Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i'm thinking of getting my first gecko. I would like one like on the pic below. maybe you guys could give me some help and advice? i have a 2.5 foot viv ready for action with a basic light heater. do they need uvb? what do you feed them on and what substrate do you use.....kitchen towel ok? i have 2 frilled dragons so really i think i know the basics. i know not to use wood chip or sand for juvies. please help thanx.
marie

Ditch the light heater, get an under tank heater, they need the belly heat for proper digestion

They don't need any lighting at all, in fact I don't think UVB has anything beneficial to them, not to mention they are nocturnal...

Most people feed crickets/mealworms.... Can also feed silkworms I think, and rarely waxworms (addicting)

Paper towels are safest for substrate, period... Don't let anyone tell you different. Some people also use tiles from hardware stores but I don't know much about that.

thanx for your advice i do have a heater mat somewhere i will dig it out.
so they don't need any light at all then?
thanx marie

i use astro turf as a substrate. here is my set up. 20 gal.

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~Kayla
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1.0 Leo Gecko's *Astrid* - was told he was a her at first
0.0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine* - too young to sex
1.1 Hollond Lop Bunnies *Panda, Oreo*

No, they don't need a light, though I think it is good if there is some ambient natural light in the daytime to help with their natuural rhythmns. You need to supplement with calcium that has D3 in it. You can switch off between calcium with d3 and without every other week to avoid any prisk of D3 OD, though there are long-time herpers who have used exclusively supplment with D3 and have never noticed any adverse effects in their animals, so if you only want to buy one jar of supplement, get the one with d#. And make sure it is phosphorus-free- this is ESSENTIAL.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

You can also use construction paper if you want the appearance of sand...if you scrunch it up real well so that it gets soft and then lay it out flat. I have tiles in one tank, they look a heck of a lot better than paper towels, and are easy to clean. If you use linoleum tiles, they are easy to cut, and you can get ones that look like stone. Also, if you wanted, you could just have those glued to the bottom of the tank (since most if not all linoleum tiles come preglued).
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Christina

0.3.1 leos (soon to be 1.3.1!)
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-0.0.1 albino (supposed Tremper)(Spitfire)
-soon to be 1.0 tangerine rainwater albino
1.0 australian shepherd/cattle dog (Foster...although he was being fostered before I got him...that has nothing to do with his name...It's after the beer!...lol since he's australian and I'm a college student!)

My best suggestion would be to buy the Leopard Gecko Manual and read as many caresheets as you can (Kingsnake has some plus theres alot of great sites out there with info). I use ceramic tile in all my tanks for my geckos. It holds the heat well and is pleasent looking but papertowels are good too.

The things i have in my setups include:
-under tank heater
-sour cream/coolwhip container for a humid hide (i put paper towels in it and mist it daily.
-artificial plants, caves, logs for decoration and extra hiding spots
-mealworm dish (i leave a large piece of potatoe etc, in with them for a water source)
-calcium dish (i use calcium with vit D)
-water dish (most recently i've purchased those water bottle bowls as they hold alot of water and don't dry out)
-i have a daylight on a timer for day/night schedule and i have a night light (blue) on all the time on one side. This assists with night time viewing when i can hear them going crazy in the tank (females). They are very active and i get to watch them interact, its really cool.
-I personally use the Rheostats to regulate all of my under tank heaters but i'll be investing in a thermostat so it keeps the temps consistant all the time without me having to adjust it.

On a side note, i keep the night light on the side of my large 40 gal where the UTH isn't keeping the temps up high enough....i'll be replacing that pad soon with a larger one.

I hope that helps

Red

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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

thanx for all your input! i have got some care sheets now which i will read up on. i do have a very good habistat thermostat. and am thinking of getting my baby next week.i will post pic of baby when i get her. oh yes, one last thing.......how often can i handle the baby?

I wouldn't handle the gecko for a couple of weeks at least, so to as allow him/her to get used to the new environment. Young geckos are extremely skiddish and take a while to get used to being upheaved from one place to another. After getting it home, give it a few days to settle in, it may not even eat for the first few days. After that you can start offering food by hand to get it used to you. Leaving your hand in the tank will assit it too.

