WhitneyLeopard Geckos Make Great Beginner Pet Reptiles
May 19th 2008 15:26
Leopard geckos make wonderful pets for any reptile enthusiast- beginner to more advanced. My first reptile was a standard morph, female leopard gecko. I recieved Banon on my 16th birthday, and I've had her ever since. Now, since then, I've added various other morphs and my tallies are up to 25 plus hatchlings, so as you can see these guys are very simple to care for.
Leopard geckos make great pets because
* They are simple to care for as long as you understand all of the care requirements.
* They're relatively small and require a relatively small habitat enclosure when compared to other pet reptiles.
* They come in a wide variety of colors and patterns to choose from.
When caring for leopard geckos, you want to focus on the husbandry requirements of hte species. You need to make sure that you can provide temperatures of 88-90F on the hot side during the day.
When setting up a leopard gecko enclosure, you need to make sure to include the following:
* 2 dry hides- 1 on the hot and 1 on the cool sides
* 1 humid hide placed on hot side of the enclosure, but you can put it in the middle, as well.
* 1 water bowl
* 1 bowl for mealworms (if you opt to feed mealworms)
* 1 calcium dish
* Any decor that you have room for.
Make sure not to over crowd the cage, as this will stress out the leopard gecko, but at the same time, don't make the cage so sparse that there is tons of extra floor space.
Also, when decorating a leopard gecko's enclosure, you want to take into accountthe importance of the substrate. Leopard geckos are dessert reptiles, but dessert does not always mean sand. If you house your leopard gecko on playsand, calci-sand, or vita-sand, much less wood chips, cat litter, dirt, crushed walnut shells, or any other loose substrate, you're going to drastically increase the risks for impaction, which is fatal if you don't notice the signs early.
The best substrate for leopard geckos, much less most reptiles, is anything that is solid. Use paper towels, reptile carpet, slate tiles, or rollout shelf liner.
Remember that just because the package says reptile safe and pictures a cute leopard gecko, it does not mean that it is the best option. A manufacturer isn't going to tell you that the product can potentially kill your pet, especially if it doesn't have too. If you're wondering why pet stores sell the product if it's really not good for your pet; well that's because there has to be a specified number of deaths per year before the product is pulled off the shelf, so until that number is hit, the product can continue to be manufactured and sold. (A great example is Hartz flea and tick collars, much less just about about any Hartz product; the company, as a whole, kills many pets annually, but the number of deaths is less than the recommended amount, so they are still able to sell their products.)
Anyway, if you decide to bring a leopard gecko into your home, make sure that you know and understand all the care requirements. Don't just read one caresheet, read many. Don't listen solely to the pet store employee, as in many cases they have no clue what they're talking about. Do research. Participate in reptile forums. And read leopard gecko reference books.
Leopard geckos make great pets because
* They are simple to care for as long as you understand all of the care requirements.
* They're relatively small and require a relatively small habitat enclosure when compared to other pet reptiles.
* They come in a wide variety of colors and patterns to choose from.
When caring for leopard geckos, you want to focus on the husbandry requirements of hte species. You need to make sure that you can provide temperatures of 88-90F on the hot side during the day.
When setting up a leopard gecko enclosure, you need to make sure to include the following:
* 2 dry hides- 1 on the hot and 1 on the cool sides
* 1 humid hide placed on hot side of the enclosure, but you can put it in the middle, as well.
* 1 water bowl
* 1 bowl for mealworms (if you opt to feed mealworms)
* 1 calcium dish
* Any decor that you have room for.
Make sure not to over crowd the cage, as this will stress out the leopard gecko, but at the same time, don't make the cage so sparse that there is tons of extra floor space.
Also, when decorating a leopard gecko's enclosure, you want to take into accountthe importance of the substrate. Leopard geckos are dessert reptiles, but dessert does not always mean sand. If you house your leopard gecko on playsand, calci-sand, or vita-sand, much less wood chips, cat litter, dirt, crushed walnut shells, or any other loose substrate, you're going to drastically increase the risks for impaction, which is fatal if you don't notice the signs early.
The best substrate for leopard geckos, much less most reptiles, is anything that is solid. Use paper towels, reptile carpet, slate tiles, or rollout shelf liner.
Remember that just because the package says reptile safe and pictures a cute leopard gecko, it does not mean that it is the best option. A manufacturer isn't going to tell you that the product can potentially kill your pet, especially if it doesn't have too. If you're wondering why pet stores sell the product if it's really not good for your pet; well that's because there has to be a specified number of deaths per year before the product is pulled off the shelf, so until that number is hit, the product can continue to be manufactured and sold. (A great example is Hartz flea and tick collars, much less just about about any Hartz product; the company, as a whole, kills many pets annually, but the number of deaths is less than the recommended amount, so they are still able to sell their products.)
Anyway, if you decide to bring a leopard gecko into your home, make sure that you know and understand all the care requirements. Don't just read one caresheet, read many. Don't listen solely to the pet store employee, as in many cases they have no clue what they're talking about. Do research. Participate in reptile forums. And read leopard gecko reference books.
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