What to do during vacation?

MartinW · 05-14-03, 12:25 PM

I'm going camping for 4 days this summer and was wondering what to do with my geckos 3 adult geckos. I know it's not long but I'm a bit worried about my geckos.

Should I put in a few dishes with lots of mealworms? I'm thinking of not putting in a bunch of crix so they don't nibble on the geckos, or maybe I'll rip their back legs off and put them in a dish. I'll make sure they have plenty of water, I'll probably put in a bigger water dish. Also, I have eggs in the incubator, two in each tupperware container. If they hatch will they be alright in the incubator for 4 days?

I might be able to get a friend to take care of them, but they all know nothing about geckos.

Thanks,
Martin

Alicewave · 05-14-03, 01:19 PM

Just make sure to feed them really well before you go, leave a dish of mealies and fresh water and that should be fine. If you have someone at the house to change the water every day that would be good but if not nothing horrible will happen.

Tim and Julie B · 05-14-03, 07:49 PM

I agree that all you need to do is feed them 3 days in a row, as much as they want, and that will carry them until you come back. I would not recommend leaving any type of live food in with them. You never know what could happen. It would also be good to place amoist hide in there too, if you don't already have one. That way if things get too warm they have a cool place to rest. As for the eggs, when do you think they will hatch? If you're going to be gone 4 days and the average is 55 days, earliest around 50(but I've had them hatch at 44 days) try to guess the earliest day and if it falls on your camping trip, you should have someone there to check for you and have a house ready just in case. Just direct your friend on how to transfer the babies into their house. Babies left alone in their incubators often nibble at the laying substate and become impacted, especially with no water dish to drink from.

Clownfishie · 05-14-03, 07:49 PM

I'll second what Alice said

Leave a big dish of mealies for them, make sure they have fresh water when you leave, and they'll be fine....

SnowSnake · 05-14-03, 07:54 PM

I'm going to be leaving for 7-8 days this summer, what could I do?? (I don't have eggs)

Tim and Julie B · 05-14-03, 10:04 PM

Hire a leo sitter,and train them very well as to what you do in your routines.

geckoguy157 · 05-15-03, 01:05 AM

well i left for 2 weeks last summer and i had someone come and take care of my herps and they knew nothing about them(the person who usualy took care of em who's dad is a vet was on holidays to so this was my last resort) so what i did was i labled evrey tank on what you do like feeding watering spraying turing on and off lights and crickets o and put the number of reptiles in each tank so they know how many should be in there but evreything went fine other than i was in a hurry when i left and had just got 3000 crickets to last the 2 weeks and was finishing my cricket container as i was leaving and didnt realise i used the mesh screen top not metal screen top so 1000 of the crickets escaped but other than that evreything was healthy because they new what to do

Emily-Fisher · 05-15-03, 04:04 AM

Geckoguy, thats exactly what I did. Or you can get a neighbor or something to come and take care of them. If you are leaving for four days and your leo eats about 5 mealies per night, put out 1 paper cup for each day and put 5 or 6 mealies in it. Put calcium powder in each one and then all your neighbor has to do is change water, which is easy, and pour one cup of the food into the bowl each day.

Alicewave · 05-15-03, 07:26 AM

I got a Leo sitter once and I left her a long care sheet along with a feeding/watering schedule and I had her come over so I could show her how to feed the gecko and she did a GREAT job! Find someone who is a generally competent person and doesn't get skeezed out by bugs, provide them with all the care info and contact info and you're set.

SnowSnake · 05-15-03, 02:42 PM

Thanks guys! My mom isn't coming with us so i'll train her and leave a paper with what to do daily on my tank like you did geckoguy.

cya,
SnowSnake

Samba · 05-15-03, 09:41 PM

Have fun on your trip! I'm sure your mom will do a great job (hey maybe you can direct her to this website if she has questions or needs help!) Let us know how it goes!

wyz · 05-16-03, 01:32 PM

It's my humble opinion guys, but you shouldn't worry so much if you have adult leos.

Some people I know feed their leos once a week.

If you're leaving 3 to 5 days, juste feed them 'till they stop the day before and don't worry. When I need to leave for several days I change de lightbulb to a lower one i.e. (60w to 40w) they will be a bit less active and I have someone come and fill the water bowl every 2 days.

Other than that, there's not problem. They can do without food for more than a week without suffering.

WYZ