Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have wanted one for a while, but i've always gotton something else instead. i think i am just going to get one, i don't have room for a 20 gallon. is there anything i should know that isn't mentioned in the leopard gecko book? what should i use as substrate? i know this issue is controversial. any advice would be appriciated. thanx in advance.

ps. i am going to name it Shilo

One leo can be housed comfortably in a 10 gallon tank as long as it has access to the proper heat gradiant, hides, water, etc. The easiest, cleanest, and cheapest substrate to use is paper towels but it is not your only option. Many people freak out over sand, but as long as your leo is an adult, fed out of a dish (or handfed), and has access to calcium powder (just put it in the food dish) then it is a very suitable substrate. Use repti-sand or some other very fine grained product...avoid things like calci-sand or other course sands. I've used both papertowels and sand with my geckos, and have recently switched back to sand because it looks nicer and allows me to pickup the geckos' messes without having to shift around the entire tank. If you get a younger gecko and/or don't want to feed out of a dish, then papertowels would be your best bet.

Do not use sand as a substrate under any circumstances. It is harder to clean as you have to remove a lager amount of sand to get the urine out. Which is expensive. Also why would you want to even risk impaction or loss of toes. If you are looking for a visually apealing sustrate use slate tile. I use paper towels because it is the safest and easy to clean.
As for tanks sizes a 10 is OK for a juvenile or baby it is a little small for an adult. If you put a humid hide, cool hide, food dish, and water dish 50% of the tank should still be open. That would be like you living in your bathroom.
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Brian
www.thewindycitygecko.com

thanks for all the info. about heating... how hot should it be, i know they live in a savannah type habitat, but if they are nocturnal why do they need any type of heating thing. my house is always above 70, is that ok? i have a lot of animals, three are on sand and i just put crix in and they are fine. all of them are fully grown though. what exactly do you mean by hand feed? for my dragon i "help him eat the crix cause there is a lot of plants, driftwood... in his tank and they hide. can i feed them mealworms? should i have a little house thing with wet moss in it or a water dish? do you know if i need to soak them if they have a water dish in their tank? below is one of the desertish tanks i have, would a tank similar to that be ok for a leo? so sorry for all the questions but i want him to be happy. thanks again!

A good starter book for a novice leo keeper (not for breeding but just for simple leo housing) is "The Leopard Gecko Manual" by Phillipe deVoljii (please excuse my spelling). This book is only 100 or so pages long and very helpful for the new leo owner. It is also cheap and easily found in stores such as PetsMart. Good Luck! sounds like you've got your hands full!!

haha, i just got that book two days ago!! great minds think alike

I think you need more info on leos before you purchase one. There are definate temperature gradients that they need, they must have belly heat at the right temps to digest their food properly so you will need an under tank heater (or UTH), also a thermometer with a probe so you can keep a watch on your temps. The temps are extremely important to having a healthy leo. PLEASE don't use sand as a substrate, I know also that there are very differing opinions on its use, but if there is even the slightest change that the leo could become impacted due to sand, then why even take that risk? Papertowels when they're small, then either repticarpet or slate tiles are great. Back to the temps, be sure that there is a cool side for the leo, most say only 30% of the tank should be heated by a UTH which I agree with. It will also need a cave to hide in and a humid hide box to aid in shedding and also regulating it's own temps. A heat light isn't necessary as, like I said, they need the belly heat. I do use reptile lights for the UVB and UVA, the UVB helps it to absorb the calcium that it ingests (a small lid with calcium powder in it works great for that) and the UVA helps to stimulate their appetite if they go into a winter hunger strike. The best advice I can give is to to lots of research, as I did, before you decide to bring home a leo. I did 2 months worth of studying care sheets and forums on the internet before I bought my first one, there is SO much to learn but you at least need the basics first and get your tank set up and the heat regulated before you bring it home. Hope this helps