Gecko Misting

[Moonfox]

Hi all,

A little concerned about our female marbled velvet gecko (again!). The geckoes are my brothers pets, so he "looks after them", but I thought I'd step in.

The male is stocky and thick tailed and grips well when you hold him, but the female feels a lot weaker, has a thin tail and barely grips by comparison. Is this a normal difference between the sexes? At any rate, I'd feel more comfortable if she had more weight on her.

Since they're both eating, I thought it might be due to hydration? We have shallow water bowls with them, which I've seen the male use but never the female. How do I go about misting them? Lukewarm water sprayed onto the geckoes themselves as well as the tank? Do I avoid spraying the walls or is it a good idea to mist them too?

Thanks.

 

[AUSGECKO]

Ther is no need to use warm water, just use normal tap water and spray the gecko`s directly and all surfaces of the enclosure. I would probably feed them seperatly just to be sure she is getting her fair share of food. I would also consult a reputable herp vet about worming them.

 

[herptrader]

It sounds like the female is not eating as well as the male. Both should have similarly thick tails. You may wish to consider separating them for feeding (or removing the male at feeding time until the female has had her fill.)

I mist most days despite having occasionally seen them drinking from a bowl.

Often by the time you notice problems like poor grip it can be too late to correct them.

 

[Moonfox]

Thanks for the speedy responses!

I just misted them now and they didn't like it much, but they're busily licking the water off themselves. I'll give feeding seperately another go - maybe try some woodies next time.

 

[herptrader]

Thanks for the speedy responses!

I just misted them now and they didn't like it much, but they're busily licking the water off themselves. I'll give feeding seperately another go - maybe try some woodies next time.

Licking the water off themselves is them drinking so I would take that as a good sign!

 

[Vixen]

How much should you mist so you the geckos are getting enough? Do you have to stand them for 5 mins spraying them or what haha.

I usually do mine everynight with a few sprays but is this enough?

 

[AUSGECKO]

I usually do mine every second morning and just enough so that water droplets form on all the surfaces.

 

[herptrader]

I do ours for a about 5 seconds. They always "duck for cover" but the impression I get is that they do not really mind it. It is a bit like standing in the rain, you don't always like it but it can be fun and we do need the water!

 

[Vixen]

Was just wondering as mine don't ever lick the droplets off the wall of the enclosure etc, and they don't seem to get much from just licking it from their faces.

But they havent died yet so obviously getting enough I suppose lol.