leapard gecko care?

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homedog98

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hey, i've been toying with the idea of finding something scaley to put in my empty ten gallon, and after some looking, am thinking a single leapard gecko would be a good fit. i've read that a ten gallon for one is fine, if i take advantage of vertical space, but i'm still a little bit confused on feeding, lighting, and substrate.
1. what do i need for lighting?
2. can i use sand, or will i need to find something else?
3. what do i need to be feeding and how often?
i know mealworms are a must, but i'm confused about wether crickets or anything else is going to be needed.
4. how do i prepare food like mealworms and crickets?
5. if i am to feed crickets... what should i keep the crickets in?
6. this is sort of a silly question... but is it safe for me to hold it every once in a while, or will i injure it?
sorry for all the questions... never dealt with reptiles before.
thanks in advance!
:)
 

allaboutfish

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hey, i've been toying with the idea of finding something scaley to put in my empty ten gallon, and after some looking, am thinking a single leapard gecko would be a good fit. i've read that a ten gallon for one is fine, if i take advantage of vertical space, but i'm still a little bit confused on feeding, lighting, and substrate.
1. what do i need for lighting?
a heat pad
2. can i use sand, or will i need to find something else?
repti carpet and tile is best, sand can cause mpaction
3. what do i need to be feeding and how often?
crickets and mealworms daily
i know mealworms are a must, but i'm confused about wether crickets or anything else is going to be needed.
4. how do i prepare food like mealworms and crickets?
first you gut load the crickets(mealworms dont need this) just get some cricket food and water from petco, for both you need to cover them in calcium + vitamin D3 powder
5. if i am to feed crickets... what should i keep the crickets in?
i use a rubbermade container with a heat lamp
6. this is sort of a silly question... but is it safe for me to hold it every once in a while, or will i injure it?
theyre the second best reptile to handle IMO, but be careful and they might be skittish at first
sorry for all the questions... never dealt with reptiles before.
thanks in advance!
:)
you'll also need to keep a bowl of just calcium in there enclosure
 

Ozymandias

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allaboutfish most things but i figure i should add my 2 cents as i would do things a little different

hey, i've been toying with the idea of finding something scaley to put in my empty ten gallon, and after some looking, am thinking a single leapard gecko would be a good fit. i've read that a ten gallon for one is fine, if i take advantage of vertical space, but i'm still a little bit confused on feeding, lighting, and substrate.
1. what do i need for lighting?
as fish said a heat pad is all you really need usually you really don't need any specific light, make sure it cover 1/3 of the bottom of the tank, o and it's good to have it on a thermostat so you don't over heat

2. can i use sand, or will i need to find something else?
i personally don't use it and it's a big no no for juvi's, also not a big fan of repti-carpet as thay can get there toes caught in it and it tends to be a breeding ground for bacteria, i personally like slate or ceramic tile as it looks good and conducts heat really well but paper towel is a good alternative too.

3. what do i need to be feeding and how often?
i know mealworms are a must, but i'm confused about wether crickets or anything else is going to be needed.
you want to feed more crickets than mealworms, as mealworms aren't that nutritious and don't hold vary much gut-load, so say %70 crickets and %30 mealworms, another food option you have are using Dubia roaches.

4. how do i prepare food like mealworms and crickets?
basically feed them a good quality gut-load for 24 hours before feeding then dust with vitamin and calcium with D3

5. if i am to feed crickets... what should i keep the crickets in?
cricket keep/cridder keeps are a common, but you can also keep them in rubbermade/steralite container and keep food bowl with with gut-load in there along with a carrot or slice of orange as a water source

6. this is sort of a silly question... but is it safe for me to hold it every once in a while, or will i injure it?
fish already answered this

sorry for all the questions... never dealt with reptiles before.
thanks in advance!
:)
one other things as fish said keep calcium in the tank at all times but make sure it is calcium without D3
 

homedog98

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wow thanks! :) ok, so that answered a lot of my questions! i do have one more on feeding though... how often should i feed in general? like, every day, once every other day, once a week, that sort of thing. thanks for the offer! i have to get my parents to ok it first, but i'd love to when the time comes! oh yeah, and another substrate question... would pea gravel be ok? like fish substrate grain... thanks for the links AAF! i'll look into them.
 

Vicious_Fish

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Feeding will depend on how old the gecko is you are buying. You can feed babies every day, juveniles every other day and adults twice a week.

No, gravel is NOT ok to use as a substrate. A gecko can accidentally ingest gravel while feeding and that can cause an impaction which usually equals death to the gecko. Since this is your first gecko I would recommend sticking with slate or ceramic tiles.
 

homedog98

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also, one more question... can i use the can o crickets or would i be better off using live? i'm guessing freezedried would have the same bloating effect like it does on fish, but i'm not sure. i personally am fine with the live... but it's what my mom is fine with lol.
 

Vicious_Fish

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No, you can not use those "Can O Crickets". Those are junk and I don't even know why they honestly sell them other than to confuse new herp owners. Geckos need live prey. They will starve to death before they will eat dead crickets out of a dish. If you find that feeding live insects is a problem then check out Crested Geckos. They can live on a prepared diet and lots of people don't feed them live food at all.
 
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