I just got a cute albino leopard gecko as a graduation gift along with a tank, heat lamp, a mat of some sort for the bottom of the tank, a hideaway, calcium powder, and dead mealworms. I know the tank needs substrate, what kind would you recommend? I also know they need a humid hide, any recommendations on that? I'm open to ANY advice at all, doesn't have to be related to my questions. Just want to make sure I give this baby the best life possible.
#First time owner seeking advice
tight jay
zenith halo
first things first if its a new gecko, you want to use paper towel as a substrate to quarantine! doesnt matter if you didnt have any reptiles beforehand
QT will last a month+ usually and its so you can keep a close eye on your gecko's behaviour and stuff like their poop
tight jay
ok! Thank you! Luckily I have a few rolls of paper towels
zenith halo
loose substrate is for after quarantine, and make sure your heating is all correct before doing loose substrate!
tight jay
zenith halo
awww cutie
tight jay
This is her, took this right before I put her in her tank
Her name is Dandelion
I love her so much
zenith halo
oh this is an albino, so iirc (nqa) i do believe you need to make sure she has lots of cover
theyre more sensitive.. i think? peachy keeps multiple albinos and will be more knowledgeable on albino-specific care
zenith halo
Her name is Dandelion
this is such a cute name <3
how is your setup currently? :0
dont use the heat mat btw (the thing for the bottom of the tank)
tight jay
how is your setup currently? :0
Little log hideaway, water bowl, food bowl, heatlamp. I'm getting her a humid hide and some more stuff for stimulation like plants either tomorrow or Sunday
tight jay
dont use the heat mat btw (the thing for the bottom of the tank)
It wasn't a heat mat, it was like this little brown felt strip
zenith halo
oh might be heat tape
zenith halo
show :0
zenith halo
oh thats bad stuff 👎
(its called reptile carpet.. infamous for being a bacteria breeding ground, dirty, the fibers catching toes etc)
i thought it was something for the outside haha
anyways its good you changed it out!
tight jay
Thanks for letting me know! I'll get rid of it.
I'm planning on getting her some substrate once she's no longer being quarantined
She's a little angel, she immediately wanted to be held when I got her, just chilled with me while I set up her tank
zenith halo
do you have a pic of the whole enclosure? see if i can point some essentials
tight jay
I do not, but I can take one!
violet heartBOT
zenith halo
^ some of these arent essentials/you can get them later so ill just list what youre missing that you wanna get asap
most are though so feel free to take a look also
tight jay
I put the paper towels in, I have to fix them a bit and put the mealworms back in her bowl that she knocked out. I sprinkled some calcium powder on them for her.
tight jay
I'm definitely getting her a bigger tank too as well soon
tight jay
so move the lamp to one end
Ok!
zenith halo
or whatever heatgradient we can muster in this smaller tank 
what bulb is it, and do you have a thermostat?
tight jay
Yeah I knew as soon as I received it that it was too small. I do have a thermostat. It's a strip one attached to the back inside of the tank
I can check what kind of bulb they gave me
tight jay
Aww the little angel looked up at me when I came over to her. I swear my heart just melted 🥹🥰
zenith halo
i dont THINK that ones bad (incandescent) but big nqa and im gonna wait for someone to double check on that
awwww
i dont think 25w is gonna get to the temps u want tho
tight jay
I swear, I'm so over the moon for her already. Would you recommend plastic or real plants for her?
zenith halo
i would go plastic for now until you get things settled
tight jay
i dont think 25w is gonna get to the temps u want tho
I'll get a better bulb then!
zenith halo
halogen or incandescent will do, specific bulbs i will have someone else deal with that bc idk anything concretely other than halogens
speaking of temps!
thermometers and hygrometers
do you have them
tight jay
No, not yet. I'll add those to my list
zenith halo
make sure to get digital, one for each side
so thermometer and hygrometer (usually combined tbh) on left and right side each
for hides, the log hide you have will work as decor but its not what we call a "true hide"
!hides
violet heartBOT
zenith halo
fun graphic on hides
olive silo
I just got a cute albino leopard gecko as a graduation gift along with a tank, h...
What size enclosure do you have?
tight jay
The one I was given is a 10 gallon. I'm upgrading to a 50 gallon asap, probably sunday
As soon as I saw it I was like " That's too small"
zenith halo
do u have a 50g in mind 
tight jay
Not yet, I'm going to the pet store Sunday and finding one with some help from an associate who can recommend the best one for my little baby
Cause Dandelion deserves the world 🥰
zenith halo
go front opening for sure (no aquariums), if 50g glass mighttt be a tad heavy 🤔 pvc is good if they happen to have it. no glass lids
40g exo terra also is what most people go for here
tight jay
Gotcha. So 40 gallons, front opening, no glass lid
zenith halo
36x18x18 i THINK (inches)
tight jay
👍
zenith halo
yes
tight jay
I swear, I loved her the moment I set eyes on her today. She is seriously so cute
zenith halo
ok back to hides tho you want a hide for each side and a humid hide (3 in total). log hide doesnt count (its good for decor though)
she is!! i get it
tight jay
I swear I'm still in shock that she was my graduation gift
zenith halo
congrats on ur grad btw
tight jay
ok back to hides tho you want a hide for each side and a humid hide (3 in total)...
