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Question for leo gecko owners....

-ryan- Nov 22, 2003 01:50 PM

Yes, I know this is the bearded dragon forum, and I know I should post this there, but I feel a little more at home here and I noticed that many of you have leos.

Okay, I'm thinking about getting a leopard gecko or two after the new year, but I have a few questions.

-Will loud music scare or aggitate my leo? It's not really all that loud because the tank will be in my room on the second floor of the house, and I usually have band practice and play drums and stuff in the basment. My beardie doesn't seem to mind, but will they?

-Should the heat lamp be on day and night, or just day?

-How do you feed yours? Like, give me a basic runthrough of how you feed yours (what insects? In tank or out of tank? etc). Also , give me info on feeding babies as well assuming I get them as babies.

-would a 15 gallon tank be enough for 2, or just one? What's the minimum for two? I've heard a lot of diffent opinons, and a general lizard book I have says you can comfortably fit 1 male and 3 females in a 10 gallon tank, but that seems a little unbelievable.

-What do you prefer for floor covering? I use playsand for my beardie, but I wouldn't feel comfortable at all using it for leos. I was thinking carpet, paper towels, or shelf liners.

thanks in advance for those of you that take the time to answer some questions that clearly don't belong on a bearded dragon forum.

later

Replies (7)

clickman Nov 22, 2003 08:24 PM

-Will loud music scare or aggitate my leo? It's not really all that loud because the tank will be in my room on the second floor of the house, and I usually have band practice and play drums and stuff in the basment. My beardie doesn't seem to mind, but will they?

I think it'd stress them. Imagine being kept in a tank and randomly loud sounds, you'd be stressed too.

-Should the heat lamp be on day and night, or just day?

I think UTH's are better... I find mine like to be able to sit on a warm surface. (I tape an indoor/outdoor thermometer probe to check temps)

-How do you feed yours? Like, give me a basic runthrough of how you feed yours (what insects? In tank or out of tank? etc). Also , give me info on feeding babies as well assuming I get them as babies.

I use silkworms. I have two females I adopted in a tank, ~6 month, so I put a good amount in.

-would a 15 gallon tank be enough for 2, or just one? What's the minimum for two? I've heard a lot of diffent opinons, and a general lizard book I have says you can comfortably fit 1 male and 3 females in a 10 gallon tank, but that seems a little unbelievable.

I'd say 1 max in a 10 gallon. I tried keeping two in a 10 gallon and felt they were very cramped. What are the dimensions of the 15 gallon? I use a 20 gallon long and they're very happy, plenty of room.

-What do you prefer for floor covering? I use playsand for my beardie, but I wouldn't feel comfortable at all using it for leos. I was thinking carpet, paper towels, or shelf liners.

I use shelf liner. Very safe and easy to use.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Zeo)
0.2.0 Leopard Geckos (Vienna, Chomps)
1.0.0 Golden Retriever, Rocky, 10 years young

-ryan- Nov 22, 2003 09:14 PM

Thanks. I really have to think about the noise thing. If it's going to be too loud and always waking them up and stressing them out then it's not fair to them. I have noticed though at one of the local reptile places around here that the guy likes to keep music on at a normal level and the nocturnal reptiles don't seem to have a problem with it, but just drumming is more rhythmic than listening to music, so that would probably be a little bit different for them.

A 15 gallon tank is 24" long x 12" deep x 12" tall. Does that sound too small for 2? If I did get two of them, would I have to get ones that were together already for a while?

Looks like I'm coming up with a lot of questions, I guess I better get used to the leopard gecko forum too.

later

starmom Nov 22, 2003 08:28 PM

if your leo is upstairs that should be fine as far as the noise goes.

Ive always understood it to be that you need l0 gallons per gecko, more floor space than anything since they are not climbers.

I use paper towels for the area that they use for the bathroom.

they are VERY NEAT and will always use the same corner...nice benefit! I use reptisand on the other half someimes.

I throw crix in the tank with them, not feed separate.

undertank heat...........red bulb for winter (i live in upstate ny) for additonal heat when the temps really drop.

i feed crix, mealies, waxies, occasional supers......

I have two sisters together from the same clutch that have been together since the breeder and they get along great. I have a male that lives alone, I got him after he got "beat up" by other females where he was living before, he had a big scar on his head that has since healed and he is missing parts of toes from bad shed, we love him so much his name is dale, he is a sweetie!

Im sorry If i failed to answer all your questions....oh yeah they do drink from their reservior water dishes and they need their crix dusted the same as dragons, and they are nocturnal so they dont like bright lights.........

they also require a hide on the warm side that is moistened.

sue

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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......

