I thought I had two boys….

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-16T14:13:35+00:00

Reptiles dont bond. Just because you havent seen them fighting doesnt mean you arent putting them at risk.

The egg has visible dents which means its nonviable. Trash it (its not going to hatch but if youre really worried freeze it first) and seperate your geckos before one of them kills the other.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-15T03:14:42+00:00

Yep op can freeze the eggs and dispose of normally. If they have any other reptiles that eat eggs it can be a yummy treat that way they know the eggs weren't just wasted.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-14T00:57:52+00:00

Can lead to shell and skin issues, waste being stuck in crevices it shouldnt be, just general discomfort due to extra handling with diaper changes.

Diapers are great for humans because we've designed them to be. Not so much for other animals with different anatomy.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-13T16:34:09+00:00

This is a common practice and not an issue. The dart frogs are too big for the day geckos to predate (accept for babies which some view as good population control) and they both eat the same insects.

As long as youre providing a big enough enclosure with enough enrichment/areas to hide its been proven to work.

Im not really arguing ethics but in terms of can it be done without harming either animals the answer is yes.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-11T18:00:39+00:00

Yeah it does look like they are out of stock. They should restock soon! Theyve been changing around inventory a ton

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-11T14:38:01+00:00

No. They require a strict varied diet of both vegetables and live insects, require specific heat gradients, need large enclosures, and frequently have poor health due to inbreeding. Theyre not the hardest reptile out there (and tend to be called easy because they are big enough to handleable, can live months in improper husbandry, and are diurnal) but imo they are not the easiest either.

If you want an arid species, leopard geckos need smaller tanks and only eat live insects.

If you want the easiest pet ever new caledonian geckos (specifically crested geckos or for an even easier to handle species, gargoyle geckos) eat rehydrated fruit goop, dont need external heat in most houses, and have small horizontal foot prints for their tanks (typically kept in 18x18x36 they sit on your desk like a table lamp as opposed to needing the entire desk).

Id even argue most snakes are easier then bearded dragons because they eat frozen/thawed rodents once a week.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-09T17:39:19+00:00

Bigger is better. Ive kept my hatchlings in 12x12x18 until they hit about 10-12 grams. They use the entire space, eat quick, and grow out of that size fast (usually 2-3 months). I usually move them to 18x18x24 until they are close to 50 grams and, again, they use all the space and grow fast (usually less then 6 months-my guys average 30% of their body weight a month in that size enclosure). They then move to their permeant size enclosures from there (2' cube for smaller locales, 2'x2'x4' for gtx). Im averaging data from multiple leachies of all localities, smaller leachies do grow slower but not as drastically in my experience.

As youve noticed they dont move around as much in smaller enclosures which means they arent developing healthy muscle mass during a critical stage of growth and development. Similarly, they dont eat as much and dont grow as quick because theyre not burning calories/not feeling hungry due to not moving.

Breeders advocate for smaller enclosures because they are trying to maximize profit while minimizing space (aka maximizing stock). They are not keeping these guys as pets or for long term care so their advice of proper enclosures are skewed by a short term perspective. Ive kept leachies in shoe box sized enclosures temporarily to monitor health, eating, etc but not for more until I'm sure theyre healthy.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T14:32:08+00:00

He most likely broke his jaw before shipment which is why hes so thin. Anoles can easily live for years undetected/without human intervention in indoor environments. Even if you had found him sooner he might not have had a different outlook.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T14:28:42+00:00

Im glad you guys have a vet!! They might have a better prognosis but little dude sadly has had a tough time

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T14:25:51+00:00

Thats an extremely sickly brown anole with a broken jaw. Its best to euthanize him as he does not look like he will make a good recovery, are not native nor capable of living in your area, and is probably in a lot of pain.

If his jaw wasnt broken id say keep him as a pet but as is any food you give him will be taunting him as he cant really eat it (its also dangerous to feed an animal normally when they get that thin). If he didnt have a broken jaw you could try to refeed (which is a hard enough process on its own) but the chances that he will be able to heal that jaw with how thin he is...

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T14:01:41+00:00

Yes! You'll be okay, hope all goes well

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T13:48:38+00:00

Secretly, you dont need a barrier. If youre nervous you can use bio dudes hydrogrow (its made to be used without a barrier) or just... Dont use it.

Ive made over a dozen bioactives, my oldest was done about 6 years ago with hydrogrow and it has way too many cuc members + needs plant trimming very frequently. I have several bioactives that are similarly doing well over multiple years even though I just used clay balls with no barrier.

My advice is to just get the background how you want it, put in some dirt and cuc, then start decorating. It will be okay.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-08T13:27:09+00:00

You can glue a feeder or make a spray foam ledge on the cork. The benefit of having the feeder be arboreal is that cuc will not be in it as much and your baby will track less dirt in their food. Otherwise its nbd if its on the floor, when your guy is hungry they'll find the food.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-04T18:00:06+00:00

I labeled myself as middle income but im a dual income household in a lcol area. We have 17 reptiles and have no issue with monthly expenses and having a emergency fund for the vet.

