Adding to the menagere...

[lilblack94gt]

Looks like I am going to inherit 3 Leopard Geckos. Should be interesting. :lol: I have never had them before. At least they are coming with "everything" I need. Well, at least they are supposed to. :roll: Anyone on here have leo's? Can you send me a message on here about their care or give me some links to some good sites? I need to study up! :study:

 

[Livey]

leopard geckos are , in my opionion, the easiest lizards to care for..
i own 2 are they are very cool
Unfortunatly the only site i no of is http://forums.geckosuk.com/leopard-geckos-f27.html?s=e9a207fcc12ccedf348ee5e723baaa69&
But its a UK site, hopefully someone can give you a better site, but it is good!

 

[lilblack94gt]

Thanks Olivia!

 

[Sadona]

I was really into Leos at one point. I joined this forums a while ago http://geckoforums.net/. It has some snobby people, but not many.
Heres some quick info that I compiled to give you an idea of what they are about:
General: Nocturnal, can live up to 20 years, eats its own shedded skin (don't worry, its nutritional)
Tank requirements: 10-20 gallon
Substrate: NO SAND, papertowels, newspaper, reptile carpet, tile
Heating: UTH (under tank heater), monitored with thermometer probes. They need a warm and cool side tank- 70-80 F for cool side, 88-94 F for warm side
Hides: little places for the geckos to hide during the day...I think you would need at least 3. One on the cool side, one on the warm side, and the humid hide in the middle. The humid hide is a moistened place were the gecko goes to help shed its skin...just cut a hole in a tupperware container, put some moist papertowels or moss in there, and snap the lid on, WALA humid hide.
Food: mealworms, superworms, crickets
Bowls: one water bowl, one gatorade bottlecap for calcium w/no D3
Supplements: Calcium with no D3, Calcium w/D3 (only dust food with this 1-2 a month), multivitamin formula (dust food once a week with this)

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

[lilblack94gt]

I was really into Leos at one point. I joined this forums a while ago http://geckoforums.net/. It has some snobby people, but not many.
Heres some quick info that I compiled to give you an idea of what they are about:
General: Nocturnal, can live up to 20 years, eats its own shedded skin (don't worry, its nutritional)
Tank requirements: 10-20 gallon
Substrate: NO SAND, papertowels, newspaper, reptile carpet, tile
Heating: UTH (under tank heater), monitored with thermometer probes. They need a warm and cool side tank- 70-80 F for cool side, 88-94 F for warm side
Hides: little places for the geckos to hide during the day...I think you would need at least 3. One on the cool side, one on the warm side, and the humid hide in the middle. The humid hide is a moistened place were the gecko goes to help shed its skin...just cut a hole in a tupperware container, put some moist papertowels or moss in there, and snap the lid on, WALA humid hide.
Food: mealworms, superworms, crickets
Bowls: one water bowl, one gatorade bottlecap for calcium w/no D3
Supplements: Calcium with no D3, Calcium w/D3 (only dust food with this 1-2 a month), multivitamin formula (dust food once a week with this)

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

I have herpavitive Multi-vitamins, will this work for the vitamins? Also, what brand of calcium w/o d3 do you recommend? I currently have Fluker's w/ d3 for the beardie.

Also, the humid side, just need to have the moist hide box? It doesn't need anything else to keep that area humid?

Where do you place the UTH? Can I get away with it on the side of the tank? I am a little leery of putting it under the tank just in case it malfunctions. I don't want the poor little things toasted.

Also, how do you sex them and how long do they have to be to sex them? Do I need to have fecals done on these guys too? I am currently fighting coccidia with my beardie. I am going to go under the assumption that I should not handle these guys after having messed with Sam until the coccidia is gone.

I feel like my brain is on overload right now, lol. :shock:

 

[foto69man]

I for one, am one of the many that don't trust uth's.......nothing wrong with a good ole housebulb in a dome fixture...

 

[Livey]

. I joined this forums a while ago http://geckoforums.net/. It has some snobby people, but not many.

I agree whole heartedly! i joined a few and there were tones of no it alls! i was not amused and don't use it any more..

 

[Sadona]

I have herpavitive Multi-vitamins, will this work for the vitamins? Also, what brand of calcium w/o d3 do you recommend? I currently have Fluker's w/ d3 for the beardie.

Also, the humid side, just need to have the moist hide box? It doesn't need anything else to keep that area humid?

Where do you place the UTH? Can I get away with it on the side of the tank? I am a little leery of putting it under the tank just in case it malfunctions. I don't want the poor little things toasted.

Also, how do you sex them and how long do they have to be to sex them? Do I need to have fecals done on these guys too? I am currently fighting coccidia with my beardie. I am going to go under the assumption that I should not handle these guys after having messed with Sam until the coccidia is gone.

I feel like my brain is on overload right now, lol.

Don't sweat it, Leos are very easy to care for. All the info at once is kinda stressful, I know, but just read over the stuff a few times and make your own reference care sheet and its "good to go." (taco bell reference...geez, I fail :lol: )
I think the Herptivite would be fine. For calcium with out d3, I say buy anything that dosn't have d3 in it, regardless of brand. Flukers is a good brand, but I'm not sure if they sell calcium without d3. I have seen plain calcium at Petco before...it was in a little betta food-like container and had a picture of an anole on it.

Nope...there is just a warm and a cool side. The humid hide should be the only thing moist in the tank besides the water dish. The paper towels should be replaced when they become dry (1-3 days).

For UTH placement, it must be on the outside-bottom of the tank. For heat controlling , buy a lamp dimmer or reptile thermostat. Lamp dimmers can be found at Homedepot, and reptile thermostats can be found at Petsmart or Petco (other reptile websites also sell them).

I would say, hmmm about 7 inches from snout to tip of tail would be a 6 month old Leo, the age were you can tell wether it is male or female. It is very easy to sex these guys. Males develop a little v shaped line of pores at the base of the tail. Females don't show this. Heres a good pic: the top one is female, the bottom one is male.

Nah, don't worry about fecals as long as they seem healthy...but if you have a feeling that they are sick, bring em to the vet. I would have their tanks in a different room then your beardie if it has cocci. Just wash your hands realllllly well before and after you handle your beardie.

 

[Starforce2]

another expert I was talking too mentioned if their tails get skinny they are probably sick, they're supposed to have fat tails.

 

[lilblack94gt]

I had heard about the fat tail thing to tell if they are sick. AS far as the calcium powder goes, I will look for a different brand.

Thanks again for the advice and knowledge!

 

[Sadona]

To explain the fat tail thing: leopard geckos store nutrients in their tail to convert into fat when it can't find food. Think of their tail like a big tank of emergency reserves. So, it would make sense for a healthy, well fed and hydrated gecko to have a plump tail. A very skinny tailed gecko is probably either malnourished, has parasites, or has something else ailing it (like MBD).
A good rule of thumb I have heard of is that a healthy leopard gecko's tail is usually wider then the width of its neck.

I'm glad I could help! If you ever have any more questions, don't hesitate to shoot me a pm!

 

[lilblack94gt]

Thanks again!