(06-03-2012, 07:39 AM)Fishbone Wrote: Congratulations Amanda! They look good. Did they say what strain of albino he is? Kinda looks like a rainwater, but it's hard to say for sure.
As for the supplements, you definitely need calcium, and you definitely don't want any phosphorus in the calcium. They are going to need some D3, as they don't need or utilize any UVB. And they need a little multivitamin. Now, if you read all the gecko boards and forums, there is a pretty fierce debate on what types of calcium and when to use what types. It is a good idea to keep a small container of calcium in the tank, leos will self regulate their own calcium quite a bit. Allot of people use pure calcium carbonate in the tank, and then use calcium w/ D3 when they dust the insects. And there are people that go with about every combination from there you can imagine.
Personally, I use Repasy's LoD calcium supplement in the dish in the enclosure, as it has a small amount of D3 in it. This is actually the main calcium supplement I use on everything. I dust some of the insects going in, depending on the insects in question. Mealies and supers, I dust most of them, or drop them into the calcium dish and let them go. I have a female that doesn't like supers and mealies, she eats mostly silks and butters, so I don't dust those with calcium as often, as they have better calcium to begin with. There is also a supplement from Repashy called Calcium Plus, which is mostly calcium, with a mix of d3 and other vitamins in it. It looks like a very good idea, I haven't used it yet, I think I am going to get that the next time around. And once or twice a week I add a multivitamin. I still use the old school Rep-Cal Herptivite. I think when I run out of that I will try out Repashy's Supervite for a multivitamin. The Repashy products are getting constantly good reviews, and there is a very wide range of products to choose from to customize what you need. But at least for now you should put a dish of calcium in the tank.
As for the tail wiggling, they do that whenever they are excited, so it could definitely be a breeding behavior. You will also see it sometimes when they are stalking prey. For the hides, the best way to start is to place one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and a moist hide in the middle. You can watch them from there and adjust them to what they seem to need and like. Good luck
And another thought, with the calcium, I don't think the exact calcium:phosphorus (Ca) with leopard geckos has been studied, but with most reptiles a 2:1 Ca ratio seems to be optimum. So knowing what you are feeding should give you a little clue as to how much you need to dust the bugs. You are basically trying to balance the ratio of the insect back to 2:1 Ca. The information on this page is from a site dedicated to bearded dragon rescues, but the information is still very valid, and it has the basic nutritional info on most feeder insects. You can see that mealworms have a horrible Ca, butterworms are much better, silkworms are the highest in protein, etc... There are obviously variations depending on the health of the insects in question, if & how well you gutload, etc... But it gives a good base to start.
i use stickytongue farms brand, im not sure if your familiar with it, i have the outdoor formula which is d3 free, and the indoor which contains d3, but im not sure how much. should i put a little bit of both in the bowl with the worms? and i feed the crickets miner-all once a month so my chameleons get the vitamins through them, would the same work for the geckos? and how much should each be eating? all i have are superworms and crickets, ill be stopping at the bait store to get mealworms tomorrow
They look good. Did they say what strain of albino he is? Kinda looks like a rainwater, but it's hard to say for sure.
) with leopard geckos has been studied, but with most reptiles a 2:1 Ca