Red

>>thanx for all your input! i have got some care sheets now which i will read up on. i do have a very good habistat thermostat. and am thinking of getting my baby next week.i will post pic of baby when i get her. oh yes, one last thing.......how often can i handle the baby?
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

If it's an actual baby I would not handle it at all until it starts eating. Once it is eating, you will want to examine it closely once a week to make sure there is no retained sheds on any of its little toesies or the end of its tail or anytwhere else.

You need to get the Leopard Gecko Manuial, it will answer a lot of questions you may have and tell you things you will need and want to know.

Here's my caresheet

Copyright StarGecko Sarah Stettler 2003

StarGecko Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

I strongly recommend you purchase The Leopard Gecko Manual. This is available at Amazon.Com, among many other places. In the meantime, here are some important things you need to do to care for your new animal properly, and some information you won't find in the Manual:

1. ALL new geckos should be quarantined for a minimum of three months, no matter how good the breeder is you purchase them from. Quarantine housing setup can be as simple as a sterilite shoe (hatchlings and juvenile) or sweater box (1 adult) with air holes, moist hide with damp moss and dry hide, water and food dishes, cap of calcium, paper towels for substrate. To heat, you can use a human heatpad, just be sure this is placed on a grid or something that allows airflow from underneath, so heat does not build up. Never play "musical food"- do not transfer uneaten prey items from one enclosure to another. Wash hands between handling geckos in different enclosures.

2. Geckos prefer belly heat, it helps them digest their food properly. A UTH must be used with a thermostat to control the temperature. Human heat pads or heat tape can also be used. With human heat pads or a UTH, be sure to have airflow under the pad so heat does no build up. A UTH will adhere to the bottom of your tank, raise the tank with supplied "feet" or use squares of cardboard on corners. A human heat pad can be placed on a grid, or gridded shelf, or even on cloth towels to diffuse heat. Warm side temperatures should be 88-90°, cool side temps should be around 78°. A UV lamp is optional, they do not need a UV lamp as long as you supplement with calcium that contains D3. I recommend alternating weekly between using calcium with D3, and calcium without D3, to avoid possible danger of D3 toxicity/overdose.

3. Your permanent gecko enclosure will require a moist hide on the warm side, a dry hide on the warm side, and a dry hide on the cool side. If you have more than one gecko in your enclosure, add additional hides. Green moss (available at Home Depot) is good to line the moist hide, it holds water well, and allows airflow, so hide stays warm and soft. Leos under 6" should never be put on sand or any granular substrate. Granular substrates create a risk of impaction at any age. The safest substrates are paper towels, or for a more naturalistic look, slate, unglazed terra cotta tile, or large (1 1/2" -3" or larger) river stones. Geckos over 6" can be housed on fine washed playsand or calci-sand, but there is some risk of impaction. No gecko should EVER be housed on fish pebbles, Desert Litter (crushed walnut shells), wood chips or shavings, bark, or cornmeal. A ten gallon tank is adequate for one adult leo, they can also be housed in a larger tank. Very young geckos, such as hatchlings or small juveniles, do better in a small enclosure such as a sterilite shoebox.

4. Young geckos can be fed gutloaded mealworms and crickets dusted with phosphorus-free calcium and herptevite (reptile vitamins). Mealworms and crickets can be gutloaded with oatmeal, ground flax seed, carrots, potatoes, wheat germ, fish flakes, spirulina, bee pollen, calcium, and soy protein. Crickets should have additional fresh vegetables and fruits such as green lettuce (not iceberg), oranges, yams, kale, chard, squash, etc. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and broccolli are okay occasionally but shouldn't be used to often as the oxalates in them prevent calcium absorption. Do not allow gutload to mold. If mold develops, discard gutload and feeders. Fungus toxins can cause illness and even death in leopard geckos. Larger/adult geckos can also be fed silkworms, butterworms, superworms, and pinky mice. Geckos love waxworms, however they are extremely high in fat and also addictive, so use of these should be sparingly, if at all. You should feed geckos as much food as they can eat. It is not uncommon for a healthy, young growing gecko to eat 7-15 appropriately sized prey items per day. Some geckos eat even more. To increase growth rates, you can feed young growing geckos 2x per day, however 1x per day is sufficient. Geckos over 1 year of age can be fed every other day, unless they are females breeding or recovering from breeding, in which case they should be fed daily. Fresh water (filtered water is safest) and a cap of phosphorus-free calcium powder should be available at all times. Without calcium, geckos will develop MBD (metabolic bone disease).

