Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My friend is looking into getting a baby gecko and wanted to know a few things before deciding on what species to buy. She had a leopard gecko for a little while but had to give it back because her mother did not like having to deal with crickets. Here are a few questions:

1. How do you tell a baby gecko is healthy?
2. What size cricket, mealworm ect. do they eat and how often?
3. How quickly do they grow?
4. What are typical health problems for growing geckos?
5. What species would be more friendly when being handled?
6. Do they need different lighting than adults do?
7. Which would be easy to care for in a dorm room/apartment?

Any advice in deciding which species would be best is very helpful.

1. Mainly look at their skin and eyes. If the skin has obvious scars or marks that isn't the same color as everywhere else don't buy it. If the eyes don't look clear it may be sick.
2. That all depends on the size of the gecko's head. The prey should be no wider than the space between the animal's eyes.
3. That depends on the species. Small species are usually fully grown with 9-12 months but larger species can take up to 14-24 months.
4. The only common health problem between all species is eye and irritation because of low/high humidity. Any other problems are usually only associated with certain species.
5. Cresteds and fat-tailed geckos (which includes any species similar to leopards and bandeds) are very friendly.
6. Some babies (mostly diurnial species) need more UVB lighting than adults do. Most nocturnal species only need regular heating.
7. When dealing with so little space you will want a little gecko. Leopards and bandeds don't get really big and can do well in a 20 gallon long tank. Very few geckos can be housed in a 10 gallon tank.

If you had an idea on which species you like more then I could give you more detailed answers.