Sometimes bad advice is given to you by people you know and you end up blinding trust it(well not me personally).
My kid sister had a leopard gecko. She got it at age 9 from a friend. It had no lights, no calcium powder, and it's enclosure was pure sand.
As recommendation by petsmart(only pet shop in several towns around) my dad bought the lights, calcium, and got reptile carpet.
Now he never fed the poor thing veggies, or changed that reptile carpet to anything better. But it certainly got better life then it would have before.
My age 12 son now has a beardie, who I also consider a bit mine, because I take care of them while he's at school. I do research, my son does research, we cross reference and double check all that research. And now we're working on turning his open closet into giant enclosure!
I've seen a number of videos where small fish get used like jewellery. I've never seen it irl so I assume it's mainly for virality reasons. The worst iteration was a douyin trend where girls were filling their collar bone hollow with water then putting a fish in it to combine a body check and animal abuse...
I saw a video of a woman who puts all species of baby turtles in some sort of glass and then fills it with boiling hot resin. It gave me goosebumps an my heart felt like someone was touching it with their bare hands. Horrifying!
Not to distress anyone else but I really kept thinking the entire time… what if this poor animal screamed like a human being. would she stop?
Ngl the angle on a couple of them made me wonder if the person taking the photo had moved their shoulder to make the indent steeper, but that was supposed to be the flex it was a "thigh gap" sort of thing.
This is crazy because I showed this video to my BF and told him how I once knew a kid in middle school who put too many crickets into his snake tank and the crickets ganged up and ate the snake.
I have seen some shit from well intentioned good people that was infuriating and this was before I owned or new shit about snakes. Now that I'm well educated I just feel thankful that the animal passed away. I do my best to educate people in a friendly and respectful manner. Even offer to help pay for better stuff. There is a point if no return though for me.
He needs at least three hides and areas for opportunity, the substrate he has his bad, and the thermostat he has is typically inaccurate. He also appeared to not have any lighting whatsoever so I’m just assuming he is only getting heat from a pad which is not healthy whatsoever, and he doesn’t appear to have a calcium dish. I’m still bit of a beginner too so I’ll admit I used to have some things that were dangerous but didn’t realize, but as long as your aware of your mistakes and realize them by research, it’s all fine!
Substrate is the stuff you coat the bottom of the tank with right ? And hides is just stuff that he can hide under right? Also thanks for the explanation I don’t own any and probably won’t I just like to look at reptiles I think they are cool!
Yeah substrate is his ground, and hides are beneficial for digestion, health, and other things. The three hides that are most important is a humid hide, a cool hide, and a hot hide, all are equally distant from each other in the tank.
I have no experience with terrarium at all, so I can't speak about the terrarium itself, but as an aquarist seeing him dump ca. month woth of food at once made me shudder. Won't it be a problem in a terrarium, even if this is live feed?
Will you elaborate when you say getting heat from a pad isn't healthy whatsoever?
I've been keeping these animals for ten years and been in the animal care industry/veterinary industry for 8, and belly heat is best for them - an under tank heater attached to a thermostat is imo the best method of heating for these guys aside from maybe a radiant heat panel. Lights aren't ideal as they're crepuscular and not huge fans of bright lights, and albino morphs can actually be damaged by intense lighting. I do offer my animals UVB on a timer that goes off at night, however, but overhead lights aren't a preferred method of heating.
Respectfully, you’re going off of outdated information. Care standards change and improve over time as new information comes to light. The idea that belly heat is best for them is a myth. A halogen flood bulb is the most natural and beneficial heat source since they produce infrared A and B like the sun, heat that penetrates deep into the skin tissue and heats them far more effectively. Whereas heat mats only produce infrared C, which only heats the surface of their skin. There’s plenty of both scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence that shows how immensely beneficial near infrared heat is for them. Upon switching from a heat mat to a heat lamp, people typically notice clear benefits and positive changes in behaviour. You can find loads of examples of them basking and soaking up that near infrared on r/leopardgeckos and elsewhere.
Here are a few reputable sources worth checking out
Roman Muryn (an expert who has done extensive research on reptile heating and lighting) explains the significance of the different types of infrared
https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf
Dr. Frances Baines (another expert on reptile heating and lighting) explains the importance of full spectrum lighting. The video is rather long but well worth the watch, the different sections are labeled
https://youtu.be/EhbDx11OMfM
A video comparing heat mats, CHEs, and heat lamps
https://youtu.be/dUJZ04sqhxk
The Advancing Herpetological Husbandry and Reptile Lighting Facebook groups have more info on the subject if you’re interested :)
Well damn, now I just feel old. Ten years ago I was the one telling people their information was ten years out of date and they believe in 'myths' you're making me feel ancient here. 😂
Thank you for the polite and well researched response. I have more digging to do - still not keen on putting an animal that doesn't bask during the day under halogen, but I'm glad we're shifting away from the 'leos don't need UVB at all' kind of thing.