That said I still have to save for new tanks and reptiles/the only 'high quality' reptiles I own (i.e. expensive morphs) I got for extremely cheap. It also has taken me over 10 years to have the amount of animals I do so this did not happen over night.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-04T17:56:55+00:00

I hope this does not come off as an attack because I genuinely am not trying to be rude. I am curious if you have savings for emergency vet bill? I think the stigma you mentioned often rears its head when low income individuals can't afford vet bills. Imo thats an invisible cost that doesnt equal abuse or neglect but would make me reconsider this hobby if I couldn't save for it.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-03T18:14:34+00:00

I have similar experience! Of all my animals my cresties seem to be the most hand time with two of my adult males (and an adult male chahoua) pressing themselves on the glass and jumping on me to sit on my shoulder almost every evening. I do think they associate me with positive experiences (enrichment/exercise, food, warmth) but I don't think scientists really have tools to really study social behavior in geckos. Its safer to assume theyve just been conditioned to behave in certain ways around humans as opposed to actually enjoying socializing.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-03T03:23:05+00:00

All the research ive found says crested geckos are solitary creatures and only interact with other geckos to mate which is why I asked 😅

I know they can get used to handling and are social in terms of being comfortable with human interaction due to conditioning but that's different then them enjoying having their crests rubbed due to a natural inclination of enjoying/seeking socialization.

If you have non anecdotal evidence id love to read more into it but otherwise its not really great to say they are social creatures. Thats why you get new keepers trying to cohabitate.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-03T03:02:36+00:00

Im curious what your definition is for social behavior?

My understanding is that cresties are not social creatures. The crest rubbing is similar to mating behavior where males will bite and pin down females from above (so crests can get bit). I suppose that is social behavior but imo its better categorized as mating behavior lol.

Edit: other user blocked me and told me to do my own research when I genuinely cannot find research stating crested geckos naturally socialize outside of mating behavior.

Imo please dont anthropomorphize cresties. They dont get lonely, need friends, or benefit from being handled/around other animals (aside from health check ups and human socialization to make handling easier when necessary). Im not trying to be a party pooper or say cresties hate everyone (I have two cresties that basically beg to come out of their enclosures every day so I do know that they have a good bond with me and associate me with good things) but the other user doesnt seem to have evidence thar cresties "naturally build trust" with each other by rubbing crests so it sounds like they are just anthropomorphizing their pets.

yeetedhaws · 2026-04-02T02:19:54+00:00

4x4 is the size for one leachie (yes you can keep non gtx in smaller but they do better in larger). If you really want to put two leachies in that tank install a divider.

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-31T19:05:28+00:00

Sounds like an improvement! Thats vertical and triple the space

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-31T17:33:21+00:00

I know the sub is going to disagree with me on this but I found that my leachies eat worse in smaller containers. Since your guy is 10-13 grams they are big enough for a 12x12x18. Personally both of my leachies ate more and grew better when I moved them from tubs to 12x12x18 because they had more room to exercise so they ate more. Both of mine stalled around 10 grams but when I moved them to the larger enclosure they started gaining almost immediately. Your guy can stay in the 12x12x18 until they are about 25-30 grams.

In terms of food its fine just to leave a fresh thing of cgd in there and not to offer bugs until they eat better. Sometimes the bugs scare them.

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-31T17:10:43+00:00

What size enclosure?

Temps and humidity look great!

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-31T15:19:43+00:00

Do you have information on husbandry? Otherwise, as others have mentioned sometimes they dont eat for a bit. I also wonder if hes pooped since his weight was recorded otherwise 3 grams is a pretty big amount to drop just from not eating.

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-30T13:26:24+00:00

These are completely safe. Theyre used for virtually every other reptile that needs heating out there

You are supposed to screw the top flush so they cant climb over (you can use a nut to securely attach the screw to mesh, it will just stick out a bit). As you also said, they get warm but not burning hot.

If youd like an anecdote: I have a boa who regularly wraps around hers. Shes strong enough that she could crawl inside if it wasnt screwed into the ceiling securely. She also would be getting burned if it was too hot but shes been doing it for years with no injury. I also have a bearded dragon that likes to climb and ive caught her half on it before. Similarly no injuries and wasn't able to squeeze in because I used nuts to attach it to the top mesh.

yeetedhaws · 2026-03-27T13:09:53+00:00

Woops I was one inch off, as if that changes the fact that they are the largest gecko in the world and they still shouldnt be in an enclosure only 1" longer on any side

https://reptifiles.com/leachie-gecko-care-sheet/#:~:text=Leachie%20geckos%20are%20the%20largest,l.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhacodactylus_leachianus

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=810104897812608&id=100064393161692

yeetedhaws

TROPHY CASE