Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am considering getting a gecko or two, but I want to read up and find out all I can before I make a final decision.

Can anyone give me basics on cage size, lighting, diet, substrate, plants, etc. Or if you know of a site with this info...

Also, anyone have suggestions on what type to start out with? They are all sooo cute! I especially like the viper-tail, tokays, and white stripe. I do not know anything of personalities, though.

I would like more than one. What are the rules on keeping different types together...or even keeping multiples of the same breed together?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I want to be prepared to make a decision.

Thanks so much.

p.s. - I have a 2 yr-old male beardie, so I'm familiar with lighting, substrate, cage, etc. terms.

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1.0 Bearded Dragon - Telamon
0.1 House Cat - St. Stephen

1 Saltwater Aquarium
1 Freshwater Aquarium

Depending upon what geckos you are getting you may need different setups. I can tell you what I have and how I keep them.

Leopard Geckos are a great started gecko. They do no not the cool toepads, but are really neat and personable. They require minimum maintenance. Just feed them and water them and clean their cage. They require a humid area in the tank so a hide box with sphagnum moss works great. Their temps are between 75-85. They don't need special lighting, but they need light for them to determine night/day 12 hours of each. Feed on mealworms, crickets, and sometimes pinky mice. You can also buy prepared diets too.

Tokay Geckos are pretty cool too. I've heard that they can be nasty at times and or really tame. Many Tokays you see out there are Wild Caught and tend to be scared of people and will bite if handled. Mine are that way. However they are really cool lizards and fun to watch. They require a high humidity (80-85%) set up with plenty of plants in there and places to hide. They do not require a special light. I use a "grow" light, but that is for my plants. 12 hours day/night. about 75-85 degree F. Mine eat crickets and pinkie mice and pretty soon roaches. I have never kept White Lined geckos, but I'm sure they would have a similar setup as Tokays being they are closely related.

Crested geckoes have a similar setup as tokays They eat crickets and nectar or baby food.

All cool beginner geckos and there are plenty more.
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14 Leopard Gackos 5.9.0
1 Baby Leo (Joi) 0.1.0 temp sexed (Found a new home L.F.)
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0 (on vacation in my house)
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
1 Trans Pecos Rat Snake 0.0.1 (currently has eye infection)

If you are interested in keeping different species of geckos together email me,so people don't get angry.

tarentolas@hotmail.com
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Ask me for a Care Sheet
www.freewebs.com/herper/
0.0.1 Columbian Red tail Boa Constrictor
1.0.0 Ball Python(normal)
1.0.0 Crocodile Gecko
1.0.0 Mediterranean Gecko
2.0.0 African Fat tail Geckos(Striped and Banded Phase)
1.1.0 Leopard Geckos(1.0.0 Blizzard and 0.1.0 High-Yellow)
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko(Geico)
0.1.0 Crested Gecko(Buckskin Phase)
0.1.0 Western Painted Turtle
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Chinese Water Dragon(Louis)
0.1.0 Southern Brown Basilisk
1.0.0 Giant Green Iguana(Rex)
1.1.0 Green Anoles
0.1.0 German Short Hair Pointer(Brooke)
0.1.0 Tabby Cat(Trixie)

I would not keep different species together. I've had nothing, but problems with it. But hey I might not know which species are compatible.
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14 Leopard Geckos 5.9.0
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0 (on vacation in my house)
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
1 Trans Pecos Rat Snake 0.0.1 (currently has eye infection)
1.0 Ambystoma mexicanum "Axolotl"...or larval tiger?

How big do tokays get and what size cage is best for them? And is tall or long better? (are they climbers?)

If they don't need special lighting except for a controlled cycle, what type of bulbs are recommended?

Do they need any veggies in their diet or just crickets/prepared food?

Thank you for all of your suggestions and advice. It is really appreciated.

Oh, and can I keep them together? (probably multiple females - I definitely do not want to deal with breeding.)
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1.0 Bearded Dragon - Telamon
0.1 House Cat - St. Stephen

1 Saltwater Aquarium
1 Freshwater Aquarium

Tokays get big, about 12", and they definitely climb, so you want the biggest, tallest tank you can manage, a 20 gal extra tall or 29 gal as a minimum for a single gecko. You will want to put in lots of hiding places at different heights, like plants, bamboo tubes, slabs of cork bark, etc.

If you are going to have live plants, you will need a full spectrum bulb for them, but for the gecko any fluorescent or incandescent bulb will do. Normally you would have an incandescent bulb at the top of the cage to provide heat, go for about 88 degrees at the top and about 78 at the bottom during the daytime. For night viewing you can put a red or black incandescent bulb of a lower wattage so that there is about a 10 degree temperature drop for nighttime.

Tokays don't eat veggies or fruit, but crickets, mealworms, silkworms, superworms, cockroaches and pinkie mice are all fair game. These guys can eat! Make sure you dust all food items with calcium and vitamin supplements, and feed them every two days at evening.

You can keep two females together, but not two males. Naturally you will need a larger cage, too.

Chris