|
Basics
Never, ever house adult, male leopard geckos together. They will fight to the death. Most females will accept other female
cagemates, given lots of space and hiding places, but some never will. I recommend against housing a male and female pair
together year round, it will be hard on the female. Never house geckos together that are really different sizes or ages.
The tinier one will suffer, even if you don’t see it getting picked on.
Always quarantine any new gecko you purchase from any other geckos (or other pets) that you have. It seems like a lot of
effort, but it’s worth it. When I got Slinky, Binky, and Rasputin, I discovered that they had pinworms. Good thing
they were housed by themselves, or I would have had to treat my whole colony.
Always have the address, number, and directions to two veterinarians available. First, your regular, reptile specialist veterinarian.
Second, an emergency vet in case something urgent comes up on weekends or at night. If your gecko seems sick (vomiting, skinny,
messy poop, poor appetite, wounds, etc.), take it in right away. You will be glad you did. (Read Jeeves' story- see link
below.)
If you go on vacation, have a friend come over and care for your gecko. They are easy to show someone how to feed and water.
I would never leave adults alone for more than a week, and juvies maybe 3 days.
Housing
For an individual leopard gecko, a standard 10 gallon tank is a perfect little cottage. If you really want to spoil your
pet, I recommend housing it in a 20L tank. This is like living in a mansion! I wouldn’t try and house more than one
gecko in a 10-gallon tank until you have some experience under your belt. The same goes for more than two in the 20L. Just
be patient- the experience pays off later.
Must-haves include a humid hide (easily made from Tupperware and a sponge, needs to be kept moist), a food dish, an under-tank
heater at one end, a water dish, and as many places to hide and climb on as possible (I love those lizard hammocks!). Leopard
geckos may not be arboreal, but some of them sure think they are! I use paper towel as substrate, and recommend it strongly
over any kind of sand, especially for juvenile leos.
The temperatures at the warmer end can reach as high as 90°F or so, but not higher. The cooler side must remain in the 70s.
It is absolutely essential that the tank have a range of temperatures available.
Also, even though leos are from desert climates, they only come out at night, and spend most of their time in much cooler,
humid burrows. As such, it’s important not to keep your gecko in a desert terrarium. They need adequate humidity to
shed properly (keep an eye on those toes!). I even mist my guys a couple times a day when I know they are about to shed.
Also, as they are nocturnal, they don’t strictly need UV lighting. However, it is a good idea to have a small, low-watt
UV light on a timer to simulate the day/night cycle anyway- it’s been shown to increase breeding activity and stimulate
appetite.
Diet
Most leopard gecko hobbyists feed their geckos either mealworms or crickets, and nothing else. It’s my opinion that
this is inadequate. Mealworms do not provide adequate nutrition. They have too much chitin (their exoskeleton), making them
harder to digest, and are fairly high in fat. Crickets can be gutloaded with a balanced diet, but can give your leo major
wounds. If you feed crickets, make sure your gecko either eats every single one, or that you leave a pile of food in the
tank for the crickets that are uneaten. (See Slim's story, link below).
My recommendation is to use silkworms as the main staple prey item, and to rotate around with other prey items. Always gutload
everything you feed your gecko for at least 24 hours before feeding (this will mean different things for different species).
I feed my guys at least 40% silkworms. The rest of their diet is a hodge-podge of other nutritious items. The bigger guys
get goliath hornworms- these grow very fast! I do feed mealworms that have been gutloaded, and occasionally superworms to
the larger guys too. I use phoenix worms, butterworms (sparingly- these guys are very high in fat), crickets (with caution),
and the rare pre-killed pinky mouse for the leos that will accept them. I do not feed waxies- though leos love them, they’re
basically just fat with no nutritional value. I’ve heard that lobster roaches are a good prey item, but I haven’t
been able to make myself try them out yet. I’ve had it recommended to me to try nightcrawlers/earthworms, but I found
that they dried out too quickly.
There’s quite a debate regarding another common practice- covering prey items in calcium or vitamin powder. In theory,
there should be no need to do this, if you are feeding your guys a balanced diet. There’s also a danger that too much
calcium can crystallize your leo’s internal organs. So here is what I do- I buy bearded dragon dry pelleted food, which
is perfectly balanced for calcium and whatnot. I use a mortar and pestle to grind it into a very fine powder. Then I use
that powder to coat prey insects before feeding. For females that are actively laying eggs, I sometimes put calcium powder
directly on the prey items. For crickets and mealworms, I also add a small amount of calcium powder to the diet they are
gutloaded with.
Go to this page to read about the lessons I have learned at great cost. Hopefully these stories will save you some heartache.
|
