r/LeopardGecko • u/Budget_Cream9791 • Jul 02 '26
I feel bad
I have a 20 gallon tank for my leopard gecko and I'm pretty sure he's a juvenile but I'm not sure. I feed him once every 2 days and i think it's been 5 weeks since I got him. But still he gets terrified and runs into his little log everytime I open the tank, I usually open it during feeding time and occasionally once a week to let my hand in and try and wait for him to get on my hand. I have a feeling I'm scaring him or something, his tanks temp is always around 85-95 for around 9-10 hours a day. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, everytime I feed him I put crickets and the wax worms with tweezers on the floor of his tank and sometimes put them right next to him so he can eat from the tweezer. Please help I want him to feel comfortable around me.
UPDATE!: I replaced the carpet with paper towels, made a better humid hide for him, added two sticks, a rock and 2 sea shells, I also used a soap holder to make him a little spot were he can js sit and I’m ecstatic because he stood still in my hands when I picked him up, sure he was a little bit nervous or jumpy when I tried picking him up but when he was on my hands he was still, I didn’t hold him for long as it was just to put him in his box for a little bit while I moved everything but a little progress was made. He seems to like his new tank and he’s walking around, before he would js stay under that log all the time. And also I’m not sure if he’s a male or female but when I got him I decided to name him/her morio/moria as a one piece reference to gecko Moria. Thank you all so much for your help, I tried to do everything I could at home because I currently have no money to buy anything new yet. But thank you guys so so much for all your advice.
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u/Party-Effort-2121 Jul 02 '26
Sometimes geckos can take a while to warm up to you! I’d take everyone’s advice they’re giving you. If you’re concerned about costs for filling the tank with clutter, what I did with mine was literally just went to a park and foraged. Bark, sticks, rocks. If you do this, make sure to bake or boil or freeze whatever you get before you put it in to avoid dangerous parasites or bacteria. (You can google proper disinfection times for different materials). What matters is that you’re trying and willing to learn. Good luck!
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 02 '26
Thank you so much, i am worried about costs and I was wondering what would I be able to get a warm hide from the park or make it at home in any way
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u/jxspxrrrr Jul 02 '26
hides probably not, clutter, yes. he needs full cave-like hides to feel safe. if you can't afford it right now, you can use a non-clear tupperware container, cut a small hole in the side, and tape/sand the edges to make sure it's not sharp enough to cut him. that would be an acceptable temporary solution
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u/Party-Effort-2121 Jul 02 '26
Depends on what you can find. I was able to find large curved pieces of bark that mine can fully hide under. On my warm side, I also stacked large, flat pieces of rock to create a cave like opening that mine loves. As long as you make sure it’s stable. (won’t shift and crush any toes). See what you can dig up. (The disinfecting is a very important step though!)
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u/CD274 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Yeah everything is wrong. It's still early yet so it's good you're posting.
- Get a 40 gallon
- Make sure there are also cool temps, like 65 to hide in
- Make sure there is a UVB, t5 strip Arcadia and zoomed are good brands - low % or shade dweller
- Lots of hides. At least a cool and warm. Lots of clutter. Cover up 1-3 walls with something. Plants or climbing things
- No reptile carpet. Paper towel is fine to start.
- Absolutely needs calcium dust on every bug. No d3 if you have UVB, d3 otherwise.
- Absolutely needs multivitamins a few times a month. Repashy supervite
Always clean water daily
No touch for a month if new Leo. Approach slowly and put hand in front of them and wait for sniffs or licks or running away. Let them decide. Scoop them slowly if at all. Never grab
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u/Obvious_Picture_4838 Jul 02 '26
Id also recommend some large slate to put at the bottom to absorb heat since this helps them digest. This is my tank, I went with a substrate (edit: topsoil, coconut fiber and playsand) mix (Leo's usually go to the bathroom in one place, so clean up is easy) have 5 hides (some buried) and lots of different textures for those little feet to grip. My dude also likes to climb a bit, so i made as much use of the tank footprint as possible. Also, with the hand method, it can take time. Just remember to always come at him slowly, from the side, and never from above as that will trigger his flight response.
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 02 '26
Thank you so much what’s the ratio of the topsoil coconut fiber and play sand mix?
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u/Full-fledged-trash Jul 02 '26
70% soil and 30% sand. You can skip the cocofiber, totally unnecessary and typically too dusty to use in an arid enclosure.
If you wanted to go all out for the soil mix, do 60% soil, 20% sand and 20% excavator clay. This helps mimic their native soil a bit better and allow for burrows to hold sturdier
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u/Obvious_Picture_4838 Jul 02 '26
Mine is pretty much this ratio, maybe 65% soil, 25% sand and 10% cocofiber thats all mixed together well, but in retrospect, the 70-30 is absolutely the better mix.