5. Geckos will sometimes not eat for a week or more when they are set up in a new home. This is common and usually due to the stress of a new environment. To minimize stress, do not handle your new gecko unless absolutely necessary until it is eating well for several days. Hatchling and small juvenile geckos should also be handled as little as possible. Subadult and adult geckos can be handled daily, are generally very tame and good-natured. Never grab or pick up a gecko by its tail, it may drop it. A gecko will re-grow its tail if it is dropped, but the regrown tail will not be as attractive as the original tail, and it takes a lot of energy for a gecko to regrow a tail. A gecko that drops its tail should be put on paper towels and housed individually until the tail starts to grow back. Put Neosporin on the tail stump daily to avoid infection and help regrown tail assume a more natural shape. In the absence of other problems, a dropped tail does not require a vet visit.

6. Inspect gecko weekly for any areas of unshed skin, especially on toes or tip of tail. If you see skin sticking to your gecko, give it a bath in warm (not hot water). Make sure it can stand in the water. If this does not work, you can add a little 3% hydrogen peroxide to bath water and/or to a cotton swab, and gently rub affected area. Make sure gecko does not drink the peroxide, and do not get it in its eyes. If area is red or raw after skin removal, apply a little Neosporin to the area. As long as you provide a moist hide on the warm side of the tank, your gecko should not have many shedding problems.

7. Stools are an important indicator of gecko health. Normal stools are solid, with a brown portion and a white portion (called urates). Sometimes well-hydrated geckos will also release liquid urine. Grey stools usually mean your gecko has been licking calcium, or ate its skin during shedding. Keep the enclosure clean and change paper towel substrate frequently (1x-2x per week is usually sufficient). If your gecko develops loose runny stools that persist over several days, infection is likely. Take a sample of a fresh stool to a vet. Store in plastic in the fridge until time to go to vet. Most often, the cause is worms. Parasitic worms are commonly carried by crickets. Most worms are easily treated and cured with Panacur, which can be obtained from your vet. Once you learn how to administer and signs, you can ask your vet for enough to treat future occurrences should it happen again, so you won't need to go to vet every time. Other causes of loose stools are bacterial and protozoan infections. To locate a qualified herp vet near you, visit www. ARAV.org and look under Members.

8. Geckos should never be housed with other reptile species. Parasites that are harmless in one species can be fatal in another.

9. Female leopard geckos of the same size can be housed together, after the quarantine period has passed. If geckos are of breeding age and weight, female geckos can be housed with one male, as well. Sexually mature male leopard geckos must never be housed together, they will injure or even kill eachother. When introducing a leo into an enclosure already inhabited by another gecko, scrub down the enclosure first and rearrange the cage furniture, and then put both leos into the enclosure at the same time. This will avoid aggressive territorialism. Never put a hatchling or juvenile in with an adult gecko, even for a few minutes. The larger gecko will likely eat it. Even if one is not large enough to eat the other, keeping geckos of different sizes together is risky, as the small one will lose the competition for food and may get bullied, depending on the temperament of the larger gecko. Do not house males with female geckos unless you want them to breed, and the females are of breeding age (8 month to over one year, depending on the gecko) and at least 45-65 grams (55-65 grams if under one year of age). Allowing a female gecko that is too young or too thin to breed poses serious risks to her health, and could kill her.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Wood chips are not an acceptable substrate fgfor leopard geckos of any age.

Plain kitchen paper towels are a safe substrate. I get the plain ones (no dyes). I like Brawny.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos