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Q:
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Considering Some Leopard Geckos
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Hi there :)
I've been considering adding some Leo's to my family. I've been in talks with a member on here who's been giving me some really great insight on what they need, and how their temperments are, etc.
Here's a little of what I know so far:
1. A 20gal long is good for 2 or 3.
2. You can house no more than 1 male per enclosure.
3. They're nocturnal.
4. They're REALLY fun to watch and have as a pet.
5. Relatively easy to care for/clean up after/etc.
Here's some more of what I'd like to know (and some of what I've been told, and just want to verify I got correct information) :
-Do they require any type of humidity control?
-What are ideal temps for enclosures?
-What kind of things do they like in their enclosures? Do they climb? I know they don't have sticky feet like other geckos...but do they/can they climb branches or vines or anything?
-I use papertowels as a substrate for my BP's...is that an acceptable substrate for Leo's as well?
-If I plan on keeping 1 male with at least 1 (possibly 2) females, at what age to they breed? And how often? (Once a year?...twice a year?...once a month? LOL)
-I spoke to a breeder at the Hamburg show who told me that Leo's born with stripes will lose their stripes and get spots as they get older...true?
-I've heard gut loaded crickets are the best foodstuffs for them to eat on a regular basis...with other things tossed in as "treats"....True?
Not that I'm doubting any of my sources (PROMISE!!)!!...I just like to know as much as I possibly can before I get a new animal.
Thanks in advance! :)
-Ashleigh
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Accepted Answer
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8/9/2010 2:52:49 PM
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Webbslinger Reptiles
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-Do they require any type of humidity control?
We use humid hides in all gecko enclosures. It helps with their shedding and they like to just hang out in there from time to time.
-What are ideal temps for enclosures?
We use a heat pad or heat tape for belly heat, at about 90 degrees at the hottest spot/basking spot.
-What kind of things do they like in their enclosures? Do they climb? I know they don't have sticky feet like other geckos...but do they/can they climb branches or vines or anything?
You can give them some low lying drift wood and fake plants for decor, but we honestly do not use anything other than hides, humid hide, water dish, a calcium powder dish in their tubs and tanks.
-I use papertowels as a substrate for my BP's...is that an acceptable substrate for Leo's as well?
Yep, we use paper towels as well in the tanks. The tubs have no substrate.
-If I plan on keeping 1 male with at least 1 (possibly 2) females, at what age to they breed? And how often? (Once a year?...twice a year?...once a month? LOL)
Females will be ready to go at 30 grams. They can lay mulitple clutches of 1 to 2 eggs per season. If you want to house them together, we personally suggest having at least 2 females for the one male, so he does not persistantly harass one female.
-I spoke to a breeder at the Hamburg show who told me that Leo's born with stripes will lose their stripes and get spots as they get older...true?
Babies can hatch with bands or stripes. Their colors and markings changes as they mature.
-I've heard gut loaded crickets are the best foodstuffs for them to eat on a regular basis...with other things tossed in as "treats"....True?
You can feed crickets as a staple. We use superworms as well for variation and because they do not smell like crickets do.
Hope our opinion on leo care helps some :)
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Member Comment
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8/9/2010 6:19:30 PM
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Aimee
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hey, cool for you! Leos are engaging. I don't 'keep' them, per se, but have fostered. if you want to, you can certainly go crazy with cage-decoration. it may not be necessary, but I've seen some pretty incredible habitats including fake-rock walls with ledges and hidey-holes, fake plants, slate tile floors...you name it. I don't think vines really do it for them, but definitely stuff to climb on and bask on. I would add a caution about worms, though...veterinarians in the network for our fosters routinely suggest worms in the mealworm family (supers, giants, mealies) be fed on a VERY rare basis, or not at all, as they are very high in fat and can cause obese animals as well as liver problems. silk worm larvae and butterworms are recommended, and as a cheaper alternative that doesn't reek like crickets, roaches are great for all geckos. Turkistans and Lobsters are about the size of a big cricket. they're cheap, easy, don't stink, and live much longer.
good luck with your Leos!!
