Paul - 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 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Julie, Thankyou! You're most welcome! :o) And thankyou for catching that very important and neglected point! Great info! Based on your experience, what has been the worst offender for impaction? I always start them out in a sterile environment on newspaper or paper towels to make sure they're healthy BEFORE moving them to their vivarium or introducing them to other geckos. I forgot to mention that though. Was in native environment mode. :o) By the way, a good way to remove parasites from substrate when using soil or other substrates (aside from actually cooking it) is to take the substrate, place it in a sealed black plastic bag, and leave it out in the sun for a week or two, or longer if you like. This will effectively kill off any parasites in the substrate, providing it gets fairly constant sun during that time. 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