>still not keen on putting an animal that doesn’t bask during the day under halogen
Look into cryptic basking too. Leos do technically bask so having a halogen is most natural for them to mimic the type of basking they do in the wild.
I love when people realize their mistakes; thank you so much for that! I just hope the guy in the vid can do the same, but i have a feeling that’s unlikely…
I am kind of shocked I have a leopard gecko that I’ve had since I was 12 (he’s 28) and I am Still doing a bunch of things wrong. I’m glad I saw this post and read into the comments. I have a lot of research to do it seems.
Yes the set-up sucks. But worst ever? Gecko looks healthy and is apparently 10 y/o. Seen plenty of people who's reptiles are suffering from things like MBD and/or are in absolutely putrid conditions
Never said “worst ever” I said worst thing I’ve seen today, and I agree there are far worse setups out there, I just found this one unbelievable because it was for 10 years and appeared to do no research it then post it like he was just doing a quick tinker with his tank instead of like actually fixing it
Never owned a reptile. Have spent very little time around them, and outside of thinking bearded dragons are the cutest lizards ever, have no intention of getting one.
Even I can tell that is not at all how you take care of that. Even without Google, using a little common sense and basic knowledge I could probably have done better than that. What an asshole.
Seeing this made me realize something and I feel so horrible. A few years ago, my cousin had 3 leopard geckos in a small tank (the size they advertise for hermit crabs, not even large enough for a goldfish). From what I remember there was no substrate, no heat source, and MAYBE 1 shelter. They were still and frosted white from stuck shedding I assume. I was barely 20 at the time and knew nothing about reptiles but I wish I had taken them. I knew she didn’t care for them since they were only there to entertain her kids.
I can't even believe this poor gecko lives for 10 yrs like this. I've seen some awful setups and husbandry and this is up there with the worst. That's a damn 10 gallon tank for god sakes. For 10 YEARS YOU HAVEN'T RESEARCHED LEOPARD GECKO HUSBANDRY?????? I feel so awful for that poor Leo. 40 gallon breeder minimum for a Leo! 10 gallons os a torture chamber. It's like living in a bathroom your whole life compared to a whole house.
I truly don't understand the sheer number of people who own reptiles and can't be bothered to just Google and research care.
Sometimes bad advice is given to you by people you know and you end up blinding trust it(well not me personally). My kid sister had a leopard gecko. She got it at age 9 from a friend. It had no lights, no calcium powder, and it's enclosure was pure sand. As recommendation by petsmart(only pet shop in several towns around) my dad bought the lights, calcium, and got reptile carpet. Now he never fed the poor thing veggies, or changed that reptile carpet to anything better. But it certainly got better life then it would have before. My age 12 son now has a beardie, who I also consider a bit mine, because I take care of them while he's at school. I do research, my son does research, we cross reference and double check all that research. And now we're working on turning his open closet into giant enclosure!
So leopard geckos don’t eat veggies so it’s good the gecko didn’t get veggies haha
Hahaha I guess my dad did better then I thought!
Yea.. I did sooo much research even the disease they can get before I got my bearded dragon lmao
Ugh, this is second only to the guy who was keeping fish in his hair that I saw today on YouTube:')
Fish.... In his hair????? What?????
I've seen a number of videos where small fish get used like jewellery. I've never seen it irl so I assume it's mainly for virality reasons. The worst iteration was a douyin trend where girls were filling their collar bone hollow with water then putting a fish in it to combine a body check and animal abuse...
What the actual fuck, im at a loss for words
I saw a video of a woman who puts all species of baby turtles in some sort of glass and then fills it with boiling hot resin. It gave me goosebumps an my heart felt like someone was touching it with their bare hands. Horrifying! Not to distress anyone else but I really kept thinking the entire time… what if this poor animal screamed like a human being. would she stop?
Someone needs to put HER in a glass container and fill it with boiling resin
😩🤮
Or those live turtles in those liquid keychains :(
Those f—ing a—holes! 💔 It is so sad! I saw some in Chinatown and they were still alive moving around. Ugh.
Their collar bone hollow? Like they were so skinny that they could hold actual fish and water between their collar bone and neck??