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Member Comment
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8/9/2010 6:54:54 PM
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FyreFocks
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During the spring and summer i keep the leo cages without a heat source or anything, really, for humidity. I keep the windows open in the snake room at all times, so they get local temps and humidity at all times. Lately, this has meant 95 days, 70 nights, and humidity between 40 and 85%. During the winter i keep their hot spot around 88 and the cool side is room temp. Though i do allow 8 weeks of temps in the 60s with infrequent feedings.
I use crickets with calcium powder, sometimes with d3 and sometimes without. Once or twize a month i will also offer up waxworms. My leos grow slowly due to being fed only once or twice a week, but i feel that are all the better for it. Careful with meal and superworms. Sometimes the chiten of the prey can be too hard to digest, causing regurges.
Ive only bred leos once, successfully, so i cant offer up much advice. I have heard that you should wait until 18 months for females, at around 40 grams of weight. I dont know if this is true, BUT my female from last year was bred at 35 grams and after only 2 clutches, she stopped producing. Then her diet wavered and she slowly wasted away to nothing, despite all efforts to fix the issue.
I use paper towels for EVERYTHING. Cheap. DIsposable. Probably more comfortable to the snake than the feel of newspaper (just a guess).
The animals selectively bred for stripe usually show very bold markings as babies, but the pattern seems to turn to spots with adulthood. But from what ive seen, the stripe is still noticable in the pattern.
If you plan to house adults together on a permanent basis, 2 females would indeed be best. However, you might consider giving them some time away from each other. Realistically, they only need to be bred with a male once or twice and then the female will carry sperm for the rest of the season. If you decide to cool, which not all people do, you could give them this time to be away from each other. Females will lay 1-2 eggs every 2-4 weeks, and will lay between 1-10 (best guess? correct me if im wrong) clutches per year. Age, weight, and diet will all play a factor in how many you get out of a female.
Mine will climb on and explore everything in their cages. I dont use too many climbing ornaments, but i used to, and they did use them. Do whatever you want!
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Member Comment
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8/10/2010 2:59:59 AM
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Artistry Exotics
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-Do they require any type of humidity control?
The enclosure itself should have pretty low humidity, but it's recommended to put a humid hide box in there that they can use for shedding.
-What are ideal temps for enclosures?
First off, belly heat is very important (as opposed to using a heat lamp). Flexwatt heat tape is best, or if you use a tank you can use an under tank heat pad. ANY undertank heat source MUST be hooked up to a thermostat (or rheostat, but a thermostat will be much more reliable). The temperature will need to be monitored by a heat gun or a digital thermometer with a probe - place the probe over the hot spot. I keep my heat tape at 95 degrees.
-What kind of things do they like in their enclosures? Do they climb? I know they don't have sticky feet like other geckos...but do they/can they climb branches or vines or anything?
A hide is a must. If you're using a tank, I'd say two hides - one on the warm side and one on the cool side. Then also the humid hide, and a dish of calcium. They can and will climb on any other decorations - driftwood, caves, etc. Just make sure that any cage furnishings you use can be easily sanitized and is sturdy so it won't fall over and injure your gecko.
-I use papertowels as a substrate for my BP's...is that an acceptable substrate for Leo's as well?
Yes, any non-particle substrate such as paper towel, newspaper, tile, or even shelf liner (just not the kind with adhesive) works. Stay away from sand or any other loose substrate.
-If I plan on keeping 1 male with at least 1 (possibly 2) females, at what age to they breed? And how often? (Once a year?...twice a year?...once a month? LOL)
First, I'd recommend not keeping more than one gecko together. There are a lot more benefits to keeping them separately than keeping them together. More than one animal in an enclosure can create stress issues with dominance/aggression. One might thrive and the other not. It's hard to monitor health - eating habits, stools, etc. Not to mention, if you plan on breeding, you don't want young geckos to breed before they're ready - it could kill your female if she becomes egg bound or looses too much weight after laying eggs. It's easier to introduce males and females during breeding season - males seem to show more interest in something new and exciting as opposed to a female they've lived with all year round. It's also easier on the female - the male can pester her too much and stress her out. They usually reach sexual maturity at about a year, but wait until they're both over 50 grams to put them together. I usually wait for females to be about 55 to 60 grams so I have some wiggle room, especially if she's up to weight but longer and on the lanky side. Males can be introduced to females once and then the female will retain the sperm, but for the best success in fertility, I'll reintroduce him every two-three clutches. Females will lay 2 eggs per clutch, and depending on age will have anywhere from about 3-8 clutches a year. I'd recommend keeping geckos for awhile before even thinking about getting into breeding though.
