2/3 Anyways I just wanted to know your thoughts on this. Hope it didn’t come across as rude because I do agree with you.
3/3 Nvm I did like 5 minutes of digging and immediately changed my mind. Thank u for your time and have a nice day
(HOLY SHIT THIS GOT LONG I AM SO SORRY)
Haha it’s okay! I’ll give my thoughts anyways though!
There are lots of people that can properly keep lots of pets (not Taylor or Brian B(whatever)) But people like Emzotic
In a way it’s easier to keep tons of reptiles or any one type of animal (mammals, fish, reptiles, etc). As you keep something, you learn about it. Owning animals is all about growing with them. So if you have tons of reptiles (kept properly) You get better at learning signs of sickness.
Having more than one type can be hard, and you must keep them separate for many reason (Birds separate from mammals because of gram negative bacteria, fish (preferably) separated from cats to prevent stress, even cats and dogs separate from lizards because the smell can be too strong)
Is it hoarding? No! According to Wiki, the definition of hoarding is
“Animal hoarding is keeping a higher-than-usual number of animals as domestic pets without ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability.”
Sound familiar? But if you have the ability to properly care for them (including social aspects), and house them, then it’s not hoarding! Hoarding involves a danger to the people or animals involved. (Brian denys his snakes need lots of room, and while it’s true they don’t to survive, to be happy they do. Taylor said a bigger tank would stress out her fish (???????), and through asking people who spent their life raising fish, and doing some research, I have found no truth to this. They do however get stressed from lack of hiding spaces, or room. For gods sakes her wild caught fish used to live in the ocean!!
As far as the animal control thing, they aren’t going to take action. As far as they are concerned, she doesn’t have maggots and flies, her animals are not rotting alive, and she can technically provide vet care for them.
The issue is that her cages for her animals are barely minimum, in the case of her fish, being below minimum. She impulse buys and handles the animals immediately instead of letting them settle (or with her crocodile skinks, holding them even though it is extremely bad for them)
Her animals that need social interaction do not get it, as all her attention goes to the newest pet. (Have you seen much of Nemo since the new cat? Someone called her out on it so now she’s posting more photos, but still. Also she said she bought the new cat a bunch of toys.. .um what about Nemo? Nope, designer non-adopted cat wins)
Another issue is that she sees animals as objects. This snake goes well with my nails! This kitten looks cute for photos! I look cool holding my crab! My hedgehog looks cuter on its back!
She doesn’t hold her animals safely and even if its for “just a photo” how many times do you think she poses/changes angles/retakes? Probably takes a bit.
I also don’t think her animals (minus kittens) would go to a shelter. They’d go to a specialist. Shelters aren’t really built for exotics, so animal control would most likely set them up at a specialist they know.
She also would say Adopt Dont Shop (now she denies it) and buys designer morphs.
Which is fine! If you want to buy an animal instead of adopting, it’s okay. People have their reasons. But if you buy new morphs that look cool even though they probably will have health issues and are inbred, then that’s not fine. That’s just adding money to fuel this behavior.
(ahem like with the damn turtles)
Is she straight up abusing animals by withholding food or basic necessities? Besides with Gus and the hedgehog stuck in the closet, and Nemo (boy needs some vet care) No. But if an animal dies on your care because of something you may or may not have done. Take responsibility and own up to your mistakes.
Take Jenna Marbles, I’m not a fan of hers but I have MAJOR respect on how she dealed with the hamster situation. People told her (some very rudely) how her hamster need more than she was giving him. She ACKNOWLEDGED her mistake and CHANGED what was wrong.
No one is perfect. And no matter how much research we do, things can go wrong. But don’t blame it on the breeder, or something you “couldn’t have done anything about”. Just learn from it, and do better.
I’m not saying just wing it with animals though. Do research and learn. But you might learn more as you go and that’s awesome! When I first got my bird, I had him in a minimum sized cage and I thought that was fine. I soon realized that to be happy and healthy, he needed more room to play and explore. He now has a cage three times the size and has free roam when I am at my house.
Would he have been fine in the smaller cage? Most likely, yes. Is he much happier and better off in the new cage? Yes!
