New Critter

**Taceas** · 12-30-06, 05:11 PM

I picked up this gal and she's a sweetie. She's a Tangerine phase/morph Leopard Gecko. It's been a few years since I had leopard geckos, and I needed something to help eat some roaches that I breed for my tarantulas.

Still trying to think of a name for her. Heck I still need to think of a name for my sallymeander.

(picture courtesy of Jason Haygood www.thebestgeckos.com)

Becky · 12-30-06, 05:50 PM

Wow Misty! She is incredible! Name her Clementine. They sell a kind of tangerine here called Clementines, and they are about the same color. She really is a beautiful shade of orange.

**EeekSnakes** · 12-30-06, 08:09 PM

Wow, she is a sweetie. How's her temperment? I'm thinking names along the "sunshine" line.....she's so bright.

**Taceas** · 12-30-06, 10:48 PM

Heh, I'd actually thought of both of those names. We've got a box of Clementines here we've been snacking on for the past week.

I'm still up in the air. It'll come to me all of a sudden some day.

Right now she's really reclusive and shy. But I did pick her up a couple of times and she's pretty tolerant of that. The ones I had before resented being picked up, so I always had to use a cup to scoop them up in to transfer them to a separate cage while I cleaned theirs. They'd thrash about and try to bite. I was afraid they'd drop their tail, so I never pushed the issue. I just fed them and kept a hands-off approach, which worked well for a few years.

**nwheat** · 12-31-06, 02:35 PM

She's beautiful!! Congrats!

Jason has really nice geckos!

WhiteValleyHerp · 12-31-06, 09:11 PM

Sweet looking Leo. Almost a sunlog.

- OT -

Since you mentioned it before, how difficult is it to raise your own roaches? I'm looking for a stink-free alternative to crickets for my dragons.

Dale

**Caroline** · 12-31-06, 10:57 PM

She is really cute Misty.

**Taceas** · 12-31-06, 11:08 PM

Pretty easy and oh so much less smelly than crickets. Just a rubbermaid container or spare aquarium, some paper egg crates, roach food, and fruit/veggie for water and they take care of the rest.

I'm raising Blatta lateralis and just recently got a dozen Blaptica dubia, neither of which climb smooth surfaces. Lobster roaches are another easy choice for feeders as they are live bearers and breed fast, but they can climb very well so you have to have a line of Bug Stop (teflon) or Vaseline around the top edge to keep them in. I had Lobsters when I had my bearded and he adored them, they tend to have a better meat to shell ratio.

Connie also raises Blatta lateralis and I'm sure due to her proximity she could hook you up with some and culturing ideas. Although the B. lateralis are a smaller roach and it might take quite a bit more to satiate a beardie. But they're a starting point at any rate.

Joni Garcia · 01-01-07, 03:09 PM

She's so darling! I love her bright coloring. No geckos here... yet... maybe someday.

**midnightline** · 01-01-07, 05:00 PM

Lobster roaches are another easy choice for feeders as they are live bearers and breed fast, but they can climb very well so you have to have a line of Bug Stop (teflon) or Vaseline around the top edge to keep them in.

I have a friend who has a colony of lobsters. Her cats helped some get loose once, and now they've infested her snake room! I've heard the Turkish (or is it Turkistan) roach is a better choice than Lobsters, and they're the same size and similarly quick to breed.

Personally, I work with Blaptica Dubia (Orange Spotteds). They're a larger roach that doesn't climb glass. As a big plus, the females are easily distinguishable from the males. The adults are beardie-sized and the juveniles are good leopard gecko size. The babies when born are about half the size of a thumbtack. They're a pretty neat (if a little shy) species.