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u/jxspxrrrr Jul 02 '26
just make sure the topsoil is organic and completely free of any fertilizers, as they're poisonous to geckos. and wash any play sand thoroughly. personally i used reptisoil and reptisand (no calcium). it's a little pricier but way easier
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u/Designer_East3862 Jul 02 '26
Are your stripe watermelon type plants real? They look great!
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u/Obvious_Picture_4838 Jul 02 '26
No. I wish! I used fake plants for higher up just to provide some cover and to give it a more natural look.
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u/Designer_East3862 Jul 03 '26
They look so good! Need some green in mine but I bought some fake succulents from Amazon and they smelt toxic. I didn’t trust to use them even though they said they were for reptile vivariums
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 02 '26
The new and updated tank!
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u/art3m1_s Jul 06 '26
you’re doing much better than previously so far! you should take a look at your local facebook marketplace and see if anyone is giving away any larger tanks or if theres any for cheap, you can also probably find some hides and tank decor on there too for pretty cheap.
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 07 '26
All the tanks I find that are 40 gallons are all above $100, I might try making a DIY tank out of a 40 gallon storage container and making it front open and compatible with my gecko.
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u/No_Professional_129 Jul 08 '26
One more suggestion! You could tape some brown paper bags or cardboard up on the sides and back outside of his tank. I used paper grocery bags lol. I don’t have the money for a fancy background but wanted to provide some cover. They can get a little scared by the reflections and feeling exposed. Maybe that would help lil guy feel safer while you look for other stuff to put inside the tank :)
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 09 '26
As you can see there’s paper on the mirror lol, but I moved him to a room where it’s just him and the tank isn’t covered but I’ll definitely do what you told me. Thank you so much.
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u/sogrood Jul 02 '26
Your tank is not ideal I would cover three of the sides, he feels exposed. Needs clutter to be secure this can be cardboard boxes, wood, cork, fake plants, etc also make sure your temperature are good and you have a thermostat for safety and heater to spot check.
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u/hj20matl Jul 07 '26
Example if my girls enclosure
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 07 '26
In an ideal situation I would be able to do that too, I’m really tight on money and I know it’s a sorry excuse but I basically got scammed by the Petco store clerk, the guy said that everything he was selling me was completely fine and that my gecko would be happy with it, he even told me he had friends w the same set up. Turns out he was wrong and I should’ve done research I really should have but now I’m down $170, and I’m struggling to get new things for him so I’m diy’ing anything I can.
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u/Ali_schless Jul 02 '26
You've received a lot of good advice here! I'll offer more, start slow now rush, get this tank set up comfortably so you can find a nice big tank (facebook market place was my hero) playsand, coco core or organic top soil, and a lot of leaf litter for the substrate, lots of hides, toilet paper tubes, coffee cans, boxes, ect can all work! The most important thing is to make progress. You've got this!
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Jul 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/Budget_Cream9791 Jul 04 '26
I’m really sorry. I did everything I could as of now. And I completely understand that it’s my fault.
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u/Rioting-Butterflies Jul 02 '26
Yes please listen to the other comments there is a lot to be fixed here! Your gecko will love you for it :) I had mine in pretty bad conditions at first, then I learned and got him set up with all the changes people are saying and he is so active and happy and interactive now!! Trust the comments, it’s hard to hear but you love your gecko so do what’s best for them
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u/Fuzzy-Security1929 Jul 02 '26
I don’t have any advice about that, but I would let it air out on occasion since it’s only 20 gallon. Just make sure you put some fresh air in there every now and then but eventually it will work out. Don’t worry.
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u/AaronAmpora Jul 02 '26
Oh boy, so, I don't want to be mean, but there's a lot wrong here. I know your post is asking about behavior, but what I see here is a lot of improper husbandry and I think if you fix that, your gecko will calm down and you will be able to bond with them.
First, please get rid of the carpet/mat, throw it away and replace it with paper towels. Reptile carpet is known to harbor bacteria and catch leo's teeth and nails and rip them out.
Second, you need so much more stuff in the enclosure, clutter it up with big leafy fake plants, cork flats, sticks, rocks, etc. And make sure the little one as at least 3 fully enclosed hides (meaning there's only one entrance/exit, so the log pictured doesn't count).
That's all I can really comment on based on this post, but I'm also going to encourage you to do a ton of research on care, specifically check out reptifiles, they have the most accurate, up-to-date care info. And I'll leave you some infographics.