My Cocker Spaniel didn’t get groomed for a long time. (I was very young, but still, I have a responsibility to him) He had crazy matts and ear infections. Groomers would tell me that I was doing fine (see farther down). It wasn’t until I became a groomer and learned about what it actually does, did I realize that in a way I neglected one of my dog’s needs
He now gets quarter annual baths, brushings, nail trimmings, changed his food, cleaned his ears etc. Do I mess up still? Yeah sometimes life gets busy, but he is still happy and healthy and can afford to miss a bath
One thing that really upsets me, as someone who has major depressive disorder and anxiety (both crippling) the fact that Taylor, who says she also has this (yet goes to parties all the times… ugh topic for another time), ignores the mental health of her animals. She should know how VITAL mental health is alongside physical.
Also vets literally cannot tell you you’re doing a bad job. They gotta be nice (just like groomers). They can give you advice, but they’ll still have to say you’re doing okay.
I hoped this help explain a bit more of my view on things and I’m sorry if I rambled, but this has really been on my nerves. I used to be a fan of her as well.. until she went from 0-3 snakes with no prior experience. (I’d also like to point out that she said she had experience with cats at Petco, though she never mentioned it before and the Petco Cat adoption centers are run by an independent party and only the volunteers are allowed to interact with the cats, not petco employees) She’s sending her fans after people by retweeting the drama (even though she keeps saying she wants to stay out of it. She retweets someone calling her out or even trying to give her advice, and then when her fans have had long enough to comment and attack the poster, she deletes her original tweet)
I’d also like to say that her appearance (minus the nails) and what she said in the past (like over 3 years) has nothing to do with this. It may contribute a little bit, but the problem is the present. We can’t change the past.
Again so sorry for the long post and if you made it through this you get one (1) entire Screm from my bird.
If any of Taylor’s fans are reading this, I would love to hear your opinion, but don’t be a bitch. Resorting to insults only escalates the problem.
about taylor nicole dean. one thing that baffles me is how… flippant she is about her pets.
i have one pet that belongs solely to me: my betta named Auri-El. it took MONTHS to prepare the tank. it took so much time perusing countless threads, videos, pages, articles, etc. to get a comfortable amount of knowledge of the care required to take care of a BETTA. a BETTA, one of the most popular and common fish to take care of, also considered one of the hardiest and easiest around, took months of preparation– not for me but for many others, too.
he means the world to me, that fish. his tank parameters requires careful watch, along with a watch of how he’s behaving and looking. one sharp raise in ammonia, for whatever reason, can be detrimental. a white spot can eventually grow into more white spots and kill him. he’s a fucking betta. and yet caring for him can take hours of my time. yes, yes, she did quit her job (at fucking … petco..) to dedicate more time to her animals and channel; but HELL, hours are dedicated for ONE BETTA. SHE HAS 20+ ANIMALS AND COUNTING. anyways…
she… buys pets, like they’re nothing? she gets upwards of 5 in one day, sometimes? she names them. she poses with them. she flaunts them around. she might pump out an “educational” video on them, as if she’s an expert when she is not only a hobbyist but a hoarder. and then, often-times, if they’re not pretty or cool enough to be on her social media, we don’t hear about them for weeks and months.
i’ve been thinking about and slowly but surely looking into getting an african fat tail gecko (she only has a leopard gecko but ill use that as a comparison as they’re similar enough) and it takes me hours to think of which tank to choose. what hide to get. how to work out the layout of the tank and what’s the best lamp(s) to get. my food plan. what morph is in my price-range and pleasing to me– after finding a reputable place to buy it from. the name. how to work the care required into my schedule.
she impulse-buys. she either researches for a DAY AT MOST (which scratches at the surface) and then buys the reptile/fish at some reptile expo, working out carefully NOT how the animal looks in terms of health, but how pretty it looks because she lets the animals “come to” her. (you have 10 fucking lizards in front of you in little containers Taylor it’s not a fucking spiritual experience nor designer clothes browsing) OR she buys the pet because it looks cool and she knows less than one care sheet of information about them, and THEN researches. never-mind that her “research” results in pretty much the bare minimum for each animal she goddamn has.
when she can’t care for a pet? she gives it off. hands it to a friend or a fan or something who seems remotely interested. you don’t… fucking do that. most lizards and sometimes fish live for YEARS. you know that when you buy them. you are aware of the commitment. pets, no matter a fish or a lizard, are not things to take care of for a year and then hand off because you don’t want to care for it anymore. and now that she has a newborn, crusty and unhealthy looking kitten (oh. wait. never-mind. two, because after the one died she thinks that newborn kittens need more newborn kittens for companionship. how about a fucking adult cat, if anything), i fear what might happen if he doesn’t die. you just don’t do that to so many damn pets.
it’s just. baffling. i dont get it. i really don’t understand. she claims to care for animals and pets but she’s been getting worse ALL YEAR and i fear the safety of her animals, and the impressionable kids that follow her through hell and back that believe every lie about animal husbandry she feeds them.