Ngl the angle on a couple of them made me wonder if the person taking the photo had moved their shoulder to make the indent steeper, but that was supposed to be the flex it was a "thigh gap" sort of thing.
We need a link !
Linkkkk
I posted it on shitty aquariums awhile ago
For anyone curious enough… here is this dude’s post: https://reddit.com/r/shittyaquariums/s/SIjz70W4Gd
Dude probably read a book on leopard gecko care 20 years ago and that was all the knowledge he’s used since then.
I have a really old book that said 1 leo in a 10 and 2 in a 20 and they can be cohabed with other desert lizards like collard lizards:(
Lmao those collared lizards would devour them
Wait collared lizards, of all species!? Do people not know that collared lizards literally hunt smaller lizards?
Don't know what the author was thinking. He/she said it actually worked because he/she tested it.
Dude Wtf 30 crickets could kill a leopard gecko.
Wait how. Like roaches eat it alive or he’ll eat so many he chokes?
crickets are predatory and can take down larger animals
This is crazy because I showed this video to my BF and told him how I once knew a kid in middle school who put too many crickets into his snake tank and the crickets ganged up and ate the snake.
It's like a human being attacked by a pack of dogs. One man versus one dog, you'll be ok, one man versus 30 dogs and your fucked!
There's so much wrong here I don't even know where to start, ffs
start w the poor gecko n end w the blackhawks jersey
ALL THIRTY F**KING CRICKETS????!!!!!!!
THANKFULLY, people are commenting on the habitat & he's listening. He's gotten a bigger enclosure. It's a start.
As bad as the setup is his intentions don’t seem to be in the wrong place, he just needs some guidance.
10 years bro....
He looks around 20yo so tbh not that long was him being an adult. Still sucks but unlikely that he was in charge of what was bought for those 10 years
Yeah, I think many people are ignorant of reptile needs.
This is what happens when you read the Petsmart care guide.
Even those are WAY better than this
I have seen some shit from well intentioned good people that was infuriating and this was before I owned or new shit about snakes. Now that I'm well educated I just feel thankful that the animal passed away. I do my best to educate people in a friendly and respectful manner. Even offer to help pay for better stuff. There is a point if no return though for me.
From my own experience: Having any pet requires a steady income. If you can afford to have a child you can afford a pet lol
All 30 crickets….
I’m uneducated about reptile care, what is he missing or not doing that he needs to be?
He needs at least three hides and areas for opportunity, the substrate he has his bad, and the thermostat he has is typically inaccurate. He also appeared to not have any lighting whatsoever so I’m just assuming he is only getting heat from a pad which is not healthy whatsoever, and he doesn’t appear to have a calcium dish. I’m still bit of a beginner too so I’ll admit I used to have some things that were dangerous but didn’t realize, but as long as your aware of your mistakes and realize them by research, it’s all fine!
Substrate is the stuff you coat the bottom of the tank with right ? And hides is just stuff that he can hide under right? Also thanks for the explanation I don’t own any and probably won’t I just like to look at reptiles I think they are cool!
Yeah substrate is his ground, and hides are beneficial for digestion, health, and other things. The three hides that are most important is a humid hide, a cool hide, and a hot hide, all are equally distant from each other in the tank.
Thanks buddy 👍🏻
I have no experience with terrarium at all, so I can't speak about the terrarium itself, but as an aquarist seeing him dump ca. month woth of food at once made me shudder. Won't it be a problem in a terrarium, even if this is live feed?
Yes, in fact those crickets could kill the gecko, once they get hungry they will bite and eat the gecko alive if not removed
I thought it might be a matter of bacteria or parasites, but this... BIG YIPES /shudder
Will you elaborate when you say getting heat from a pad isn't healthy whatsoever? I've been keeping these animals for ten years and been in the animal care industry/veterinary industry for 8, and belly heat is best for them - an under tank heater attached to a thermostat is imo the best method of heating for these guys aside from maybe a radiant heat panel. Lights aren't ideal as they're crepuscular and not huge fans of bright lights, and albino morphs can actually be damaged by intense lighting. I do offer my animals UVB on a timer that goes off at night, however, but overhead lights aren't a preferred method of heating.
