My first levis!

[Richs]

Hi all,
Just wanted to get some feedback if possible on how these guys are going?
I got them when they were 2 months old, had them for nearly a month now.
Was told not to freak out as they go through a fair few changes in the first month, and as long as I do the important stuff, all will be fine, but both have gone through digging stages and showing off on the side of the terrarium and just had their fist shed (i thought the poor guys were sick).
Now i've noticed their tails seem a little slimmer than they once were, and their appetite has declined. I used to feed them 2-3 small/baby crickets once every 2 days, but at the moment, they have had the same 4 crickets in there since Saturday?
Also, still tryen to get my head around their sex, I think they are still a bit young so I'm going off size but thats not easy either.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated

 

[itbites]

They are looking very skinny IMO..

Not a gecko expert but I would say something is not right..
either set-up, heat or health wise...

*edit* Do you mist them on a regular basis?
The skin sagging looks almost like dehydration.

 

[Richs]

I've got both a heat mat, and heat rock that they love.
Was a little worried on the health side, hence why I thought I'd see if anyone had some advice.
They are also at the final stage of shedding, the smaller one started yesterday, the larger one on Sunday.
Mist them once a day, the sand once every 2, plus they have a water dish (gatorade bottle cap).

 

[Jay84]

They are 2 VERY sorry looking geckos. They look EXTREMELY skinny and dehydrated. At that age mine eat between 3 and 6 crickets per night.

What temps are you keeping them at? Are you misting them every other day?

 

[Richs]

Temps at 23 - 26 degrees.

 

[Sarah]

they definitely look underweight and still have shed on them, have you got a pic of their setup , is the heat mat underneath 1/3 of the tank is it set on about 30deg im assuming you have a thermostat setup, the deep end is the moist end, it should be kept moist at all times , they should have hides at the hot end and cool end. The 2-3 crickets is that each every 2 days or all up for both of them at any rate something isnt right , they are real gutses when it comes to food .

 

[Sarah]

the temp is way too low for levis

 

[Jay84]

Temps at 23 - 26 degrees.

Those temps are very low for juvies. Increase temps to 30 - 32 degrees at the hot end. With temps that low they will almost be inactive in brumating mode.

 

[Richs]

2/3 each / day, i haven't fed them since there are still a couple of crickets in there.
i just changed the water again and they are drinking it.
I heard that adding milk to the water is an idea if they are young and not eating the crickets so they still get some calcium, should i try it out?
One from back corner is now sitting on heated rock (fav place), other is under the magnetic rock at the from of shot.

Temps been increased to 30.

 

[kupper]

2/3 each / day, i haven't fed them since there are still a couple of crickets in there.
i just changed the water again and they are drinking it.
I heard that adding milk to the water is an idea if they are young and not eating the crickets so they still get some calcium, should i try it out?
One from back corner is now sitting on heated rock (fav place), other is under the magnetic rock at the from of shot.
View attachment 161981
Temps been increased to 30.

I really think you need to sell the geckos and go back and do some research because it is clear that you have no idea how to care for them

 

[Sarah]

no milk what so ever i have never heard of that and ive done a fair bit of research on geckos, are you sprinkling calcium supplement on the crickets, as mentioned before they should be getting 4 crickets ever 2 days each , they dont necessarily need a water bowl because that can be easily contaminated if you are not cleaning it every day. I keep the deep end moist but the dry end stays dry i mist the walls of the enclosure . I think the heat rock is not a good idea that should come out of the tank, i use terracotta saucers as hides cheap.

 

[Richs]

The post is called "My first Levis!"
I have read all the online content I can find. Joined forums and asked questions. This is the first sign something isn't right and it started on Saturday when the first one started to shed.
All I'm asking is if something is wrong, can you please point me into some kind of direction on how to fix it?
I understand constructive critisism, but telling me to sell them is about as constructive as telling me to flush them, and I'm not doing either, it doesn't fix the problem!

 

[Jay84]

How much area is the heatmat covering? How are the temps so low? What wattage is the heatmat?

As stated, use teracotta pot plant bases as hides (cut or smash out an entrance hole). Mist the tank (not use waterbowl). Misting the geckos and the sides of the tank will encourage them to drink the droplets of water.

Please make all these changes quickly, as being such small and young geckos they will not be able to withstand those temps and lack of food/water for any length of time

 

[Jay84]

The post is called "My first Levis!"
I have read all the online content I can find. Joined forums and asked questions. This is the first sign something isn't right and it started on Saturday when the first one started to shed.

I dont want to sound like i am flaming you, but these geckos are very skinny..... that doesn't happen in less than a week.

From photos of other peoples geckos on other threads you should get a guage on how your geckos should look. Plump, with plump little tails.

 

[Richs]

didn't think so, cow and gecko doesn't mix, but thought i'd ask anyways.
the crickets come with calcium powder that i sprinkle on in the morning before i feed them at night.
there is a heat mat under the sand, just infront of the heat rock (you can see the cord), they just enjoy laying on the rock.

 

[Richs]

I noticed the tails first of all were getting rather skinny, but like I said previously, alarm bells were going off then they basically stopped eating.
Was told by the previous owner they do drop off food rather quickly once they get to a decent size so I wasn't overly worried. Now its been 3 days but there water intake has been normal.

 

[kupper]

The post is called "My first Levis!"
I have read all the online content I can find. Joined forums and asked questions. This is the first sign something isn't right and it started on Saturday when the first one started to shed.
All I'm asking is if something is wrong, can you please point me into some kind of direction on how to fix it?
I understand constructive critisism, but telling me to sell them is about as constructive as telling me to flush them, and I'm not doing either, it doesn't fix the problem!

all of your research should have been done before acquiring animals .

you need to organise a hot spot of 30 degrees via a under tank heat source

feeding as many crickets as the animal will eat every night and dusting in calcium

water should be given via misting


i would also be dividing the tank with a plastic divider so each animal has a time to recover

but looking at both of them you have a long hall infront of you to get them back to health

 

[kupper]

I noticed the tails first of all were getting rather skinny, but like I said previously, alarm bells were going off then they basically stopped eating.
Was told by the previous owner they do drop off food rather quickly once they get to a decent size so I wasn't overly worried. Now its been 3 days but there water intake has been normal.

how do you monitor water intake when it is a small lid? especially when geckos generally don't use water bowls

that is what a healthy gecko looks like

I have many adult geckos all of them eating daily and there food intake may drop off during winter but only when cooled

 

[Richs]

all of your research should have been done before acquiring animals .

you need to organise a hot spot of 30 degrees via a under tank heat source

feeding as many crickets as the animal will eat every night and dusting in calcium

water should be given via misting


i would also be dividing the tank with a plastic divider so each animal has a time to recover

but looking at both of them you have a long hall infront of you to get them back to health

the hot spot ive got is the heat mat, under the sand infront of the heat rock (this way they can choose which they prefer in accordance with previous owner who also had one)
i didnt wanna over feed them as i didn't want them to choke as i've also heard this is a habit for the little gutses, crickets come with own calcuim "gutload").
plastic divider is a new idea.

Trust me, I know its going to be a long slog, hence why I thought id ask the brains trust as I've read some crazy ideas on other blogs.

 

[Richs]

the water bowl is purelly for addage, like i said, previous owner had one, similarly to the toilet rolls.
thought they would go with what they were comfortable with.