Lucilla, the Albino Leopard Gecko

Born: early May 2005 (estimate based on size on July 2)
Purchased: June 18, 2005 at the Petsmart at Grant and Swan in Tucson, AZ
Length: 9.45 inches (as of April 3, 2005)
Morph: Bell albino
Sex: Female
Email Address: stewieperry@gmail.com (No "Lucilla Sucks" mail please, that just makes her angry)
Temperature, Humidity, and Food data for Lucilla (Excel format available). This is updated daily with the latest measurements and feeding statistics. This info was intended to try to find a pattern to Stewie's eating habits as well as keep track of long-term habitat climate. However, this data is available to all, particularly for those considering purchasing a leopard gecko and want to know how much food one gecko can eat. This data has not been updated since late September, due to changes in the gecko's feeding schedule (once a day to every other day).

Size and Growth Rate of Lucilla

Pictures

As you can see below, lately I have taken a number of images of my gecko. As someone involved in the planning and processing of images taken by a planetary spacecraft, I tend to think of these images as being taken in an "image squence", a planned set of images that have a common theme or target. There are two main types of imaging sequences for images of Lucilla. The first are "action" sequences. Usually these are gecko eye-level images taken without flash (and thus are often timed exposures due to Lucilla's nocturnal nature), and show Lucilla going about his life: eating, sleeping, and waiting for food. I call the second type of sequence "mapping/change detection" images. These usually are taken from above the gecko with flash and are best for looking for changes from shed to shed, for measuring the length of the gecko (if some type of scale is provided), and for observing Stewie's color pattern. While I love the composition and quality of these images, because I use the flash to minimize smear, reduce noise, and to improve color, the flash may hurt her eyes so I would prefer to use the flash as few times as possible.

Some of these are a little blurry. In fact, most are. Many of the early images were taken with the camera on my PDA. Most of the images after August 12 were taken using a Kodak Digital Camera, but I used the time exposure setting in order to taken decently exposed images without the flash.

Also, you may notice that some of the early images have a red tint. That's because I use a red light bulb to illuminate the cage at night to help me clearly see inside the enclosure. Later on, Stewie became more used to the room light, so I didn't need the red light as much to see into the cage. In addition, the improved exposure settings of the Kodak camera allowed me to take longer exposure images in low light conditions compared to the PDA camera, plus I could rest the Kodak on the table to reduce smear.

For the gecko fans, you may notice an analog thermometer in many of the early images. I do use a pair of digital thermometers/hygrometers on each side of the cage, as well as a temp gun. The analog thermometer was just difficult to remove and decided it wasn't worth the effort. I now have a new 20-gallon-long tank for her so the later images, after August 20 or so, don't show an analog thermometer.

Update 08/12/2005: I was finally able to take a couple of great shots of Stewie, with a steady hand, flash, and thus good light and exposure. Over all a nice couple of images: P0000944 and P0000945.

Update 08/18/2005: Another good shot of Stewie, getting a little bigger: P0000972

Update 08/26/2005: Added a few low-resolution movies of Stewie, include a couple with some odd, tail-wagging behavior.

Update 08/31/2005: Latest Post Shedding picture. Stewie (soon to be renamed due to recent gender determination) has survived the recent outages of first the cooler dying as well as the power. The cooler in my room died due to a malfunctioning float, and Stewie was evacuated to the house so he can stay cool. Less than a day after the cooler was fixed, and Stewie was returned to my room, the power in 75% of my outlets, including the cooler died. This problem was resolved in a few hours and she is now back in business. Stewie will also be renamed soon. She appears to be at a size where male sexual characteristics should start appearing, and they haven't, so Stewie appears to be a female. I am considering a few possible female names, including Katrina, and haven't really decided on any.

Update 09/12/2005: Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but to be honest, how many images can you have of one gecko? Anyways, I've added a few new "Mapping/change detection" images from yesterday, one with a quarter used for scale. Based on that image, I was able to determine Stewie's length (7.34 inches/18.65 cm). I also took a great, high resolution image of Stewie.

Update 10/10/2005: Not many pictures lately, though I have a few great pictures from October 7 and 9. In terms of news, I have switched to slate tile in the tank, which she seems to like more than the carpet. At least she gets out more. Speaking of "she", I finally have the new name for Stewie, Menrva (Mya for short). She is named after the Etruscan goddess of Wisdom and a large impact basin on Titan. Mya appears to have reached her adult length, now at 7.37 inches. So she fell far short of the goal of 8.4 inches. Oh well. Oh and I finally saw her shed on October 5. I even took a pic just as she was finishing up. Compare the before and after pictures to see the effects of the shed. The funny part about the shed was that she has a shed box, with moist paper towels, which she sleeps in all the time, but when it comes time to shed, she uses her other warm side hide, instead. Crazy gecko ;)

Update 10/25/2005: Lucilla (okay, last name change, I promise) shed again last Wednesday. Hope to have some pictures up from the shed and the after effects soon.

Update 06/30/2006: Sorry for the lack for text updates. Lucilla is doing fine. She is starting to peak in terms of size so she is now eating every other day, rather than every day. She is still a big eater. The pics at the bottom of the page show just how big she has gotten.

June 18, 2005
July 12, 2005
August 6, 2005
August 7, 2005
August 9, 2005
August 10, 2005
August 11, 2005
August 13, 2005
August 14, 2005
August 17, 2005
August 18, 2005
August 22, 2005
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August 29, 2005
August 30, 2005
September 1, 2005
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September 17, 2005
October 4, 2005
October 5, 2005
October 7, 2005
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October 19, 2005
October 27, 2005
November 5, 2005
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November 13, 2005
November 15, 2005
November 20, 2005
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November 25, 2005
December 2, 2005
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December 13, 2005
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December 24, 2005
January 2, 2006
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March 18, 2006
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April 3, 2006
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April 25, 2006
April 30, 2006
May 11, 2006
May 15, 2006
May 18, 2006
June 29, 2006
July 2, 2006
July 7, 2006
July 12, 2006
July 15, 2006
August 2, 2006

Movies

Jason Perry
Email: perry@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu
Last Updated: August 3, 2006
All images on this page are the copywrite of Jason Perry. Images and text on this page may not be used elsewhere without the express permission of the author.