This is a great question, and because I’ve not done it myself with a leopard gecko I will direct you to someone who has! @hearts-of-fire currently has one set up, if I’m not mistaken.
But you’d essentially follow very similar procedures for a naturalstic viv with other geckos. I’m not actually sure you need a drainage layer for a dry set up but if you DO, you’d need the following.
A 20 gallon long aquarium, at least.
A drainage layer to avoid water pooling and making mud (this is typically lightweight material like LECA)
A layer above that to prevent the substrate from mixing with the leca (X)
Your substrate, which in this case I would think would be a mix of topsoil and clay (packed)?
Slate to cover any loose substrate and to provide places to bask.
If you opt for plants you can either have them buried directly into the substrate or leave them in a pot, in which case they can be above or below the substrate. Many succulents are safe to keep in dry vivs as long as they are not sharp or have spines, obviously.
Clean up crew is actually beyond me for this set up because I’m not entirely sure which species do well in dryer enclosures. I can’t for the life of me find a post but someone mentioned springtails over isopods (which would make sense).
Lighting would need to be enough to grow plants, if you have live. UVB is not necessary and in some morphs will cause health issues but a low output UVB is good for most leos though not necessary for plant growth! Succulents unfortunately like a lot of light so pick your plant species wisely.
Heating will have to be a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter (CHE) considering the depth of the substrate.
1-2 humid hides though you should have those anyway!
Your biggest concern is making sure the enclosure is safe. So as little loose substrate as possible, safe plants, ensuring that their heat and humidity needs are met, and general security like a secure lid, etc.
Remember, these geckos are from scrubland, not sand-dune like deserts! The soil is hard and packed with many smaller stones and rocks and dry grasses. Here are some images from the book The Eyelash Geckos, Care, Breeding and Natural History by Andreas Kirschner (I’ve not read the book so I can’t vouch for any advice given within, but these photos are a great starting point). They should give you an idea of what you should try to mimic with your enclosure.
Almost done setting up this leopard gecko enclosure! It has a heat mat on a rheostat underneath. I’m just missing a bottle cap full of calcium and then I believe I have everything. Thoughts?
do you have a smaller lamp dome? I feel like this wont allow enough of a cool side.
No, but with the screen the temps drop down significantly after the dome. It’s on a dimmer as well. It’s only on a little bit to bump up my ambient temps, since I have a heat mat for belly heat.
Paper towels work perfectly well and make for the easiest peasiest clean up, but if substrate safe sand is some thing you’re considering at all, I can say for sure that they seem to really like it! Opal seemed a little confused at first, but adjusted very quickly. They all like to dig around in it sometimes, which is adorable. Plus, teeny baby footprints = cutest ever. I’ve been using Zoo Med Reptisand in dessert white forever now; its natural with no dyes (I noticed that dyed sands, while not totally unnatural colors, tended to actually color the geckos a bit), and it’s the least dusty sand I’ve come across so far. I had that same water dish before, and it worked fine for a long while until suddenly I realized it had some strange invisible crack (prob along a seam on the bottom) that was leaking and soaking almost half the tanks sand. It was probably just a fluke, but keep an eye out!
I hope this was at all helpful / what you were looking for. Have fun with the new baby!! I’m sure they’re gonna love the new home. 😊
I’ve seen some very sad and graphic photos of leopard geckos with their bellies full of sand… I was under the impression that sand was the biggest NO when it comes to geckos…
Sand is the biggest no when it comes to geckos. There is no safe sand for them, period.
However, bio-active is a valid & safe option IF you properly research it. This does NOT mean using straight sand – this isn’t a good substrate for almost any animal (I think I remember reading there are maybe two species kept in captivity that would do okay in only sand substrate). Usually for bio-active substrate, people mix sand with top soil, plus sometimes other materials, to make a natural substrate. You can also add things like leaf litter, slate tiles, etc. to help cover up the substrate & decrease chances of the animal eating too much sub, but it really isn’t much of an issue when bio-active is done properly & the husbandry is correct (the animal isn’t dehydrated).
Check out the Reptile and Amphibians Bioactive Setups Facebook group if you want to learn more about it! There are a lot of people in the group with leopard geckos on bio-active.
Yeah! Ok so the first thing you wanna do is make sure they’re acclimated- don’t handle for the first week after you get ‘em! Once they’re settled in, you can start having fun!
