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I have snakes and I am looking to get into leos for breeding. I hear they are a desert animal requiring dry habitat but they also need a moist hide. This sounds peculiar to me, is that correct? Should they have a moist and a dry hide? Also, if anyone has any other care tips or breeding tips I would appreciate it.
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~Laura
Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn
First, if i were you i would research about geckos for a week, buy one, and then for the next year i would study more about them and observe the ones you got. Then if you feel confortable then you should breed. But dont start right now because most of the people i have talked too, first had no idea how to breed and 10/12 died
Well i'd put them on tile and yes they do need a dry and humid hide, you can use a whip-cream dish and cut a little opening for it and put paper towels on the lid and flip it over, then mist it daily and theres your humidity hide, For the dry hude you can use anything from oakmeal boxes to logs bougthen from a petstore, not pine though. Heres my site on basic leopard gecko care: Leopard Gecko Care
Heres a couple pics of:
This is a log i use that i was talking about:
And heres a pic of my cage: (its not that dirty, camera got messed up there.
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Leopards are fairly easy to maintain and to breed. Most leopard geckos are quite easy to handle. Notice I say most because I do have one that is quite the pistol and my kids can't hold him. Out of the 14 that I own 13 are very docile and "well adjusted" I just have the one Diva with a Tude!
The do in fact need both a dry hide and a humid hide. The humidity aids in their sheds. If they do not shed properly and their "old" skin remains, they run the risk of losing a digit.
Substrates can be paper towels, tile, and sand for only adults.
The feed on crickets, mealworms, wax worms as treats, and they need a dish of calcium readily available.
When it comes time to breed and you actaully have a gravid female, look to Albey's Too Cool Geckos site and they give awesome incubation directions. So far I am two for two, and I have followed thier directions explicitly!!!
You just need to decide what colors (morphs) you want to breed.
Hope this helps!!
Suzanne
d
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I see that some say sand, others say no... I want to create a "natural" looking environment for my geckos, and I don't like the newspaper or paper towel idea... what should be my next option for substrate? They say sand is fine for adults... but what about juves? I am planning on keeping two seperate cages, on for my female and one for my male (when I get them) I hear that they are happier living alone. I think I want to get juves and raise them, or even babies so that I can "create" a docile temperment and get them used to me. So my main question comes down to what to use as an alternative substrate for babies or juvenilles. Thanks again for all the help, and I am doing research, so I know as much as I can before I buy. 
Thanks!!!
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~Laura
Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn
Well i use tile, no matter how old they are. Tile is cheap, holds heat good, and has absolutly no risks, and the best part, u can choose your colors to fit your envoirment the best. I dont like sand because A. it WILL IMPACT YOUR LEO and B. it is a mess to take out of the cage and put it in. Also some say, Oh my gecko isnt eating it so i haev no problem. But they are slowly eating it and then it slowly impacts until it is to late, they might show no signs of impactions. I had mine on sand for a week, i thought my gecko wasnt eating it, then i saw sand in her fecals that must have been building up. Because after a month of taking her off the sand, i kept seeing sand in her poo. Here is a pic of my cage, it has tile.
heres my females cage:
Heres my males. This cage is temporary thought, he is being quarantined right now.(dont mind the writing)
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unfortunately, for juvies the best stuff really is paper towel of something smooth like tile (though leopardgeckoman thinks it's the only option 
I have used the calcium sand, but really no good for hatchlings. Paper towels I recommend at least for the 1-3 months they are quarantined (and they should be) They are easy to keep moist (juvies seem to like slightly higher humidity than adults, maybe b/c they shed more) and can be changed frequently. Once they get to be sub adults I use a mixture of whatever natural stuff I like. MOST important, the real reason for the precaution with substrates is that if ingested they cause impactions. I get around this by feeding my gex in a seperate container. It works really well, and I don't have to worry too much about them swallowing sand with their crix. Sorry for the length, but I hope this is helpful
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 Hypo from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Albino Hypo? (Cloud)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)
Well no its not the only option, slate, non slippery linolium, or tile is the best bet for anyone. Through my expierence with all the other substrats i feel that they are the best. When i used paper towels the whole cage got messed up because their claws would pull it and would no longer serve its purpose because bare tank was showing almost everywhere. and i used that repti-carpet stuff for a day or two and i found that it isnt very good because it always got stuck on her claws and that wasnt good because it could end in a toe loss. I used sand and soon discovered she some how was getting it into her system, i have never seen her lick it or anything and i spend most of my day in my room. But in her fecals i found sand so i switched and it has began to build up and a month later i was still finding sand in her poo. So you see, out of everything i have tried, tile is the best. It is easy to clean, just need one of those terranium cleaners, just spray the tile, wait a minute, then wipe it and your done.