-ryan- Nov 22, 2003 09:09 PM

near Rochester. It gets slightly colder in the winter inside my house, but usually only a couple degrees or so. I'm still thinking about whether or not a leo is a good idea for me. If they weren't nocturnal, I'd be sure about getting one, but I wouldn't want to be constantly waking them up when I play my drums.

I'll just have to do some more research and look around, and probably have someone play my drums while I'm upstairs so I can see how loud it is. I've also been worried because sometimes I like to listen to music in my room (at reasonable volume levels) and the place that I was thinking about putting the tank is about 2 feet to the left of one of my stereo's speakers.

thanks for the help.

later

starmom Nov 22, 2003 09:34 PM

my guys and girls are up during the day or early evening sometimes. and when are up at those weird times they want to come to play! they are very sweet and loveable.....inqusitive and have great big smiles too!

my hubby loves to crank the tunes, i got him a nice bose sound system a few years ago and most of the critters live not far from there, they really dont seem bothered....

why dont you just get one in the l5 gallon tank? they are just as happy alone with human attention........most of my critters live alone, I think that for them life is less stressful.....except for my monia and sasha they have been together since they hatched and happen to get along very well!

sue
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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......

ByRandom Nov 23, 2003 02:24 AM

Alright, I'm not an expert on these animals but I do have a few of them, and I've been trying to learn more as I can.

First, a ten gallon would be perfect for a pair of hatchlings/juvi's. Although, I would suggest purchasing a pair of juvi's so that you would be absolutely postive of the sex, and wouldn't accidently purchase to males, which everyone knows is a no-no in any animal. Although the hatchlings wouldn't really fight with eachother now, they would most definatly fight with eachother in the future when they hit sexual maturity.

Second, I feed my geckos exclusively mealworms. Hatchlings would need the smallest mealworms that you could purchase. Make sure to put them in a gutload mixture 24 hours prior to feeding. I use for gutload oatmeal, powdered milk, fish flakes, and baby cereal, although you can also purchase mixed gutload from many pet stores, which would save a bit of time, but would be much more expensive. I also mix a calcium supplement into the gutload and be sure to dust them with the calsium supplement every feeding for a hatchling/juvi and every other for an adult. After you have let them gutload, then you'd want to take a pair of tweezers and pick them up by their heads so that it will not bite the gecko while they are trying to eat them. Usually they will flail around a bit which would make the gecko eat them. But if it doesn't, just slightly shake it side to side and they should gobble it up. Some people use crickets, but make sure that they are smaller then the head of the gecko. For hatchlings that are picky eaters, some people have had great success with getting them to eat with dusted pinheads, which move a ton more than mealworms.

Third, as for substrate, hatchlings require either Repti-Carpt (R) or papertowels or shelf liners to make sure that they do not accidently ingest some of the sand or other type of granuals which would cause impaction and death in the gecko. For my adults I use a new type of crushed walnut shells, which they love to be on. Although some people have told me this is wrong, I have never had a problem with it since I don't feed them crickets and such, they usually don't ingest any of the substrate and I provide calcium for them which they do not have to go search out. But whatever you do, do NOT purchase CALCI-SAND (R). This is the sand that has the calcium distributed through out it, which the geckos lick at to obtain calcium, and eat the sand, and die from impaction.

You will also need a UTH. I bought a Human heating pad which is around $12 at a local Target/Walmart. You will also need a waterbowl, humid hide, and a variety of hides positioned throughout the tank.

The humid hide I use for my adults is a tupperware container filled with dampened peatmoss on the hot side. The one I use for my juvinile is a thoroughly cleansed sour cream container, filled with dampened peatmoss, on the hot side. You'd need to spray the peatmoss/paper towels/perilite every day - every other day to maintain a good level of humidity.

Oh yes, one more thing. Like any reptile, the tank needs to have a warm side (80-85) and a cool side (75-80) constantly to allow them to thermoregulate. All though many people's opinions are not consistent with the temperatures, that is what I've read. You should purchase a few of those cheap thermometer's that stick to the back of the tank. Put one on the warm side and one on the cool side.

I hope this Helps
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.1.2 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
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ByRandom Nov 23, 2003 02:32 AM

Oh yeah. Loud music shouldn't really be a problem. It's more of the vibrations that ticks them off. I'd just say, do it once, go and see how they are, and if they looked pissed, don't do it again. Lol


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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.1.2 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
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