I am thinking about getting a leopard gecko as a pet

fballguy

fballguy

yum
Feb 27, 2006
1,561
0
0
38
Everett, WA
www.freshwaterfanatics.com
I have done a little bit of research and would like some opinions from people to go with it. So here are a few questions.

What size tank would be ideal for a leopard gecko? What would be the smallest size you would go?

How much do crickets cost normally? About how much would it cost to feed a single leopard gecko per week?

How would you set up a habitat for a single leopard gecko?

What kind of special care do they need?

How do I go about picking out a healthy leopard gecko at the store?
 
There's a lot of good info here.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148555

Vicious Fish can probably answer most of these questions, but I can at least tell you that crickets generally run 8-10 cents apiece. However, you should not feed crickets directly from the store to your lizard, as they tend to be malnourished and so offer little nutrition to the gecko. You will need a small tank, a 'gut-loading' food to feed the crickets, and some water source. If you're keeping just a few crickets, the easiest water sources are small slices of apple or potato, or the gelatinous 'cricket quencher' stuff sold alongside the gut-loader; you don't want to use open water around crickets as they drown at the drop of a hat. Use old jar lids as dishes.

You will also need some kind of cover for the crickets to use; old egg cartons and the cardboard cylinders from paper towel or toilet tissue rolls work well. You'll probably end up spending $20 or so on a tank and a jar of food, but it'll be a long time before you need to buy new food.
 
Yeah just do a search on here. This topic comes up quite a bit. I recommend doing lots and lots of research first before even thinking about getting one. If this is your first lizard then this is propably the best choice for you. Good luck. :)
 
I also recommend looking at careguides, as they give a lot of information. I'll link you to 2 different ones:
http://www.thereptilefile.com/wiki/index.php?title=Leopard_Gecko
http://thegeckospot.com/careindex.html

Gutloading live food can be done a variety of ways. I prefer to use vegetables to gutload, as I don't trust whats in the bottles. I use collard greens, mustard greens, different types of squash, potatoes, carrot, etc. Pretty much whatever vegetables I give the bearded dragon, and ones I have laying around.

Crickets are a pain sometimes as they don't always live. I tend to kill them, so I rarely feed them. With one leopard gecko, depending on age, you can go through 10-30 crickets, if not more sometimes. Juveniles tend to eat more than adults as well, as they are just starting to grow.

Mealworms are an option, not as healthy, but a lot easier to keep. I feed mostly mealworms and superworms to my leo's, with crickets as a treat once a week, or every other week, usually when I make a trip to the store for the cresteds.

10 gallon tanks are the minimum, but larger is always better. I prefer 20 gallon long tanks, as it gives the gecko more room. You need a heat mat, which needs to be regulated by a rheostat or controller, otherwise it can overheat.

Read up on careguides, and you should learn a lot. Feel free to ask specific questions though, I know there are several of us that know a bit about leopard geckos. Another option is reading different reptile forums, as a lot of information is already posted on them. Just a thought, as I have found it a great reference for getting information.
 
you should look at the geckos hips to make sure he isnt skinny when you get them. this could mean theyre sick. when theyre skinny, youll see their bones.
i had a golden day gecko and he lived for about 3.5 years in a 20 gallon. it wasnt long, i think it was just a regular one(shorter length wise, taller height wise)
his fingers stuck to the wall so he was a climber.. idk if thats the case with a leopard gecko.
my guy ate crickets all the time. before i gave him crickets i poured some reptivie powder into the bag and shook them a little bit to get them powder-coated with nutrients.
 
Golden Day Geckos are different than Leo's. Leo's do not climb walls. Leo's will have fat tails if they are healthy, where Golden Day Geckos don't seem to do this as much.

Here's a juvenile leopard gecko, at 3 months old, he's got a decent sized tail for his age as well:
http://wgnrs.dynalias.com/~sdennis/geckos/DSC_0002.JPG
 
I have a male leopard gecko which is almost 19 years old.

They are a great first lizard.

I have found the best way to gut load a cricket is sliced orange.

There is so much calcium in oranges & it has not done my little guy any harm.

:)

DSC_0010-1.jpg
 
19 years? Wow. Thats better than Seth (Vicious Fish). Have you had him for 19 years or is that what you bought it at? Also how recent is that photo it has a lot of retained shed on its toes. Hopefully you got it off without it losing its toes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom