Nov 24
Daren A asked:
I have a baby leo at home that i just bought an i am using calcium sand for my under tank heater/pad. Should i use sand what else can i use with it. Would i be able to use paper towels would that be safe?
I have a baby leo at home that i just bought an i am using calcium sand for my under tank heater/pad. Should i use sand what else can i use with it. Would i be able to use paper towels would that be safe?
And i am feeding him meal worms would that be healthy for him. I havn’t put any vitamens on them becuase i don’t know how to do it. And how do you make the meal worms ”gut loaded”.
3 Responses to “What should i use with my other tank heater for my baby leo?”
November 27th, 2008 at 2:06 am
thats really all you need but if you want something extra get a uvb
November 30th, 2008 at 4:43 am
Calcium sand is not recommended because it sometimes causes impactions in the reptile if they accidently ingest it. I would use repticarpet or paper towels or floor tiles.
Tiny mealworms are probably okay for a baby leo. I dont know how large your leo is, but i would use pinhead crickets more than mealworms. As he grows move to medium and large crickets, mealworms, roaches, silkworms, even try a pinkie when hes a full adult.
Gutloading means whatever you feed your mealworm, whatever goes into their “gut”, is going into your reptile, since they eat the worms. To gutload, you feed your mealworms or crickets a specific mealworm powder or liguid gel for crickets.
To put the vitamins on the insects, place the insects and some powder in a plastic bag, then shake it, like a shake and bake motion.
Dust insects everyday with vitamins and once a week with a D3 supplement.(calcium)
November 30th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Don’t use calcium sand, calcium sand can be bad for mature geckos and is certainly deadly for babies. Sand should never be used for young leos, they only have small digestive systems which are easily clogged, your risking serious impaction and ultimatly death if you use sand! My baby leo thrived well on paper towel, this is infact the safest kind of substrate you can use for a baby leo.
Put some rocks down for it to climb and bask on, do you have a heat lamp? the rock could be placed on the warm side under the heat lamp. You should have a humid hide on the warm end. The humid hide will help your gecko with the shedding process, you should also have a hide on the cool end of the tank.
UV lighting is not necessary as they are nocturnal and can be harmful to your geckos eyes.
I fed my baby gecko very small mealworms (the smaller the better, they are higher in nutrition and easier to digest) I also fed her pinhead crickets untill she was big enough to eat the next size up. I dust mine by dunking the insect into the vitamin powder or calcium whilst holding them with feeding tongues (i dusted half the bugs with calcium and half with vit powder) them blew off the excess. Try not to use too much vit powder as an overdose of vitamins can be toxic to the gecko.
A varied diet would be much more beneficial to the gecko than just feeding it one type of insect. Gut-loading is when you feed the insect. Insects should be gut-loaded to increase their nutritional value. They should be gut-loaded 24 - 48hours prior to being offered to your gecko. Insects may be fed on a variety of foods including:
Prickly pears (Vitamin C)
Mustard greens (Vitamin C, beta-carotene)
Carrots (beta-carotene)
Squashes (Vitamin C, beta-carotene)
Apples
Beta-carotene is converted in the body to vitamin A, something that the insect will lack without proper gut-loading.
Fruit and vegetables which should not be used for cricket food include the acidic/citrus fruits (e.g. orange, lemon, tomato), these fruits cause diarrhoea in the crickets resulting in dehydration. Other fruits and vegetables to avoid are spinach and broccoli which are calcium binders.
Vitamin D3 is essential for the absorption and secretion of calcium and phosphorus. Calcium works with Phosphorous and is the 5th most abundant mineral in the body. It is a primary structural of bone mineral and responsible for developing the rigidity of bone and teeth, blood clotting and the transmission of nerve impulses. The Ca:P ratio is extremely important and should be 2:1. If the gecko were to be deprived of this mineral the body would extract calcium from the bones causing deformation within the skeleton. This is called metabolic bone disease (or MBD) and can be fatal if not treated. Vitamin D3 in conjunction with calcium supplements may help to prevent this disease.
As a rule you should feed your gecko food items which are no more than the length, and less than half the width, of the lizards head. Hatchlings and young geckos can be fed 4-8 food items once per day. Geckos being nocturnal prefer to hunt their prey at night, so it is advised to feed your Gecko after dusk.
Sorry for so much info, got a bit carried away! lol