- your data is fantastic, thank you so much! As an experienced leopard gecko breeder I have to comment about the substrate- naturalistic is a choice best left to very experienced leopard gecko keepers due to the potential for impaction and contamination (parasites and bacteria can have fun here). Sick or poor doer leopards should be kept by themselves on a sanitary substrate such as paper towels or newspaper. This way they won't reinfect themselves by stepping on the contaminated (or potentially contaminated) substrate of dirt/sand. They should also be kept in a 5-10 gallon set-up or something similar so they have a chance to catch their food items and so you can monitor that and see their progress (or lack thereof). The use of paper towels or newspaper also allows you to monitor their feces and change the whole substrate quickly and easily, allowing easy sterilization with a product such as Quatricide.
Unfortunately every leopard gecko breeder knows rehab procedures only too well!
Julie Bergman
http://www.geckoranch.com
GGA lifetime member
Paul wrote:
hmm... Temp is 10 below what it should be then.. Righto :) thanks. sandy/rocky grounding right? he bit me today so he is a bit more active :Dthanks LizYes, temps ranging from 53F at night to 90F during the day (these are the low to high temps over the next ten days) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Now there IS a major river there, the Kabul river, which the city is situated on, so the geckos would have a water source there, aside from their insect prey. The city is wedged in a high narrow valley, wedged between mountain ranges. These mountains range in height from 4500 to 6000 meters above sea level. Since it is a valley, and it sits on the Kabul river, it is one of the most fertile areas of land in Afghanistan. Over the past twenty years, the government there drained the marshes and wetlands surrounding the city due to malaria problems. Unfortunately it has caused difficulties in farming and to hundreds of species of wildlife (plants and animals) there. What was once a small lake, a beautiful marshy area, is now a reeking biochemical waste disposal ground, thanks to industrial factories. There is vegetation in this valley, though, and farmers do grow vegetables there. At any rate, I didn't want to lead you to believe that this valley is a desert wasteland. It's one of the most fertile valleys there are in Afghanistan. There are shrubs, bushes and other vegetation, and I am assuming that if they can grow beets and other vegetables there, there must be soil. So all is not sand. As a side note I tend to use sterilized peat moss/potting soil mixes for all but purely desert species of geckos. Sand ingested can be a problem from what I've heard. So perhaps light on the sand, lean more toward some other substrate, and supply rocks for the geckos to hide under. A water dish wouldn't hurt either, as long as it is firmly placed and unable to be knocked over as you want to keep the humidity down some. Make sure the gecko can't fall in and drown, either. So a ramp in the dish of some sort if the water dish is smooth sided is a good idea as well. Here is a list of average highs and lows over the year in Kabul, Afghanistan: January (19F to 40F) with 1.4 inches of precipitation. February (21F to 41F) with 2.4 inches of precipitation March (33F to 54F) with 2.7 inches of precipitation April (42F to 66F) with 2.8 inches of precipitation May (47F to 75F) with 0.9 inches of precipitation June (54F to 86F) with 0.0 inches of precipitation July (59F to 89F) with 0.2 inches of precipitation August (57F to 89F) with 0.1 inches of precipitation September (48F to 83F) with 0.1 inches of precipitation October (39F to 72F) with 0.2 inches of precipitation Novemeber (29F to 59F) with 0.7 inches of precipitation December (23F to 46F) with 0.9 inches of precipitation Hopefully this info is of some interest to you and/or others on the list, and I'm not boring everyone to death. ;o) I'm glad to hear he's doing better! :o) Best wishes, Paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
