Hi Becky,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> In a message dated 01/02/2001 9:43:01 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> << I'll let the others comment about the
> feeding schedule. I feed at night every other day.
> I would adjust the hide box a little. Perhaps use an old tupperware, or a
> new one, and cut a hole in the side near the top.INside I prefer a soil
> type sustrate as they liketo dig around. The sponge might provide a moist
> area, but might frustrate digging attempts. I like peat or bed a beast type
> coconut fibers. Lightly damp does the trick. I change it now and again it
> it becomes contaminated with feces. Leopard gecos are pretty good about
> that though. >>
> Lyle and Steve,
> I made a hide box out of a cool whip container and put vermiculite
> inside the container. The vermiculite was Julie's idea in a separate
> message off-line of the group. If you cut the hole near the top of the
> container, how do they climb inside the container? Do you build a ramp or
> what?
This is an adult sized container, they just plop in. For subadults you might want
something smaller. Just cut a hole in the center just big enough so they can get
in and out of it, that will work fine.
> I know this might sound stupid to most of you, but I am just the
> mother of the son (age 18) that owns these geckos.
No, no stupid questions! The only way you could irritate folks here is to not
listen or ask at all! ;-)
> Sometimes I feel like
> they are mine too since I have to constantly remind him to change the water,
> etc. I guess I'm the God-Mom to the Geckos.
>
;-)
>
> My son has two Leucistic Leopard Geckos (both about 5 1/2" - 6") - one
> is a female and slightly bigger (heathlier looking) than the other. She has
> more brilliant colors of yellow - not counting the tail of course. The
> other is a male and appears to be smaller (thinner) than the female. I'm
> not sure if it is because he isn't eating as much or if that is just the
> normal colors - opposite from birds where the male has the prettier colors.
>
There should not be a sex-color difference, color differences should arise from
the parents and their genetics.Some leucistics are just plain ugly brown. Some
are more yellow, it runs the gamut. They also color up somewhat based on how they
feel. If the male is getting totally dominated by this larger female, he will not
color up or feel very good. You may not have seen his best color yet! It may be
good to separate them if he is not eating well on a regular basis. This way you
can tell how much he is eating, and can easily fatten him up if he is healthy in
the first place. Once he is close to the female in size and weight you can try
pairing them up again.
>
> Back to the cool whip container - at first only the male was using the
> container, but now the female is using it too. They are so cute lying in
> the container with their heads on each other.
>
It's pretty boring to just have one leopard!
>
> I wasn't sure how to make the hole in the container, so I cut it about
> an inch from the bottom and it is about three inches wide and about 1 inch
> high. So far the crickets haven't gotten inside it.
>
Sorry I did not tell you how to cut the hole, that is a little big and the
moisture level will be hard to keep up in there. See if you can cover it up so
they can just barely fit in.
>
> Speaking of crickets -- you said in your post above that you only feed
> your leopard geckos once a day. My son is feeding his two times a day. I
> can not seem to convince him that he should not let the crickets run around
> in the cage. His reasoning is that since the male is so much smaller than
> the female, he didn't want to only feed them once a day.
>
If he wants them to not grow as fast, he can keep this up. If these are adults,
they should be fed no more than 4x weekly, about 10 crickets or more or less,
depending on their appetite (see my earlier post about feeding schedule for
leopards). The WORST thing you can do is have food running around. This stresses
out the geckos and certainly depresses their feeding response (more details in
the earlier - thoughts on food), causing them to lose weight or not gain it in
the best case scenario.
>
> Appreciate your feedback. I've been forwarding some of your posts to
> him to read.
>
> Becky
>
Very good. Please send him my post thoughts on food! ;-)
>
> PS - I'll be sending in our GGA Membership tomorrow.
>
>
Thank you so much!
Julie Bergman
http://www.geckoranch.com
GGA lifetime member
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