Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a custom made tank with dimension 4 ft x 2ft x 2ft. I build it a long time ago for a Bearded Dragon. Never use it.
I wonder if there is such a thing as too much space for leopard geckos? I will be buying just one for now, until I can afford for more.

I just want 2 o 3 of them. In the mean time, will the only LG will be aroused by so much space?

Thanks in advance,
Markos

>>Hello,
>>
>>I have a custom made tank with dimension 4 ft x 2ft x 2ft. I build it a long time ago for a Bearded Dragon. Never use it.
>>I wonder if there is such a thing as too much space for leopard geckos? I will be buying just one for now, until I can afford for more.
>>
>>I just want 2 o 3 of them. In the mean time, will the only LG will be aroused by so much space?
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>Markos

Generally a 20 Gallon Long tank is about as big as people will go with only 1 Leopard Gecko. Otherwise the tank will be too big and the gecko may have trouble finding the food source.
-----
MK Geckos
Your Source for Leopard Geckos!
MK Geckos Forums

Yeah, that's def way too big. I think the average leo gets around 100 square inches, and the 4x2 would give the single one about 1100 square inches. You could have quite a colony at that size. One the plus side, you would be able to have a heck of a thermal grade.

I don't understand why a tank would be too big. In the wild they live in deserts, they aren't confined to a particular amount of square inches. I would think that if you made sure it ate then it wouldn't matter. With such a large space you could probably leave a few crickets in there with some source of food for them, some gut load cubes or dry dog or cat food (you would want to be careful and keep an eye on them, I have read that if they get too hungry they might bite the leo, but if they have food they should be ok, I have actually seen some of the crickets eat the vitamin dust). You would also want to be sure the temperature is good, that the warm side is warm enough.

Most of the their time in the wild is limited to things like crevices and burrows, not to mention the fact that many establish territories in the wild and don't stray too far. That much space just seems like overkill, and it may overwhelm the lizard and stress it because it doesn't feel like it can hide properly and feel secure. Just my thoughts.

I understand the use of a small cage when you want to closely monitor the health of a youngster, but to restrict any and all leopards to a cage no bigger than 20gals for life out of worry for the animal? And backing that up by making up natural history information??? I’ve not yet seen a gecko species that naturally runs in 30” diameter circles for a living. Even natural crevice networks can be extensive, far bigger than the floor area in a 20gal (let alone a shoebox inside a 20gal), and I assume this applies to crevice networks in India/Pakistan much as it does elsewhere in the world.

It’s restricting all one’s thought to a small box like this that helped bring into existence such hapless animals as English bulldogs and bubble-eyed goldfish, hey?

You guys who want to pretend leopards are at a loss if they have to walk a straight line more than 30” long, go find that Vivarium issue in which that Huddleson guy talks about his leopards’ behavior in a big natural enclosure, or read it in paraphrase in Tremper’s new book. Leopards are awesome animals considering the behavior you can witness in a sweaterbox, but how much more behavior could you see in a more natural amount of space? Why’d you be afraid to find out? Cheers

I wasn't trying to make stuff up. It's a fact that they hang out in cracks and burrows and have territories. I'm not saying it wouldn't be amazing to have a large enclosure to watch them in and for them to hang out in, I was just saying it wasn't absolutely required. I still think it's excessive to house it in a cage that size, and I'm going to stand by that. But thanks for your opinion, all the same.