What humid hides would you recommend?
tight jay
congrats on ur grad btw
Thank you!!
zenith halo
i personally use this one but imo its a bit heavy (dont recommend)
well its not THAT bad
but thats the only one i have experience with
i like using the same hides for cool and warm side so the reptile has no preference (eg. if one hide is much more uncomfortable, so they go to the other)
but its not a big deal if theyre different
tight jay
Is it OK if I add you as a friend on here? You've been super helpful and I'd love to have someone to go to for advice when needed
zenith halo
yeah for sure! send over a req
tight jay
Aww! Is that your ball python on your profile?
zenith halo
i wouldnt consider myself an amazing or perfect leo keeper but also my leo is over 12yrs old (and still active as fuck) so i must be doing something right?
yes 
tight jay
Ball pythons are so cute, their sensory pits look like little freckles
zenith halo
YES theyre so cute i love them
tight jay
What's your favorite morph?
zenith halo
wild/normal haha (thats what mine is)
cinnamon is super cute too tbh (dont remember if thats the guy that causes wobble tho. or if its champagne)
tight jay
I think it's spider morph that wobbles
zenith halo
yep spider does! others do too though
did you know there are leo morphs with neurological issues too
enigma 
tight jay
Aww, poor babies
olive silo
Not yet, I'm going to the pet store Sunday and finding one with some help from a...
You can also try finding some used resells as well, saves you more money
tight jay
Ooh, yeah. I didn't even think of that tbh. I can check Facebook marketplace
zenith halo
^ ooo good idea just make sure you know what happened to the previous guy + clean it very well
olive silo
Ooh, yeah. I didn't even think of that tbh. I can check Facebook marketplace
Yeah! That’s where I got mines from
It was only $140
Wait gimme 1 sec
This is still on sale
It’s a good enclosure too
tight jay
Ooh! I might get that
dense grotto
if no one has sent it yet: heres our care guide. all of the basic info youre getting can be found there if you need to go back for reference
!guide
in #bots-n’-stuff you can play around with our commands and graphics
violet heartBOT
olive silo
It was sent way earlier
olive silo
Ooh! I might get that
Just realized it’s only for the maple color tho
But hey a deal is a deal
dense grotto
It was sent way earlier<:lmfao:910619539358748703>
doesnt look like it was here
that was the shopping list
olive silo
In the other chat it was
tight jay
I'm honestly considering getting some fake tank safe dandelions to decorate her tank with because of her name
dense grotto
mk
dense grotto
In the other chat it was
not sure where that is so
cool
olive silo
General lol
olive silo
I'm honestly considering getting some fake tank safe dandelions to decorate her ...
That would be really cute lol
tight jay
I swear she's gonna be the most spoiled little critter in existence
I love her so freaking much
tight jay
Really love at first sight
yep!
tight jay
She’s really cute
Yes! Cutest little baby
She's very social too, climbed right up on me right away and just chilled on me
So, I'm not sure how old she is. Is there any way I can find out?
olive silo
Where is she from?
tight jay
Uh, I think the person who gave her to me got her from Petco but I could be wrong
olive silo
Oh
Can you send another picture
I’ll be able to tell if she’s an adult or baby but won’t be able to tell her actual age
tight jay
Yeah, I can go get a close up real quick. I can do a size comparison with my hand if that helps?
tight jay
She's very unique looking, she's pink and white with little hints of yellow.
mint sleet
Heeeeeyyyy sorry to interject! I’m also a recent first time owner of a baby albino!!! Obviously I’m nta and I’m still working on getting my tank everything I need/want for it, but if you wanted an idea of the level of clutter and coverage albinos like, this is my current setup, my baby Gumi has been pretty good with the level of coverage I’m at rn. She mostly stays in covered areas in the tank though, even when lights are off!
tight jay
She’s albino , did the albino care command get sent?
no, what's the albino care command?
olive silo
!albinocare
violet heartBOT
tight jay
Heeeeeyyyy sorry to interject! I’m also a recent first time owner of a baby albi...
Aww! She's so cute!
olive silo
It just gives details on how enclosures should look for albino leos because they’re light sensitive!
tight jay
Thank you!
tight jay
I just can't get over how cute and perfect she is, like I'm literally still in shock over her
The way she looked at me earlier when I put her back after changing out her tank and putting paper towels in made me melt
mint sleet
Aww! She's so cute!
Your baby is adorable too omg!!! 
such a pretty pattern, I love the name Dandelion too
tight jay
Your baby is adorable too omg!!! <:boba:1060826616693002311> such a pretty patte...
Thank you!!
The way she looked at me 😭
Can't wait to get her bigger tank and all the pretty flowers and decor and hides she deserves ❤️
mint sleet
Btw since the half log has two entry points it is not a “true hide”! I have the same one and what I did was put it up against the back of the tank so one entrance was closed off
They like true hides better bc they feel safer in there but also nothing wrong with having it in the middle open bc they like to climb sometimes and will still use it as some level of coverage but I think especially bc she’s new it’s probably more beneficial to make it a true hide so you can start building up her comfort level early on 
Also be warned she might hide in between/underneath the paper towel substrate when there isn’t a lot of other natural coverage in the tank. Gumi did that during her first week with me and it scared the shit outta me bc I thought she just disappeared somehow
Photo from when i found her omfg she’s gotten so much bigger in just a couple weeks
tight jay
Awwwww
She's so freaking cute!!!!!!
How are leopard geckos so dang cute????
Like, they just look all squishy and cute and tiny!!
mint sleet
lil gummy babies 
tight jay
i dont think 25w is gonna get to the temps u want tho
What wattage would you recommend for the bulb
olive silo
You can try a 50, if that doesn’t work up it to a 75.
zenith halo
^ eattage is a test and try or w/e as it depends on the environmemt individually
tight jay
So, she's not eating. I've tried both dead and alive mealworms, and superworms. I'm going to go buy crickets.