Need Advice on baby leos ...

I saw at a local pet store I visited for the first time today.

They had two baby leo's being kept in a 10 gallon tank. I didn't see a UTH and there was no heat lamp. Temp was at 75 constant. Some kind of white stone like substrate, about 1/8 inch in diam. and a water dish. A fake plant and a piece of driftwood finished off the tank.

One leo, a normal, had shedding problems, unshed skin on toes and around eyes. I advised them to soak the leo and gently rub off the skin with a qtip or the gecko could lose some toes or worse.

The other leo, I think it is a snow. I wanted to purchase this one, but I am a little worried about it. The problem is its tail, the base is really skinny, no fat at all, then it widens out to a bulbous form and then narrows to look like normal at the end again.

There were a couple crix in the tank and while I watched, both leos were going after them so their appetites look ok. However the crix were 5/8 - 3/4 inch and the leos are only about 4 inches. Could the crix be too big ?

There didn't seem to be any discoloration on either leo.

Sorry about the length, but I would appreciate any and all advice, even if it is just to pass it on the the store owner.

Thank you

The problem is its tail, the base is really skinny, no fat at all, then it widens out to a bulbous form and then narrows to look like normal at the end again.

What you are describing is most likely a regenerated tail. When they lose a tial, the new one is never quite as nice or long as the original.

As far as purchasing geckos from a pet store (and it sounds like this one isn't educated on Leo care), I usually try to discourage people from doing this. There are a LOT of very reputable, experienced breeders right here on this forum that could sell you a beautiful, healthy gecko... and provide you with the help and support waaayyy after the purchase!

That second one probably isnt a snow. SOme stressed Leos fade dramatically. Did you also talk to the store about getting some heat on those babies? If you approach them in the right way, they may not get defensive and take your suggestions. Good luck.

Well...
The guy I talked to owns the building the store is in and kind of takes care of the animals etc. when the pet store proprietor is out. She was out when I went earlier, but I will be going back in about an hour to get some pics to post here. The guy seemed really receptive to my opinions tho.

Hopefully the woman will be there when I go back. Either way I will talk to them about the heating situation.And I will also mention about giving the leos some smaller crix.

This would not be my first leo. I currently have a sub-adult female and 5 babies. The sub adult is a patternless carrot-tail, the babies are 3 normal, 1 albino and 1 blizzard. I am expecting 2 banana blizzards and a high yellow any day now.

When I post the pics you will see what I mean about it not looking like a regen. tail, it looks normal except for the fact that it appears the leo is using its fat reserve.

Thanks for the advice.

A lot of times when you see a thin petstore leo, with food in the tank, something else is up. Think parasites. You'd be surprised how big a cricket a healthy hungry baby could subdue. The lack of color is almost certainly due to malnutrition. With a leo that young and that thin, if it has parasites, there is a good chance it would not make it through the course of treatment. The best you can do is to try to educate the store owners.

Most pet stores are very ignorant about all the parasites and bacteria that can potentially spread between and cause harm to their various animals. I regularly see people reach into the cricket bin to get crickets for a customer after cleaning a herp's tank, or handling the feeder mice after handling a herp. Or, throwing a loose cricket back in the bin. Usually preparing a cage for new occupants involves nothing more than sweeping out most of the old substrate (if even that). Also, when cleaning cages, I've never seen anyone clean their hands in between cages. There are so many chances for parasites etc to spread, that buying a petstore geck, especially one that already appears sick is a very risky proposition.

I keep a lot of different herps. Aside from the leos, most are wild caught. I'm constantly washing my hands. This dramatically increases the time it takes to get everyone taken care of. When you're paying staff, time is money...

-Alice

These are the pics I got of the critters tail. It doesn't look regenerated to me but maybe one of you knows a bit more. The tail appears to still have all the rings and texture as a normal tail would look.

Thank you for the advice. I have talked to the guy at the store. There is now a UTH on the tank and he is going to try smaller crix. Between my visits, he also soaked the other baby and a lot of the unshed skin has come off.

Its a regen tail just that not all of the tail was lost, I have 2 females that lost 1/3 of the tail and the end only is like that.

The substate looks like fish gravel to me.

You could buy her/him and hope for the best but Id do a couple of fecals and good quarantine time.

Yes that's a regen tail. It's also getting thin, not too bad yet but you can see the wrinkles where it used to be fatter. But the leo is IMO definitely less color than average so it might be a pastel.

About buying it: Every thing everyone says about the risk of buying petstore aniimals is totally TRUE. You possibly put your existing leos at risk of catching anything contagious, plus you will possibly be spending a lot of money on vets to get that one up to good health, plus it might not make it (but it doesnt look at death's door). But, weighing all the risks... and if you can quarantine in a completely separate room and maintain strict sterile procedures between caring for him and your other leos........ I'd buy him (ducks)

lol Laura Im a sucker for leos too

I have 3 that I got from the local pet store that were skinny, but I talked them into giving them to me, all 3 had parasites so I had to keep them in a seperate part of the house and be very careful with them.

Its been 3 months and they are starting to gain more and more weight and look nice, I plan to donate them to Cody's kindergarden class when he starts school this fall. And set the tank up and send them the food for them weekly.

I would like to urge you NOT to buy that poor little gecko. It is very thin and pale... I can see it's spine and it has very little muscle mass. It's regenerated tail is even small due to not having fat reserves. Laura is right... you could be putting your entire Leo collection in jeopardy if it is infected with something. When I see pet store geckos like this it really breaks my heart, but by purchasing it not only are you supporting the pet store that is not caring for them properly, but could be taking on more than you are prepared to handle if it is sick. Veterinary bills are outrageous, but the price to pay for a broken heart is limitless.