f. I leave his cool side room temperature year round.

what temp should the moist or humid hide be she has a cool side all up to temp now and the cool hide is slightly moist read 20c and the humid hide is very moist and quite warm is this all ok

i put my moist hide half in and helf off it tends to keep it so cleo likes it and she spends most her time in ther e

You need to be careful letting her spend all her time n a moist hide. She could develop skin rot or an upper respratory infection. You need to find out why she's spending all her time inthere. Maybe the floor temps are hotter than she likes, try lowering them first, her cool side might not be cool enough for her to properly thermoregulate in her opinion altho your temps are good. It could be she is fixing to shed, but if she doesn't shed in the next few days you might need to regulate the amount of time you leave the moist humid hide in the viv to the times when you start seeing her ghost up for shedding.

yeah she just shed she regulates okay she spends her timme swinging between shes in there a while then on the edge of her cool side with belly on floor then asleep in her hot hide shes doing good but likes to have time in her moist one

yeh my leo 's skin has started to go very dull now and since i added the humid hide in the tank shes spent all her time in there i think shes getting ready to shed

Sounds like it. Sounds like you're on the right track. Just monitor her temps and her humidity and all should be good.

is there a certain temp in the humid side or just so its warm as a said before cool side is aorun 20c and the floor aroun 35 to 38c