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I'm considering either a crested or a leopard gecko. Any opinions or general thoughts between the two?

Thanks!

Well, it depends on a lot of factors including age of owner, general reptile experience, and what you want out of a pet. But, having both, I can tell you some random stuff and we'll see how it goes.

First of all, for first time owners of reptiles everyone suggests one of the big three: corn snake, bearded dragon, or leopard gecko. My friend's daughter went to a class aimed at young kids and reptiles and this is what they even taught. These herps are the most tolerant of those little mistakes we all make when first starting out.

Enclosure: Crested is going to need tall, leo is going to want long. Smaller adult leos can go fine in a 10 gallon aquarium their whole lives, a lot of us choose to move them into a 20 gallon long just so they have more room (you could reasonably keep 2 in that space) Our crested began her life in a 10 gallon and then we added a screened in area to basically make it a 20 gallon tall. Crested will need lots of plants fake or real to climb and hide in as well as a traditional gecko hide, leos will just need hides. These hides can be made or bought.

Heat and light: without getting into too many details, cresteds are good at normal human room temps (not basements without supplemental heat) in the 70s. Leos require additional heating, usually in the form of a heating pad under the tank. Both should have some sort of light cycle, the cresteds doesn't need to make the enclosure hotter, but a leos should... honestly, we've got a 40W bulb (visible/UVB) and that is enough, our cresed cage is right next to the leo cage and that is enough light for her.

Food: Crested can be fed exclusively on something called Crested Gecko Diet, CGD. It is a meal replacement powder you mix with water that has a 6 month shelf life. Now, I believe that young cresteds do better with a few crickets as well and many will tell you it is fun to watch, something about flying attacks from above. Leos are insect eaters, people feed a lot of different things, in my opinion crickets are best because they get psychological stimulation from hunting down the crickets. Crickets for either species should be gutloaded and dusted with vitamins before feeding. So keeping crickets, for some, is a pain, a bottle of CGD doesn't need feeding for instance.

Temperament/handling: I would put leos above cresteds on handling. Simply put cresteds live in trees, they like to hop and flop and they can stick to anything. I have found leos are much easier to tame as mine will crawl up on my hand when I just place it in front of her, you have to chase my crested, but that could be my handling style. Also remember that both geckos are going to be more skiddish as a young one and usually tame down. Also remember these are both still considered "display animals" so on average handling more than once a week is not recommended.

Poo: The thing no one told me about when I got my crested! They poo everywhere! This is in harsh contrast to a leo who picks a corner or at least a consistent place and will only poo there. This makes cleanup a breeze, especially if you use papertowels as their carpeting. Take the "bathroom" out once a week, replace the rest monthly. Crested pretty much just go everywhere... even you if necessary. (I went two years until she finally got me, eww.) Weekly cleaning of everything is usually, some people go with "natural" setups, but I believe that takes a lot of time and research to get it right. I know people have done it right, but I haven't seen one in person that is working.

Wow, that was a lot. Hope it helps, ask any additional questions, but I'm still on the side that for beginners leos are best, for those that have had geckos or lizards before, either are good "starter" geckos.

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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I took your advice and am going with a rescued leo. Thanks for the thoughtful response!

very good response. I love cresteds. If you could handle them as much as the leo they would be number one. There care is not also as forgiving as leos.
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"Why is it we treat the earth as if we have a spare in the trunk"