Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Actually this isn't just about my first leos, it's about my first reptiles period. I have one other herp, a good size salamander my younger brother got at the mall and decided wasn't interesting enough for him after a few days, but that's beyond the point.

I've decided that leopard geckos would make a good introduction to reptiles for me. That is seeing that corn snakes and green anoles are illegal where I live in Georgia. Do you agree with this decision? Why or why not?

I have a 20 gallon tank right now, it's 2'x 1' x 1'5" with the 1'5" being the height. I'm planning on putting two females in there right now as that is what was suggested to me, but I have a ton of questions.

-Are there any risks to putting a male with a female as opposed to two females in the tank?

-Is there any difference (other than appearance) between the different morphs. Such as certain morphs being more aggressive than others or more susceptible to disease? Also, can a giant and a normal be caged together?

-Should I get my geckos from a pet store or from a breeder online? The selection and health of the breeder geckos seems better, but the cost is almost double even for normal leos.

-If online is the way to go, are there any good breeders where I can be more or less assured a healthy leo? (I read something in the forum rules against advertising, if this is against that rule, just omit this question.)

-I was told to get either sub-adult or adult geckos as opposed to hatchling or juvie geckos since these are my first ones. Do you agree with this statement, and at what ages/weights are leos considered to be in the juvie/sub-adult/adult stage of their life?

I think that's enough to get started, as some answers come in I may have some more questions, but mostly these are just things that I couldn't find browsing care sheets and such online.

A 2o gallon tank is sufficient for 2 leos. I think there are no more chances of fighting, there might be more fighting at the mating perod as the female and the male sometime fight but there is no reason to be alerted. I think the difference between those two choices is that if you get a male and a female well you have to be ready to get loads of offspring. No there is no difference between different morphs. I like to get my leos from the pet store as they are still healthy and you can look at them and make the right choice. I find that getting juvies are better they will get adapted to the environment quicker and to you too, they are usually cheaper too, try to get around 5-6 mths.

1.- I dont think it's a good idea to put a male with a female. First of all they might breed when she's too young and that's not good for her (She must be weighting 50gr. to be ready to breed). And the male will probably stress her.
2.-The only differences between morphs IMO is that albinos are more sensitive to light.
3.- I would advice against getting a gecko at petco. But if you find a store that keeps them healthy, separate, with clean water dishes and no cricket corpses lying around, that's your choice.
4.-I cant recommend you because I'm not from USA.
5.-IMO you should get a juvie. (5 inches). Don't get a hacthling because they can get stressed easily.
P.S: some care sheets: http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html
http://www.goldengategeckos.com/care.html
http://peachstategeckos.tripod.com/caresheet.htm
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2.4.2 Leopard Gecko (Abraxas, Trinny, Susahna)
0.2.0 Homonota Darwinii (Talus & Gracilis)
0.1.0 Cham Caliptratus (looking for a name)
1.0.0 Golden Retriever (Cafu)
1.0.0 Black Cat (Felipe)
0.0.8000 Tenebrio Molitor
0.0.2000 Zoophoba Mario
0.0.2500 Lobster Roaches