Leopard Gecko

[fishboy619]

thanks to everyones suggestions on the other topic, but ive decided to go easy and stick with a leopard gecko for beginners.
i would like to thank SoCalMom for a lot of help.
but they are still some things that i would like covering.
ive been looking in shops and found a good size tank, 24x18x18 ive decided to get. the brand make is exo-terra, so i searched in on google and its site came up, looking on the site and found lots of great stuff. but not sure if they are leopard gecko suitable. im willing to pay a reasonable price for them, if it makes the gecko happy.
so to start with, feeding. a few products on the exo-erra site i found intresting. a simple feeding dish http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/feeding_dish.php,which im guessing small will be fine. but also a meal worm dish http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/worm_dish.php for meal worms. i also came across http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/feeding_rock.php which i thought was cool. would this be ok to use?
as for water, i know i can use a water dish, but i saw this and thought it may be more natural and intresting. http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/waterfall.php. again i wasnt sure what size, but i would have thought small?
instead of that, maybe this http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/water_well.php. again looks intresting and something different from just a water dish.
and it says i would also need http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/aquatize.php. do i need it? is it like tetra aqua safe for fish?
as for caves, i will probally go for http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_cave.php. but would the gecko use these? http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_den.php
and heat i will get a heat mat that covers 1/3 of the tank, but would this do any good, i know people say they can overheat, but this one says it will cut out when reaches top temperature.http/www.exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_wave_rock.php
for food, i was going to feed it mealworms as a staple, with crickets once a week and maybe small loucusts and wax worms as a treat.but i found theses, do anyone know if they are any good. personally i think theres nothing wrong with live food, but i would like to hear peoples opinions.
and to gutload the bugs, i read somewhere you can use fishfood flakes, is this true?
ok i think that coveres everything. i know i need calcium, with and without D3, which im going to have a look at in shops.
have i forgotten anything?
thanks in advance for any help. i would like to give my gecko a great life, and i want to have everything ready for its arrival.

p.s sorry for so many links.

edit: substrate. i cant seem to find reptile carpet anywhere in uk. i will probally use kitchen roll to start with, and see what i find, not going to use sand, or calcium sand.
edit 2: shedding, i know the gecko needs a moist area/cave. will spraying help. also what moss can i use. are they anyother plants i can add to the tank, is just for decoration.

 

[The_Dude]

Good choice, but here's a couple of pointers.
1. Don't get mealworms, get crickets. Crickets are easier to digest as well as nutritionally benficial to your gecko.
2. Crickets need to be gutloaded and dusted with calcium with D3 every other feeding.
3.PURE Calcium needs to be offered in a dish in the terrarium at ALL times.
4.The tank can be as simple as a 10 gallon tupperware or rubbermaid container or as complex as an exo-terra terrarium system.
5.The price of the equipment, it can be anywhere from $50 - $100 depending on what you want or are willing to spend.
In My experience, UTH's (under tank heaters) are not as effective as previously stated. In fact heating in my tank comes from an infrared heating bulb.

I also want to point out, that even though the animal is in its cage, you may want to try feeding circkets to observe his or her natural hunting tactics.

 

[fishboy619]

cheers for the reply.
i have read from many sites saying mealworms are a staple diet, but i think i will offer a both mealworms and crickets on a regular basis, does that sound ok?
also quick question, which is better, brown/slient crickets or black crickets?
i will dust with calcium with D3 and gutload the bugs. which is the best gutloader to use?
i will also offer pure calcium in the tank too.
i have heard before people using rubbermaid tubs, but i thought they would get too hot with the heat. plus with the exo-terra terrariums i think they look more natural.
some of the items ive looked at, i may hold off getting till i save up more. for example the cricket feeding rock, its not nessary, but an added extra.
so are you saying the_dude not to get a uth? and use infra red heating bulb instead? what would i need to do for the infrared bulb, have it on in day and off at night?
thanks for your opinions, i will be feeding crickets sometimes to see its natural behaviour. i think this will be good for me to watch.

 

[Genie]

ignore that advice, mealworms are not a staple diet. should be offered as a treat. they are fatty, as are wax worms. I wouldnt bother paying high prices for fancy tanks. A simple 2 foot aquarium with a mesh lid would be fine. I use an UTH, and its good i also have a rock on a part of this so it mimicks nature. gecko would appreciate a hiding place, mine stays out most of the time, but when he's shedding he hides under the log.
Nice choice, hope to see some pictures when you get one

 

[The_Dude]

Mealworms are also hard to digest compared to relatively soft crickets. Oh black and brown crickets can chirp. I've tried both.

