What do you know about Leopard Geckos?

Jace_Mereel

Jace_Mereel

Freakame, Freakayou!
Jun 15, 2006
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I'm lookin' to get a leopard gecko in a month or two (currently accruing funds). But I've got a few questions to run by any of you that have had experience with these little critters.

1. A lot of people say get a 20 gl tank (long is better), but my buddy who has one says a 10 gl, even for a grown gecko, is hunky-dory.

2. Crickets vs. mealworms. Which is better, pros/cons, etc.

3. Male vs. female. Is there a difference in temperment or overall personality?

Any other help is greatly appreciated. I've been doing research online, but you never know; maybe ya'll have something to add. :)

leopard-gecko.jpg
 
I know that keeping crickets is annoying as all hell (it's the 24 hour chirping effect), from the time that my sister and her boyfriend kept and bred leopard geckos.

It's not worth that kind of constant disturbance.
 
maggots and mealworms are both larvae, maggots are fly larvae and mealworms are some kind of beetle larvae, so I guess they'd be pretty similar, just maggots are known for being grosser since they thrive on trash and open wounds
 
Jace_Mereel said:
I'm lookin' to get a leopard gecko in a month or two (currently accruing funds). But I've got a few questions to run by any of you that have had experience with these little critters.

1. A lot of people say get a 20 gl tank (long is better), but my buddy who has one says a 10 gl, even for a grown gecko, is hunky-dory.

2. Crickets vs. mealworms. Which is better, pros/cons, etc.

3. Male vs. female. Is there a difference in temperment or overall personality?

Any other help is greatly appreciated. I've been doing research online, but you never know; maybe ya'll have something to add. :)

leopard-gecko.jpg
Click to expand...


Animal specialist, at your service.

As a rule: I am very conservative with the way I take care of animals: if you can't make them 100% happy, then don;t get them.
YES: definitely a 20 gallon long. In fact: just to be fair: you can have a 15 gallon fish tank and buy a seperate screen.
But 10 gallon is absolutely TOO SMALL.

REMEMBER: NEVER EVER use sand as bedding! Leopard geckos get impacted very easily, and tend to develope parasites from sand and as a result: stop eating (it's called L.G anorexia) and they die.
Use only reptile carpet OR paper towels.

YOU MUST have a bottom heater and a top light (day + night) LG get 90% of their heat from the ground, but they need to light for UV rays that help them digest the food.

Crickets VS meal worms? BOTH!!!!!!!!!!
There is no: "either or"
The best way to ensure your lizard will be healthy is to gut-load the crickets or mealworms 24/48 hours before. You place the crickets in a plastic container ($6.99 at most pet stores) and you supply a piece of apple, orange etc in addition to fish flakes: that way the cricket will not be "empty bellied" and your lizard will have all the protien and vitamins they need from their food.
ALSO: you must dust your insects with calcium and vitamin D (a powder: $4.99)

Male Vs female: doesn't matter!!! both are great. If you decide to keep 2: then get the 20 long.
 
Just so you know... gut loading is probably the most important tip I can give you. I myself have 2 seperate containers one with worms, one with crickets and every day I change the supply of fish flakes/ puppy wet food/ fruit.
You do this because if the insect is "empty bellied" your lizard is not getting anything from it.

Also: I forgot.... when getting a lizard: make sure it is not skinny, and has a fat tail... most pet stores have no idea that when the geckos get thin and stop eating: they are having the LG anorexia I mentioned before.
In most cases: once a lizard gets it: it dies a slow death.... :/

If you need any help AT ALL: PM me.
 
Jace_Mereel said:
Maggots are icky little things and would never feed them to a critter, just seems unhealthy. Mealworms are more (to me) like hairless caterpillars. And I belive you can buy them frozen or something.. which would solve the cricket noise problem.
Click to expand...



No, see, then you're not going to raise a healthy pet.
Don;t get frozen- they're empty bellied!!!
If the cricket noise will bother you (which really is not a big deal: just stick them in the laudry room or basement or soemthing)
then a reptile is not the pet for you....

mealworms are not frozen btw... they come in a stage of hibernation... once they're out of the fridge: they're alive and hungry.
 
I had a veiled chameleon a couple years ago and it was a really awesome unique pet. But such a pain in the ass to take care of. Like Karen said, don't do it unless you REALLY are serious about it. It will take time out of every day to make sure it's cared for properly. If you can't spend at least a half hour per night with it (chameleons require way more than that which is why I had to get rid of her), then a reptile probably isn't the pet for you.

That said, you'll have to regulate the temperature of the tank, maintain a very high level of cleanliness for the tank (expect to clean it at least once a week, if not more), dust and gutload it's live food and even take care of that. Keeping crickets and mealworms alive long enough for your reptile to eat them is a job all it's own.

You won't get anything back from the gecko for all your hard work. It will sit in it's tank and that's all. It won't love you or play with you or really even pay any attention to you. It might not even like you.

But don't let that sway you... reptiles are fun awesome unique pets and if I'd had the time I'd probably still have my chameleon. With chams, you've got to mist their screen cages (no glass for chameleons was another pain in the ass haha) for 10 minutes twice a day, maintain the right levels of humidity, and feed them crickets and mealworms one by one. Basically chams require everything I already explained times two. I think geckos are quite a bit easier to take care of. Bearded dragons are the easiest and they're pretty awesome, too.

Good luck and post pics! Reptiles are awesome :)
 
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