Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'd like to get a leopard gecko. Currently I keep two P. regius and tropical fish. I have a ten gallon w/a good UTH and a lamp hat the snakes have outgrown. I use newspaper for my snakes and I ive near avery good reptile shop. I'd like some beginner tips.

There are alot of good care sheets and resources out there on the web. You can also get some really informative books. Other than that what is it that you specifically need to know? Temps, feeding, sustrate, ect?

When choosing substrate Id stay away from anything organic such as walnut shells and cocnut bark, it can be ingested and exampd and kill. Some people sand, however its a sketchy subject on how safe it really is. If the gecko injests to much theres a chance it could become impacted. I use repticarpet(tm) for my display tanks, its easy, washable (therefore reusable), made pre-fit to standard size tanks, and plus looks nice. Other than that paper towels and newspaper seem to work well.

Things to set up the tank with are a humid hide that should be kept moist for proper humidity that can help along shedding (by the way leos eat their skin after shedding). One can be easily constructed from a tupaware container dark enough so during the day the gecko can have its privacy (keep in mind they are nocturnal). Keep the lid and cut a small entrance hole on one side and atach the lid. Inside you can place some moist sphagnam moss or paper towles.

Leos will take a wide variety of insects, but it really depends on the lizard. Make sure before buying they are eating something that is easy for you to get for them, I find mealworms easiest. Babies and juvies should be feed everyday with calcium dusted insects. Adults every other day dusted on and off. A bowl a calcium should be provided so they can lick it up. Fresh water offcourse... and leos like to poop in one corner so I put a little tupaware lid in their spots and they always poop there so all you have to do is clean that off.

As for heat a UTH should be fine. If you want you could also add a heat lamp on the same side of he tank. Ambient temp isn't as important as floor temp since leos spend all time on the ground. During the day one side should be in the upper 70's and the other should be around 84 (degrees farenheit).

If I forgot anything hopefully some one will add it.

I was told that the warmer side needs to be between 87 and 90 degrees not 84.
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0.1 Leopard Gecko (Kai)
0.1 Spiney Soft Shelled Turtle (Berta)
3.1 Cats (Lancelot, Galahad, Orion, Mally)
1.0 Husband (Greg)

yeah 84 is probably the mininum i guess I should have said that. anything higher than 90 wouldn't be to good I think. I usually keep mine about 87 during the day, I dont keep a nocturnal red light so the heat pad is the only heat sorce during night so its about 87 but the ambient is considerable lower. I dont know what kind of shananagans go on while Im asleep , they could be having parties in there for all I know.

Warm side should be 88°-90°. Ideally one should provide multiple and/or multi-level hides that offer a variety of temperature gradients so your geck can choose the temperature it wants and still feel secure in its hide.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Reptiles can actually detect 3 degree temperature differences? If so boy do I wish the pythons could talk, well actually maybe I don't....