My first levis!
- Thread starter Richs
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i just had another thought as well maybe their enclosure is big ......... with levis they arnt the brightest light bulbs in the bunch when it comes to food ..... mine are young and i have them is a small enclosure than i will have when they get full grown as its more easy for them to catch their food .... so that might be worth thinking about
sure is
it's funny, I thought the same thing too looking back at the photo but they only take 2 steps at most to get too a cricket. (luckily the crockets like jumping on their heads while exploring)
when I first got them, I had a mating box, not for them to mate obviously, but the size was perfect, but with the rapid rate they grew in the first 2 - 3 weeks, i thought getting a larger enclosure so they wouldnt be so squashed and fighting for space.
well i have my 3 little guys in a tank about hrmmm maybe 40 cms long by about 25 deep .... and they are thriving .... i also have a water bowl in for them that i have large glass beads in just so its not to deep .....
so you do the waterbowl thing as well as spray them?
Jay84
Very Well-Known Member
Great to hear the temps are up!!!
My advice would be to put about 4 crickets in the tank in the early evening after dark (about 8pm). Go and check on them before you go to bed (assuming around 10pm?), if all the crickets are gone then put some more in. My knobbies freak out if there are too many crickets in the tank jumping here there and everywhere!
Another trick i found good for younger knobbies is to take one of the crickets back legs off so they are a little less mobile. in doing this, a cricket with a less accurate aim will still be able to catch them.
One thing i have also experienced is retained eye scale (spectacle). I have had a few young knobbies where this has not shed properly, this will affect their eyesight and feeding progress. Once you have noticed your geckos shed, ensure ALL skin is successfully removed.
My advice would be to put about 4 crickets in the tank in the early evening after dark (about 8pm). Go and check on them before you go to bed (assuming around 10pm?), if all the crickets are gone then put some more in. My knobbies freak out if there are too many crickets in the tank jumping here there and everywhere!
Another trick i found good for younger knobbies is to take one of the crickets back legs off so they are a little less mobile. in doing this, a cricket with a less accurate aim will still be able to catch them.
One thing i have also experienced is retained eye scale (spectacle). I have had a few young knobbies where this has not shed properly, this will affect their eyesight and feeding progress. Once you have noticed your geckos shed, ensure ALL skin is successfully removed.
Jay84
Very Well-Known Member
OK, if the spectacle is retained, you should be able to see the difference if you look closely. If it has shed ok then its eye should look very clear and 'bright'. if retained it will look dull and there may be some skin that you can grip onto with a pair of tweezers. Be Very careful if doing this as you can cause damage. When i have done this i have dampened the area with a wet cotton bud, letting it soak for a few minutes.
Terrific idea with the cotton bud, i'll have a look and try out both methods.
Will keep you update, much appreciated.
G
Gecko :)
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Tasha your posts are not helpful at all,. at least Kupper gave some good advice
Hey Richs,
Sorry to see your levis in such a bad way,.so sad
I am very curious who you bought these from as I would have expected the seller to ensure you have the propper information on how to care for them before they were sold to you.
I think everyone else has pretty much covered most points for you now, so with anyluck hopefully they will bounce back quickly.
Good to hear you have bumped their temps up, I would really reccomend seperating them so that you can keep an eye on both of them & ensure they are both getting enough food. I would reccomend seperating them into their own 10lt plastic tub at least until you get the back on track.
As far as the retained spec I would reccomend giving the eye a spray of water before trying to peel it off,. also be very careful if you intend to use a cotton bud or tweezers not to poke them in the eye,. I usually use my fingers although may not be possible if you dont have any nails,.. DONT pull on it to hard! if it doesnt come off easily give it another spray before trying again.
Best of luck & please be sure to keep us updated.
Hey Richs,
Sorry to see your levis in such a bad way,.so sad
I am very curious who you bought these from as I would have expected the seller to ensure you have the propper information on how to care for them before they were sold to you.
I think everyone else has pretty much covered most points for you now, so with anyluck hopefully they will bounce back quickly.
Good to hear you have bumped their temps up, I would really reccomend seperating them so that you can keep an eye on both of them & ensure they are both getting enough food. I would reccomend seperating them into their own 10lt plastic tub at least until you get the back on track.
