Finally did it!!

PythonChick · #1 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 02:29 AM

Well, my fiance and I were in PetCO today getting some dog food, and as we were purusing the reptile section we came upon some baby leos. TOTALLY cute. And really cheap too. I wasn't going to get one, but Greg was all cutesie about them (not like I wasn't either) [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] And so, we came home with 2 of them. According to the guy at PetCO they're about 2 months old. CB too, but I'm not sure about if they were local though. We took some pictures, but we've been having some problems uploading them to the photo gallery (as usual).
He said that they were feeding them crushed crix and some really small mealworms (mini mealworms as he said), and pin head crix. I've never thought of getting leos so small, but I figured it was a good thing to "save" them from other horrors at the store. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
They've already found a hiding spot together in a "tree stump", and seem to be getting on quite nicely. I have a feeling after another paycheck I might go back and get another 2. They are in a 20gal Long all by themselves. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
Oh, and they're about 3 inches long. Anyone that's had them this small, PLEASE let me know how often you fed them and whatever else you did to make them get big and strong quickly!
And finally, BRI, how can you tell the sex of them?? You said that you know how to sex them????? I'd like to know what they are before we name them. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Thanks a lot!!!
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Clownfishie · #2 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 04:20 AM

Python,

Congrats on your new additions -- leos are great [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

First of all, you might want to take them into a vet and have them checked out, and tested for parasites etc -- one problem with buying herps from a pet store (especially chain ones like PetCo) is that they often come along with extra little "goodies" that you weren't really counting on. My first leo, Path, I got from a pet store, and she must have had something when I got her because she started wasting away within a little while of getting her. I think that Pet Co has some kind of guarantee on their animals, right? So if there's anything wrong with them, you might be able to get them to pay for the bill, or something...

Second... baby leos should be fed every day, around 5-6 appropriately sized crickets -- they're probably almost big enough to start feeding them 1/2" crickets. If you like, you can also leave a dish with a few small mealies in it in their tank, and they can snack on those whenever they get the munchies. You should be dusting their food with calcium/vitamin powder at every feeding for now, and also have a dish of calcium available in their tank. It's up to you whether to leave water in there at all times, or to put it in there only 3-4 days of the week. They don't really NEED it there all the time, but personally I keep it there, just in case.

Temp should be at around 80-85 on the warm side... they'll need a humid hide on the warm side to help them during shedding (which the little guys do a lot more often than the adults), as well as a dry hide... and then a dry hide on the cooler side as well.

Best to keep them on paper towel while they're this young, the risks of impaction if they're on sand would be too great. Once they've grown to at least 6", you can switch to sand if you like.

You probably won't have much luck sexing them at this age -- but, being from a petstore, there's a good chance that they were incubated to be females, and thus probably ARE females. 3 full grown leos in a 20 is ok -- 4 might be pushing it. Just keep in mind that if more than one somehow turns out to be male, you'll have to move one of them out of there, or they'll hurt each other. Once they're around 4-5 months old you'll be able to sex them a bit better. At 6 months, the hemipenal bulges on the males start to become more obvious -- you can also look for the preanal pores, which will be in a chevron shape just above the tail.
If you go here: www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm there's pictures of the male and female... uhhh... nether regions [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

HTH a little, feel free to ask any more questions that you might have!
Jen
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lizardlady · #3 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 01:23 PM

Excellent post Clownfishie!! Very thorough. The only thing I can think of to ad, is for the size of the crix, some people use between the eyes, but I will give a cricket almost as long as the head of the gecko. I also feed about 6 crix early in the day. If they are gone in the evening, they get more. I like to keep food in front of babies at all times, but crickets can be nasty (they bite!) so you don't want too many in the cage at a time.
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PythonChick · #4 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 04:04 PM

Thanks a lot for all the info everyone!! They are SO cute! They don't like to come out of that plastic tree stump. They've both crammed themselves into the top of it. I checked them this morning and they were OK. I saw one one them poke their heads out and look at me. hehe. I have a FLO ReptiSun bulb on the tank also...do you think that that's why they don't want to come out, or just b/c they are in a new environment??

[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Thanks again!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

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Clownfishie · #5 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 07:23 PM

They'll start coming out more once they're a bit more settled in -- that being said, my newest addition which I got in January JUST started to overcome his shyness and come out a bit instead of hiding all day long. But also keep in mind that leos are nocturnal, so they're really not going to be out much during the day... they do all their partying after dark [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

As for the reptisun -- leos don't need UVA/UVB because they're nocturnal.. so it's up to you whether to leave it on. If that's what you want to use for your light source that's fine -- personally I just use incandescent bulbs -- helps keep the heat up on the warm side, in addition to the UTH that I have in there.... And the incandescents are cheaper to replace when the time comes [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Jen
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CaptainHowdy · #6 (**permalink**) 03-19-2002, 09:11 PM

also, you might want to get an extra hide or two...a humid hide is also very important, especially since babies seem to do a little better with more humidity..
everthing else sounds great, congrats!
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gecko_paws · #7 (**permalink**) 03-31-2002, 12:00 AM

Yeah I had mine that small, and I did buy them from petco. I throughly checked for mites and other parasites. They are about a year old and they about 80 grams and over 9 inches long. They are the fattest pigs in the whole wide world. Have fun with the buggers they a really are a rewarding pet to have.
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