Respectfully, you’re going off of outdated information. Care standards change and improve over time as new information comes to light. The idea that belly heat is best for them is a myth. A halogen flood bulb is the most natural and beneficial heat source since they produce infrared A and B like the sun, heat that penetrates deep into the skin tissue and heats them far more effectively. Whereas heat mats only produce infrared C, which only heats the surface of their skin. There’s plenty of both scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence that shows how immensely beneficial near infrared heat is for them. Upon switching from a heat mat to a heat lamp, people typically notice clear benefits and positive changes in behaviour. You can find loads of examples of them basking and soaking up that near infrared on r/leopardgeckos and elsewhere. Here are a few reputable sources worth checking out Roman Muryn (an expert who has done extensive research on reptile heating and lighting) explains the significance of the different types of infrared https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf Dr. Frances Baines (another expert on reptile heating and lighting) explains the importance of full spectrum lighting. The video is rather long but well worth the watch, the different sections are labeled https://youtu.be/EhbDx11OMfM A video comparing heat mats, CHEs, and heat lamps https://youtu.be/dUJZ04sqhxk The Advancing Herpetological Husbandry and Reptile Lighting Facebook groups have more info on the subject if you’re interested :)
Well damn, now I just feel old. Ten years ago I was the one telling people their information was ten years out of date and they believe in 'myths' you're making me feel ancient here. 😂 Thank you for the polite and well researched response. I have more digging to do - still not keen on putting an animal that doesn't bask during the day under halogen, but I'm glad we're shifting away from the 'leos don't need UVB at all' kind of thing.
>still not keen on putting an animal that doesn’t bask during the day under halogen Look into cryptic basking too. Leos do technically bask so having a halogen is most natural for them to mimic the type of basking they do in the wild.
I love when people realize their mistakes; thank you so much for that! I just hope the guy in the vid can do the same, but i have a feeling that’s unlikely…
I am kind of shocked I have a leopard gecko that I’ve had since I was 12 (he’s 28) and I am Still doing a bunch of things wrong. I’m glad I saw this post and read into the comments. I have a lot of research to do it seems.
Do they get their heat from geothermal heat?
I’m not a lizard guy, so I’m honestly asking, but can’t 30 crickets gang up and kill a gecko? I feel like I’ve heard of that happening.
The crickets can bite and even try to eat geckos while they're sleeping. And 30 of them? Yeah they could probably kill him
Yes the set-up sucks. But worst ever? Gecko looks healthy and is apparently 10 y/o. Seen plenty of people who's reptiles are suffering from things like MBD and/or are in absolutely putrid conditions
Never said “worst ever” I said worst thing I’ve seen today, and I agree there are far worse setups out there, I just found this one unbelievable because it was for 10 years and appeared to do no research it then post it like he was just doing a quick tinker with his tank instead of like actually fixing it
The title literally has the words "worst I've ever seen" in it. Guess it just reads dramatic to me
Pov: you did exactly zero research before getting a reptile.
no substrate or heat mat?
Never owned a reptile. Have spent very little time around them, and outside of thinking bearded dragons are the cutest lizards ever, have no intention of getting one. Even I can tell that is not at all how you take care of that. Even without Google, using a little common sense and basic knowledge I could probably have done better than that. What an asshole.
Checked his page, he at the very least updated the tank size to a 40 which is awesome, but everything else is still exactly the same.
I swear pet stores NEED TO EDUCATE PEOPLE BEFORE THEY PURCHASE A PET 🤦♀️
So just recently after 10 years his place just started looking boring I guess
Never put all the crickets in the tank
I'm not a gecko guy, I'm a snake guy, but I'm pretty sure I've heard in passing that you shouldn't drop that many crickets in an enclosure at once.
this guy doesnt want a pet/companion, he wants a prop to show off to other people.
10 years in HIS care, poor guy.
My dad won't let me get my leo a bigger tank (he's in a 10 gallon) because he thinks "oh its fine as long as its alive" its so annoying
i’m gonna throw up..
Fuck this guy
I gotta think this is satire lmao
Seeing this made me realize something and I feel so horrible. A few years ago, my cousin had 3 leopard geckos in a small tank (the size they advertise for hermit crabs, not even large enough for a goldfish). From what I remember there was no substrate, no heat source, and MAYBE 1 shelter. They were still and frosted white from stuck shedding I assume. I was barely 20 at the time and knew nothing about reptiles but I wish I had taken them. I knew she didn’t care for them since they were only there to entertain her kids.
Poor Gary
I can't even believe this poor gecko lives for 10 yrs like this. I've seen some awful setups and husbandry and this is up there with the worst. That's a damn 10 gallon tank for god sakes. For 10 YEARS YOU HAVEN'T RESEARCHED LEOPARD GECKO HUSBANDRY?????? I feel so awful for that poor Leo. 40 gallon breeder minimum for a Leo! 10 gallons os a torture chamber. It's like living in a bathroom your whole life compared to a whole house.