Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My son would like to get a leopard gecko and we are doing some research on them. We have read that the bedding should be newspaper or paper towels for young geckos. My son is concerned about the ink getting on the gecko. Has anyone used newspaper and is there a problem using it?

I use newspaper on my saharan uromastyx (another reptile/lizard).

Never seen the ink run on her. If you want to use newspaper then I suggest using the newspaper you got a couple days before. For us, when we get the newspaper for the day, the ink is slightly runny, and I always get semi-black fingers from it.

So to be safe using a paper that has been read through so the ink has had a chance to rub off a little bit would be best.

Or if you want to be extra safe when using newspaper you can always take a paper towel to it and rub down front and back parts of the paper you will put in the little guy/gal's home.

I use paper towel. It's easy to clean up. I put 2 layers in my 10 gallon terrarium for Kalypso, she likes the paper towels becuase it gives extra padding for her to lay on and she can go under 1 layer and be on top of another (she loves exploring).

Good luck and I hope your son gets the healthiest gecko available!
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps (we used to have 5, but some went on a killing spree).

Thank you for the info on paper towels. We bought a leopard gecko but now that we have it home we noticed that a finger has not shed properly and is black. There was another one to get but he was bigger and didn't go for the crickets like this one did. The people at the store said that there was a blizzard gecko in there with the leopard geckos and bit at their tales so the gecko we got tail looks a little weird, I think.

>>Thank you for the info on paper towels. We bought a leopard gecko but now that we have it home we noticed that a finger has not shed properly and is black. There was another one to get but he was bigger and didn't go for the crickets like this one did. The people at the store said that there was a blizzard gecko in there with the leopard geckos and bit at their tales so the gecko we got tail looks a little weird, I think.

Some gecko's have trouble shedding their toes, it differs from gecko to gecko. Kalypso had a horrible time shedding her toes I guess. When I got her from Petco, her whole back right foot had 1/2 of it's toes. She's got little stubs instead of toes, and then she's got like 2 actual toes on that foot.

This is what her foot looks like now that she sheds correctly:

Now I make sure it all comes off. The toe on your gecko MIGHT come off, I'm not saying for sure if it will or not but it sounds like it will, but it'll be ok it shouldn't bleed. As long as the tail's fat, and is not bleeding it should be ok.

If you'd like to post a pic so people can look at him/her and give you a second opinion that'd be cool.

Good Luck (also if you soak it's feet it should help shed better).
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps (we used to have 5, but some went on a killing spree).

Just use papertowels. It's much softer and doesn't make noise when the leo walks around.
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