Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to the world of geckos and have a few questions to those that are more familiar with them. I will soon be getting my first one and I'm trying to plan the proper habitat for him/her. The only thing I've read for sure is that a desert terraria is ideal. But do they like to climb at all? Should branches/limbs be in the enclosure for climbing or no? I know there should be a hide at the heated end and the cooler end. I plan to use a zoom-med heating pad for half the tank.
Also I was wondering if it's good to let them swim or not. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

1.0 mali uromastyx
1.0 niger uromastyx (red phase)

These geckos lack spurs in their feet to allow them to climb good like other types of geckos so an aquarium with a lot of climbing limbs isnt ideal. Some geckos like to climb up on a log occasionaly and others don't. They don't need a swimming place just a water dish. For newbies i recommend tile for the adults and paper towels for the babies.

Thanks for your response. That sure makes sense about the climbing. I can't wait to get my first one, I'm just afraid it may become addictive Like when I got my first uromastyx, I had to get another one. The only reason I haven't gotten more is because they require a little more elaborate housing than the leos.
Oh and on the swimming thing, I meant does anyone let theirs swim in like the bathtub?

They don't like the water that much. You'll rarly have to put them in water. Occasionally when their shed is bad enough that a wet q-tip won't do the job you have to soak them for about 10 minutes.

LOL Yeah they are not the most graceful of lizards.

i would recommend watching your leo and see if he tries to climb all over everything. people told me that leo's arnt really climbers which i'm sure is true most of the time but my leo LOVES to climb all over his tank, by that i mean furniture and such. I ended up getting an idea from someone here to make a rock hiding area that is also fun to climb around on. he still climbs up his water dish, which is like and automatic dispenser that has a fake rock to cover the bottle, and he climbs on top of his humid hide, and then crosses over to his fake rocks and walks all over that then goes to sleep for five or sic hours so keep an eye on your new guy and if he's really active get some ideas here on how to give him/her some more spots to run around on.