As far as the retained spec I would reccomend giving the eye a spray of water before trying to peel it off,. also be very careful if you intend to use a cotton bud or tweezers not to poke them in the eye,. I usually use my fingers although may not be possible if you dont have any nails,.. DONT pull on it to hard! if it doesnt come off easily give it another spray before trying again.
Best of luck & please be sure to keep us updated.
shellfisch
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I think it was briefly touched on earlier, but it is important that you remove any uneaten crickets after a few hours or the next morning.
The crickets become dehydrated and lose nutritional value quickly, so then do not provide your gex with enough vitamins etc.
Another thing we noticed was that once or twice when we have used a white coloured sand, the gex have trouble seeing the crickets when they are dusted in calcium, as they tend to blend in a bit.
Separating your gex within the enclosure is a very good idea too. You can more easily monitor how much each one is eating then.
We have never given ours water bowls, only misted the sides of the tank, the sand, and sometimes the gex themselves if they are out.
Michelle
The crickets become dehydrated and lose nutritional value quickly, so then do not provide your gex with enough vitamins etc.
Another thing we noticed was that once or twice when we have used a white coloured sand, the gex have trouble seeing the crickets when they are dusted in calcium, as they tend to blend in a bit.
Separating your gex within the enclosure is a very good idea too. You can more easily monitor how much each one is eating then.
We have never given ours water bowls, only misted the sides of the tank, the sand, and sometimes the gex themselves if they are out.
Michelle
LiasisKing
Kel Campbell-Gale
some things for you to try...
-put some fruit in the crickets box, this will make the crickets have a higher water contant, therefore hydrating your gex
-spray the sides of the tank daily (they will lick the water off the glass sides)
-dust the crickets with calcium powder, and possibly vitamin D powder if you can get some from a petshop .
-give them some sunlight - but do not leave them in the sum for more than 5 minutes - they can die from heat exhaustion VERY quickly
-make sure they have enough heat (if needed, get a bigger heat mat, or have less substrate)
-make sure they can escape this heat
-try offering them slightly smaller crickets, or put the crickets in the fridge for 5 minutes before you feed them to your geckoes, this will make them less active, and the lizards will ude less effort to catch them
if you do all this, you should be on your way to having healthier, happier, plumper geckoes ...
-put some fruit in the crickets box, this will make the crickets have a higher water contant, therefore hydrating your gex
-spray the sides of the tank daily (they will lick the water off the glass sides)
-dust the crickets with calcium powder, and possibly vitamin D powder if you can get some from a petshop .
-give them some sunlight - but do not leave them in the sum for more than 5 minutes - they can die from heat exhaustion VERY quickly
-make sure they have enough heat (if needed, get a bigger heat mat, or have less substrate)
-make sure they can escape this heat
-try offering them slightly smaller crickets, or put the crickets in the fridge for 5 minutes before you feed them to your geckoes, this will make them less active, and the lizards will ude less effort to catch them
if you do all this, you should be on your way to having healthier, happier, plumper geckoes ...
What? I cant think of a better way to stress them out.
Keep it simple. Separate tubs, 32 degrees at the hot end, mist the tub walls every couple of days. Terracotta dish hides at either end of the enclosure. Pump the food into them and leave them alone to feed. Messing with them and doing things like baking them in the sun will only slow the process.
Itll be touch and go, once they get to a certain point they can be hard to turn around.
shellfisch
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And Jay84 made a good point about not having too many crickets in there at once
We noticed that early on with ours also, they really didn't like it
Michelle
We noticed that early on with ours also, they really didn't like it
Michelle
kupper
Very Well-Known Member
You know what makes me angry Tasha
The countless newbies that purchase animals not knowing diddly squat about them
Show some initiative and research the animal you plan to keep not just wack them together
And hope for the best
It's pretty simple Tasha .... The only difference between me and a few others I'll tell you how it is and no pussy foot around the point
If you have a problem with that pm me and we will discuss it in depth
The countless newbies that purchase animals not knowing diddly squat about them
Show some initiative and research the animal you plan to keep not just wack them together
And hope for the best
It's pretty simple Tasha .... The only difference between me and a few others I'll tell you how it is and no pussy foot around the point
If you have a problem with that pm me and we will discuss it in depth
Jay84
Very Well-Known Member
What the???? Is this giving the crickets sunlight or the geckos?!?!?! I am perplexed as to why you would give either of them sunlight.
Please explain ????
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