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Well I'm going to speak from experiance....I had a leo die from impaction due to the use of sand in it's cage....30 leos later(with no sand)all leos are fat and healthy. I would say use tile if you don't want to use papertowel. To me it shouldn't matter the way the tank looks, it should be the leos safety. When we bought our first leo we did what the pet store told us to do....that won't happen again. If you use tile you can go to home depot and find just about any color tile...and it's cheap from what I've heard. Never put juv. on sand. Some say it's ok for adults, but my leo was an adult and was fed out of a dish and also had calcium, but for whatever reason she decided she needed to eat sand. So all that said I guess the choice is yours as to what you use.
Well to SpikeNsquirt, what I meant by how the looks is more for the gecko than me... I want them to "feel at home" as much as possible... paper towel and newspaper don't see like "home". I don't think they run around on newspaper or paper towel... sorry I wrote it to sound the wrong way. Thanks for all the great advice though!!!
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~Laura
Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn
I understand...and everyone has their own opinion on the "sand" vs papertowel and newspaper. As far as "feeling like home" these leos are captive breed and don't know any different, and for me it's easier to keep them on papertowel. Tile isn't an option as mine are in a rack system with sterlite containers. Like said earlier I will never put another leo on sand because of the problem that we had. Hope all works out for you. Here's a picture of some of tangs during tank cleaning time.
Thanks for understanding and not trying to pick a fight... some people on here, you disagree and they jump all over you for it... it's bad... by the way, some beauties you got there!!!
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~Laura
Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn
Unless your leopard gecko is wild caught it wont know the diffrance from paper towel or sand. I would never take the chance with impaction , thats just my opinion
I agree...like I said in my first post, we learned the hard way, because we listened to the pet store guy. I will never take the chance again. I know alot of people still use sand and that is fine, but I won't.
I have posted on this subject so many times! It keeps coming up...what substrate is the "best"? I have used everything mentioned on this thread and there are pros and cons to all of them. In the 10+ years I have kept leos (and I still have my original leos!) the only thing that is vital as far as substrate is too be vigilant and make sure your leo has everything he/she needs. I have never had an impactinon problem, yes sand gets in the stool...they lick EVERYTHING! Their digestive system is designed to tolerate a certain amount of particulate matter. I wouldn't house juvies or really any leo less than 6 months old on sand, they really like to taste stuff, but as adults there is no more worry with sand as there would be with any other substrate if you are meeting all of the gecko's needs. Having said that, don't pile it up! It is actually MUCH easier to clean than any other substrate INCLUDING TILE! I scoop poop with a plastic spoon every day, the tile has to be wiped down. So a few pics to make the point...most of you have seen all of these before.
Use a dish for feeding. Make sure calcium is ALWAYS available. Also make sure fresh, clean wter is available.
Sand and tile works fine!
Sand alone works too, use sense and keep an eye on your gecko(s).
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www.hullabalooherps.com
Since it wasn't answered
it does seem counter intuitive that their cages must be relatively dry otherwise they develop respiratory problems. But at the same time all desert animals in nature, including snakes, know how to burrow to get to cooler, more moist substrate.
In captive care lose substrate such as sand is not recommended as it can seriously shorten the lifespan of your lizards, therefore we provide them with an alternative
The humid hide is a must for them to shed properly mine usually sleep in it 24/7. I am very lazy and i use a margerine container with a appropriately sized hole,lined with paper towel that is sprayed daily.
Good luck, leos are addicting and very adorable lizards, i'm sure you'll find them rewarding
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