Tip number one is the approach. Picking up a reptile from the top tends to freak them out- that’s where predators come from. Don’t be a big swooping bird! Putting your hand out in front and letting them walk up onto it is much better. If they’re reluctant, you can lure them on with food or you can gently nudge them onto your hand. Leos are good because they’re not as flighty and jumpy as arboreal gecks. Handle them low to the ground or over a surface- if they do squirm or fall off your hand, you don’t want them to have too far to fall. Never ever grab them by the tail! They will likely drop it. This isn’t too much of a disaster- it will grow back- but it will scare the heck out of them and it can be super detrimental when they’re young and don’t have much of an energy reserve. You’ll also have to watch them closely; geckos store fat in that thing, so while it’s growing back you’ll really have to be on top of their energy consumption and make sure you feed them plenty. So don’t pick them up by the tail!
Don’t hold on too tightly! Remember they’re a prey species. Tightness scares them- if you do have to cover them, grasp them loosely. Keep away from their noses/mouths- that’s just an incentive to bite, and many of them don’t really care to have their mouths touched. (A firm hold and a gentle touch on the side of the mouth can be enough to make them pop their mouths open which is SUPER USEFUL if you ever have to administer oral drugs, by the way.) There are times when you will need to hold your gecko more firmly, but try not to do that too often. Gentle pats on the back of the head, strokes along the back- these are often better-received than touching anywhere else. Mine seem also to like having the undersides of their necks rubbed. If you do get bit, don’t panic and try not to drop the gecko- they’ll let go almost immediately. There’s two schools of thought on what to do if you get bitten. Some people say to not put the gecko away because then they’ll learn that they can get their way and will bite when they don’t want to be held. Others (the ones I agree with) say that if your animal wants to be put down so badly that they bite you, you should put them back and try again later. Learn their body language and know what they want. If they’re upset enough to bite, be kind and put them back. Know the signs of stress in a gecko. Squinty eyes, vocalization, gaping, puffing up and making themselves look big- all of these can mean “I’m overstimulated or angry! Please put me back!” A happy gecko is alert and inquisitive. If your gecko is shedding, don’t handle them- and unless there’s an obvious stuck shed problem, leave them alone when they’re shedding. Definitely don’t ever pull on the fresh shed while it’s still on them- it can damage their skin!
Keep your initial handling sessions short- no more than ten or fifteen minutes tops. This reduces stress on the gecko- and doesn’t keep them away from their heat for too long. When your gecko gets to be more used to you, you can increase the length of these sessions- but always be wary of how long you’ve kept them away from heat!
Try to separate handling and feeding times. An overstimulated gecko might not want to eat, and a full gecko isn’t gonna be too keen on handling- they need some time in the warm to get digestion started.
Letting your gecko explore can be a lot of fun in a safe area. Make sure there’s nothing they can get stuck in or hurt by. I like to let mine run around on my desktop. Don’t put your gecko in a hamster ball- that’s not a safe way for them to explore. It’s not hard to gecko-proof a space, and it’s a lot of fun to see them investigating things!
Let your gecko explore you. Let them climb your arms, lick your hands, hide in your hoodie pockets. Let them get to learn this strange new scent and associate it with stimulation, new, positive experiences, and food. It takes time for them to learn that you’re safe and interesting and worth exploring; be patient, for they are very small and this world is very strange to them. You can help them explore it and get to know it, but it will take some time for them to learn that you’re not a big scary monster.
I hope you and your leo pal have a lot of fun together. Good luck!
Old sheds are tricky to remove. You can give her a sauna bath. Soak some paper towels in warm (not too hot! Think to yourself, “would I put a human baby in this…?” ) and wring them out so they’re damp. Line a little container (I usually use kritter keepers) with these and add gecko. Put a heat pad under part of the container, so it gets slightly steamy. This helps loosen shed. Keep her in there for 10-15 minutes at a time.
You can even upgrade it to a bath. The water—again, not too hot, not too cold—- should ONLY JUST BARELY cover her toes. Leopard geckos aren’t swimmers and tend to panic if the water is much deeper. Again, 10-15 minutes is a good bath time.
You can also use a q-tip with any food-grade oil on the end (olive, coconut, vegetable, mineral, all these can be used safely) and use that to keep the stuck shed soft.
Whatever method you use, gently roll the gecko’s fingers between your own to loosen the shed. Eventually, you’ll see little tears start to form and you can tug at those with tweezers. Be VERY gentle! If the shed resists, STOP, because you don’t want to risk tearing off scales.