 

[Genie]

haha yeah. and dont be fooled by the packets that say 'silent'....they aint all silent

 

[fishboy619]

thanks for the help
i will have a look for a large fishtank, that should be cheaper than one of those exo-terra tanks.
i will feed crickets as a main diet, switching from brown to black each time. how often should i feed, a few bugs per day ive read in some places, and other places say 3-4 times a week. i have contacted exo-terra about their products and see what their take is on leopard geckos, and they dont recoment getting a water fall as leopard geckos come from dry, hot countries, so a shallow dish of clean water will be fine, do you all agree? would the well be better, as it looks more natural and intresting to me.
the site also advised sand as a substrate, now reading what you all say, i think i will go with either kitchen roll, paper towels or newspaper. maybe a small patch of sand at the warm end of the tank?
now what confuses me is the temperature of the tank, so far i think 90F (32 C) is the hot temperature, with 80F (27 C) as a general air temperature, and at night the temperature dropping to 70F (21 C). are these temperatures alright? will a heatmat do the job well, ive seem someplaces advise a colored lamp above the tank to keep temperatures up and help with the day/night cycle. what do you all think?do i just buy a thermomiter and place it on the ground to measure floor temperature?
now i know you all dont recoment using a heat rock, but i just want to cover it, i read on a site the uk heat rocks are safer then the usa ones, and the one from the exo-terra site is safe and efficient, im i still wasting my money, would a smooth rock placed at the hot end of the tank do the same job?
some places also recomend a normal light such as a ReptiGlo 2.0 flourescent tube, but again is this just another added extra that isnt needed.
i will probally buy a cricket feeding rock, as i think it would be easy to not only dust the bugs in calcium with D3, but also to feed the gecko with no escapes of the bugs.
also can someone please confirm what i need to do about water, do i need to add any water conditioner or will just tapwater be ok?
sorry for asking so many questions and i know im porbally annoying you all by now, but i want to make sure i covered everything and nothing can go wrong when i bring my leopard gecko home.
but on the plus side, i will post pictures of gecko when i get him/her

 

[The_Dude]

A 10 gallon fish tank will suffice for an appropriate habitat. If you want to keep crickets from escaping, pinch the jumping legs at the "knee" and the "shin" will fall off. And the bowl kind of takes away from the whole hunting experience. Plus, there should be a dish out at all times filled with *PURE* (I don't know if I can stress this enough) Calcium. Both dusting and putting it into the bowl will prevent MBD and you leo will scamper about another day!! The temperature factor... Three guages, two of which are thermometers, one of which is a hygrometer (humidity guage) *God I'm a horrible typist* also I heating pad only raises air temperature 5-10F, I'd suggest an Incadescent heating light of a red coloration, they keep the temp stable and also need to be hooked up to a rheostat to control temperature. The gecko needs two hides, one on the cool side (humid hide: put damp *not wet* peat in the humid hide* and one on the warm side. A branch to climb on wouldn't hurt either. NO SAND, I personally swear by reptile carpet. They'll pick a poo corner. And that makes it easy to clean. No hot rocks, they can and WILL cause thermal burns even if they're covered. A smooth rock at the hot end would actually be better for them. The heat from the lamp and heating pad radiates from it and also it helps them thermoregulate the way that they would in the wild. Feed every other day, and dust every other feeding. YES, you need to dechlorinate tap water. Reptisafe is good, but plain old fish conditioner works too, just not with all the vitamins and goodies. No you're not annoying us, we're here to help. Oh, and can't wait to see the lil' bugger.

 

[SoCalMom]

ignore that advice, mealworms are not a staple diet. should be offered as a treat. they are fatty, as are wax worms.

Yes, meal worms are a staple diet. I can have 40-50 people that have been breeding leos for years and years confirm that for you

 

[Genie]

for the substrate i recommend woodshavings. we use it for all our geckos and for the snakes. About an inch or 2 deep. They still pick a poo corner
Wouldnt recommend a waterfall, i cant remember where i read it, but i had advice that they shouldnt be put with geckos.
feedng- i feed crickets every other day. If i put a few mealworms/wax worms in a bowl, i also put some crickets in the tank. I put the worms in a bowl because they have a habit of burying, and then pupate and you're stuck with moths and beetles. (can anyone suggest an alternative?)

make sure you have a plastic box- a proper pet carrying one lol- for when you need to take him out for cleaning. hes never in there very long so i dont put anything in there, but someone else may recommend you do.

 

[SoCalMom]

for the substrate i recommend woodshavings. we use it for all our geckos and for the snakes.

(can anyone suggest an alternative?)

No, don't use woodshavings; or any loose substrate for that matter. Why take the chance of your leo getting impacted? The safest substrates are reptile carpet and ceramic tile. Paper towel is safe for the most part, but some people have found their leos have eaten some of it if doesn't fit the tank perfectly

 

[Genie]

impacted? (please excuse the ignorance. its been a long day)

was also wondering- is there anything else that can make the tank more 'fun' for the gecko? Just seems a little boring for them.

 

[SoCalMom]

impacted? (please excuse the ignorance. its been a long day)

was also wondering- is there anything else that can make the tank more 'fun' for the gecko? Just seems a little boring for them.

Not sure on the specifics, but their intestines get blocked

If they like to climb, you can put a fake tree/plant or a climbing branch

Leos aren't big on "fun" as mice/rats are with running wheels, rolling balls, etc

 

[Genie]

yeah, i did try giving him a little ball once. He just looked at it then left it alone. Thank you for the advice on the substrate. Ill act on it asap!!

 

[SoCalMom]

yeah, i did try giving him a little ball once. He just looked at it then left it alone. Thank you for the advice on the substrate. Ill act on it asap!!

No problem. Depending on where you are, Petco carries reptile carpet. I'm sure Petsmart would too. For some reason, my local reptile shop doesnt carry it *shrugs*