Ok so this is urgent I take very good care of my gecko I clean it’s tank often feed it regularly clean it’s water and check the tanks temperature but recently it has been spending all its time in the cold hide not shedding in months less active and it’s starting to loose color on its head but not like shedding turn white like litteraly losing color on the top of its head I’m really worried and don’t know what could be causing this it also looks very healthy has a plump tail and I give it calcium and vitamins and it has its light please help me
Please give the details of your husbandry. Describe the enclosure- dimensions, cage furniture, substrate, everything. Describe diet, what you supplement with & how often. Temps, origin, species, etc.
It sounds like you potentially have major husbandry errors so this info is important- most sickness in pet reptiles is because of incorrect husbandry. If your gecko is critically ill, you need to take it to a herp vet. Go to ARAV to find one.
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If anything I’d think it would be a parasite because I got it from petco my husbandry is almost perfect I’ve followed multiple guides one of wich was the leopard gecko YouTuber and read books etc but I have not been able to find anything about litteraly losing color is there anyway I can find nearby reptile vets?
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If you don’t tell us your exact husbandry then we can’t really help you figure it out. Many claim to have perfect husbandry but still get something wrong.
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Post some pictures of the little dudes head. I see some asked for your husbandry info…I understand you probably believe you’ve done your research when it comes to temps, enclosure size, humidity, etc but a Vet would most likely ask you the same questions. The posters above just want to ensure your husbandry is 100% correct since some people truly believe they are on point with husbandry until they post on here and end up finding out certain things were wrong. I hope your boy gets better soon.
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I can guarantee this because I am a vet. Not a herp vet, but I’ve been around herp practices a lot. They will focus on your husbandry second and for good reason. First they will focus on what species your gecko is. It’s a leo in your avatar- are we talking about that gecko?
Color change in reptiles can happen for a LOT of reasons. Improper temperatures are on that list.
I also told you how to find a herp vet- google “ARAV veterinarian,” then go to ‘Find A Vet.’ I’m just on my phone and don’t feel like hunting down the link.
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Thanks now that I think about I have the right temps but he likes to spend most of his time one the cold side wich worries me because the hot side is not to hot and is more secure and not to small I’ll find a vet but any idea why he would prefer cold side more because his hot side is not too hot and i have changed the hides multiple times also I’ve had him fir about 3-4 months and this only started now he used to spend most of his time in the ward hide now it’s only in the moist hide it the cold hide
You aren’t telling us exact temperatures, his setup (tank size, decor, substrate), or what you feed him. Without any information we cannot tell you why he would be having any issues.
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20 Gallon tank 90-95 hot side with a hotspot of 97 wich is like the door of his I hit hide cold side of around 75-76 degrees sometimes a little lower cause it’s winter and a moist hide in the middle feed him super worms and meal worms that I gutload with carrots and cucumbers the super worms I feed him are really small don’t worry I have leave decorations from pet smart that are plastic and have a nice area for him to go number 2 also the substrate is like a rock Matt but teh rocks are not lose they are like glued to the mat kind of so he can’t eat them and I have a small heat Matt ofc and a uv light. Edit: also planning on getting her a bigger tank either when she gets bigger or in like 4 months cause right now she is good in her current one and when I get a bigger tank I will get a front opening one cause they are better for me and the gecko
You should try to drop your hotspot to about 90, what you have is way too high. Also you need to give better food, superworms have very low nutritional value and are high in fat and mealworms are very high in chitin. You should get black soldier fly larvae (bsfl), silkworms, and/or dubia roaches. If those aren’t possible crickets are better than superworms and mealworms though you have to take precautions that they don’t hurt your gecko and you should get one of the three foods I recommended above for a staple eventually. I don’t think you need a bigger enclosure, especially if your gecko isn’t in perfect shape health wise. Can you provide pictures of your current setup?
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I can’t get a picture right now although how long does it take for the black shoulder fly larva to turn into flys and Dubai’s are a no for me first off I don’t like roaches but would do it for my geckos health but for my parents that’s a hard no sadly but the soilder flys might work and I will change the hot side as soon as possible I can’t believe I let it get that hot for so long I feel so dumb thanks for your help
I’m not exactly sure about the flies though they will only pupate and turn into flies if they have soil to bury in which is why they need to be kept in no escape dishes, if your parents saw the actual fly they probably wouldn’t allow bsfl either since they look like wasps (even though they’re harmless). You might be able to find someone else who might have a use for bsfl and split the cost with them since the minimum order I’ve seen for them is 50 which is a lot for a single gecko.
Dubias aren’t that bad, they aren’t invasive (only 4-5 out of hundreds of roach species are which gives them a bad reputation) they grow slowly and are a good staple feeder.
It’s fine that you didn’t get it right the first time, unfortunately a lot of new keepers are misguided into giving improper care like improper temps and food by pet stores.
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Ok I’ll try to work my parents cause my mom likes my gecko a lot and I would rather have roaches then the flys because I am deathly afraid of hornets and like I litteraly almost pass out most times I do if one lands on me cause when I was little I stepped on a ground hornets nest etc but I’ll really try to get the Dubia roaches and I think it might be possible besides that I’ll fix his temp for now thanks a lot for your help
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They said yes to the roaches that was a lot easier then I thought pog
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You can usually find them locally from an individual roach breeder. I’d look around on facebook for someone who breeds roaches. You might also be able to find them at expos or pet stores though I’ve noticed that they’re more expensive. To take care of them just leave them in the deli cup and give them a little bit of food (carrot, apple, etc.). I usually feed the biggest ones first (make sure they aren’t too big, if they are you just have to dispose of them unless you want to make a roach colony) and then as they grow you end up with big ones all the time.
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Ok I live in a more “rural” area of New York so either Facebook or any websites you recommend? Or have heard good things about
You could try craigslist- there are a ton of BSFL & dubia listed in the area I live.
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Locally would be ideal because you don’t have shipping charges but online the best source I know of is Josh’s Frogs (non-affiliated link). You can also get Silkworms and BSFL from here if you decide to get those in the future.
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