It’s ok if you don’t get shed off all at once. Take frequent breaks if she seems to be stressing out and you can stretch the process out over days.
His answer is always going to be the same: Take your gecko to a qualified exotics vet.
He is not interested in how you “can’t afford it” or “don’t want to”, because neither of those things matter.
If you have let a gecko–or any pet–in your care get into a situation in which they are unable or unwilling to eat, and they have lost weight to the point that their tail has become skinny, a vet visit is required.
It’s not always just a matter of ‘needs more food’, many times there is an infection or a husbandry problem present, and a qualified vet will know what to ask and what to look for to give you a proper treatment plan for your gecko.
My treatment plan was made in conjunction with the vet my keeper takes his reptiles to; he did not just guess as to what needed to be done and go from there, he sought the help of a qualified professional and did not think twice about paying for it.
We can be expensive to keep, and even more expensive if we become ill or injured; if you cannot afford vet bills to treat us when we become ill, you cannot afford to keep us as pets and need to rehome us to someone who is financially capable of caring for us.
Part of loving a pet is knowing when you are unable to provide that pet with the care that it needs to thrive and survive, and loving us sometimes means rehoming us to someone who can afford to take care of us properly.
alright, I’ve been meaning to make a post about this for a while and now is an excellent time to talk about leopard gecko reproduction. We’re at the beginning of the breeding season—–in some areas, we’re even seeing the first baby leos.
It’s super typical for females to stop eating around this time as their hormones tell them, “WELP, TIME TO FIND SOME DICKS” (more or less). Some weight loss is normal—–so long as it’s not 10% or more of her body weight, I wouldn’t worry overly much.
But, if you’re really concerned, there are absolutely some things you can do to entice her to eat. Hornworms are usually irresistible to leopard geckos. They’re expensive though, usually at least 12 dollars for 25 small worms. They grow VERY fast in warm environments, so it’s best to either feed them off quick, keep them cool, or have critters that can eat hornworms that get too big. They can get thumb-sized.
I also recommend keeping grub pie or critical care carnivore on hand. These mixes can create a high-nutrient slurry. Leopard geckos are really easy to feed via syringe: just tap their bottom jaw lightly and they usually automatically lick at whatever is there. I did this with one of my female geckos last year when she kept ovulating. You can also mash up bugs with some water to create a slurry, but the mixes are a lot more evenly textured. Usually when I have to syringe-feed a gecko, I aim to feed them 0.3-0.5 mL of food every 2 days.
Unfortunately, he’ll have to get used to it if he wants to keep his toes!
You can try a small soak. It’s basically a wetter version of a sauna. Instead of lining a container with damp paper towels, you put warm water in it. It shouldn’t be a lot of water—-leos tend to panic in deep water. It just needs to be enough to cover the toes. There will probably be flailing involved, but at least it’ll get the skin somewhat softer and ideally looser. If the following steps don’t work, then just keep soaking him every day (or every other day) for 2-5 minutes until his next shed cycle. You might have better luck loosening the shed at the next cycle.
A q-tip dipped in a food-grade oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, mineral oil… just anything that’s safe to consume) is an invaluable tool against stuck shed. But, yeah, it still requires touching the gecko toes.
this is a part of reptile-keeping I strongly dislike, but sometimes manhandling a gecko is necessary for their own health. So here’s how you gently restrain a lizard: get their head between your pointer and middle fingers and curl your hand around the body, their back in your palm. This keeps the head steady so the reptile can’t bite you and ALSO avoids gripping their tail. It also keeps their front legs stable, so they can’t wriggle too much.
Here’s a visual of what I mean. It’s a video of Diablo the leachie gecko being handled for weighing, measuring, and having some shed tugged off his claws.
This is HIGHLY STRESSFUL for a lizard since it closely mimics how a bird-of-prey would grab them, so this is really a last-resort kind of handling. I’ve also used it to give medication, so it’s a useful technique to learn.
Another method I use with very small lizards who I don’t feel comfortable grasping is to just tire them out: just keep touching their toes until they essentially give up. You’ve got a lot more patience than they have energy. Again, it’s stressful, especially if you’ve spent a lot of time building up trust with this animal.
A note for new followers who might not keep reptiles: I normally don’t endorse handling an animal against their will. But leopard geckos can lose their toes from stuck shed.
a final note on the topic: it’s not the end of the world if a gecko loses a toe. They have more trouble climbing, but you can adjust their enclosures to their new needs. The biggest risk is infection.
ifesbob 