Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to purchase a Leopard Gecko. I have never had a reptile before. Would this be a good choice for a beginner?

Als any advice on setting up a home for the Gecko, feeding ect.. would be much appreciated.

And if anyone can recommend any websites with detailed info that would be great.

Cheers S

www.drgecko.com is a good place to learn a lot. Buy miner-all, its what a lot of people use as calcium/mineral/vitamin for the leos. Just is just my opinon so know one get upset but if you do buy one try to get one that is about 10-15 grams. Easier to care for for some reason. Also get some crickets and mealworms, they like those. You need atleast a 10 gallon tank for one gecko 20 gallon for two and so on. Get on humid hide, a dry hide, you also will need a water bowl, mealworm bowel, calcium dish and my best advice is to use papertowels. Good luck.

They make a wonderful first time reptilian pet but like other reptiles, they do require special care involving live foods and heated terrariums. If you are willing to put up with this then go for it!!! A great site to visit is www.drgecko.com

Cleo
1:1 leos (6 eggs cooking)

A single leo can live out it's entire life in a 10 gallon aquarium but 10 gallon tank is the minimum for one adult leo. The tank should have an all screen lid to provide the best ventilation. The best kind of heater to use for leos would be a reptile UTH (under tank heater). You can stick the UTH directly to the bottom of the tank but make sure it only covers a quarter to one half of the tank...no more!!! Attach the UTH to a rheostat or thermostat to prevent it from over heating. I also use a heat lamp to boost the air temps since UTHs only heat the floor of the terrarium, but a heat lamp is optional. The warm side should be in the mid to high 80's and the cool side should be room temp.
For substrate, start off SAFE. For my adult leos, I use sheets of paper towels because they are cheap, practical, and most of all, absolutely safe. You can use sand if you like, but it can cause impactions and eye infections because of the small particles. BABIES SHOULD NEVER BE KEPT ON SAND. I use a mix of paper towels and decorative tiles for substrates in my tanks...the decorative tiles (floor tiling) look nice, transfer heat well, and are safe.
Leos are nocturnal and they will hide throughout most of the day. A leo should have access to a humid hide (I use cool whip containers (with a door cut in the side) filled with wet paper towels). Put the humid hide over the UTH so it can generate enough humidity for proper shedding. The leo should also have access to a dry hide, which can be a commercially available hide (ex: a plastic log from the petstore) and this should be placed on the cool side. A water dish is essential and fresh water should be available 24/7. A small, shallow dish with Miner-all vitamin/mineral powder (or the like) should also be available to the gecko 24/7.
For food, leos can be fed a staple of mealworms or crickets. I use mealworms as my leos' staple because they are easier to care for than crickets. Which ever you chose, the crickets or mealies need to be gutloaded. I use a gutload made out of dry baby rice cereal, dry baby barely cereal, powdered milk, miner-all vitamin/mineral supplement, and dry oatmeal. I provide a piece of romaine lettuce or carrot once a day for moisture. For adult leos, you should dust the feeder insects once a week with Miner-all and babies should have their insects dusted every other feeding.

Hope that helps some!!!

Cleo
1:1 leos (6 eggs cooking)

the best over all herp site ive ever seen is http://www.anapsid.org/

it has info on tons of different herps. check it out.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. I realise that leos need special care. and am stell willing to get one as a pet. Any more advice would be welcome.

Cheers S

Leos are great animals and if you willing (you sound like you are) to give them what they need you're gunna love em. They have great personalities, and are very hardy, its just a matter of getting a healthy one to begin with (which means NOT getting one from a petstore). I recomend you find out if there are any reptile shows in your area, that way you can you can look around and see what type/morph you wants, and check to see if they're healthy. This, just in my opinion, is the best way to aquire one. The next best option is online breeders. This is a good way because many of these breeders are very reliable, infact there are some on this board. I dont really feel like sayng alll the stuff you need right now, but if you go to drgecko.com this will provide you with all the info you need, and also has some great information on health issues, how to pic out a healthy leo, and how to breed feeder insects. Later
Mac

OK I've read a lot from drgecko and other sites. SOme of the info was a bit patchy. How do you people set up your tanks? For example do you purchace ready made hoods with lights ect..? If so where from? Or do you make your own?

Cheers S

>>OK I've read a lot from drgecko and other sites. SOme of the info was a bit patchy. How do you people set up your tanks? For example do you purchace ready made hoods with lights ect..? If so where from? Or do you make your own?
>>
>>Cheers S
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Josh
My Email

Just a simple screen top with a clamp lamp on top of it, and a bulb of appropriate wattage. I feel it's more natural for them to have overhead heat with light, and for the temps to come down at night, though if it gets too cold you can use a reptile night bulb in it. Also allows you to watch them at night without bothering them.