-I spoke to a breeder at the Hamburg show who told me that Leo's born with stripes will lose their stripes and get spots as they get older...true?
Depends on the morph. But yes, for the most part, most morphs will hatch with stripes and then the stripes will fade into spots (or no spots.. again, depends on the morph).
-I've heard gut loaded crickets are the best foodstuffs for them to eat on a regular basis...with other things tossed in as "treats"....True?
Crickets can be a fine staple food. Personally I hate them - they smell, can carry pinworms, and are generally nasty (don't leave uneaten crickets in the tank..). I use superworms (mealworms for hatchlings) and roaches as staples. Silkworms, butter worms, and pheonix worms are also excellent food sources. I think all of the feeders I just mentioned are nutritionally superior to crickets as well. Waxworms have no nutrition and can't really be gutloaded, so don't even bother with them. I've also heard stories on GeckoForums.net about geckos getting hooked on waxworms and refusing to eat anything else. I also dust with calcium and vitamins, and leave calcium without D3 in a dish in the tank at all times.
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Member Comment
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8/10/2010 6:20:42 AM
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FyreFocks
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Waxworms are a great source of fat! And thats exactly what i use them for. No nutritional value? Ha!
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Author Comment
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8/10/2010 10:41:58 AM
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ashleighdawn
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Thanks everyone for replying! All this information really helps me out :)
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Member Comment
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8/11/2010 6:26:11 PM
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Nitram
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i use worms as staple diet. mostly mealworms, but superworms carry more meat w/ less shell, so i prefer em when i can get em. crickets ill also feed once a week, just for stimulation (she loves to hunt them), but not too many, just enough for her to get some excersize catching them. i feed wax worms as a treat, and really no more than 1 or 2 waxworms per week! these things are super fatty and can lead to obesity if overfed. i think its good to use various insects to feed rather than just 1.. i feed crickets, mealies, superworms & waxworms but if i had the chance (connection) id feed roaches n other buggies too.
belly heat (heat matts, flexwatt) is better than overhead heat (lamps, ches, rhp) as a heating source. just like with snakes (or any animals which require a heat source) it should be monitored with a tstat or rheostat. i keep my leo's hot side at 90 degrees. i provide 3 hides. 1 hot side 1 cool side and 1 humid box in the middle.. she chills a lot in the humid box, and sheds perfectly (be careful with too low humidity, they can lose toes with improper sheds).
i have no interest in breeding leos so i know nothing about it... cant help ya there. only thing i can say about housing multiple reptiles together is that its a poor husbandry practice. you cannot keep track records that way. anyway, i wish ya luck. leos are really cool, i enjoy mine.
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Member Comment
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8/11/2010 7:59:20 PM
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Aimee
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please, please, PLEASE don't ever consider keeping him on sand. some animals are ok with it, but too often we get rescues like this guy (warning, a bit graphic) who was picked up and then euthanized today.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/stamp4hobby/rupert.jpg
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Member Comment
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8/11/2010 8:33:59 PM
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Artistry Exotics
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Yikes Aimee, poor guy. Looks like one of the rescues I took in back in March who also didn't make it. :(
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Member Comment
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8/12/2010 12:38:23 PM
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JohnJohn
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Two things I would say. Feed roaches rather than crickets. Their "meatier" and they don't stink or chirp all night.
Secondly. If you keep the male with the females all the time (after maturity) they will mate constantly. You could get a lot of eggs, but it would take a LOT out of the females and definitely lessen their life span. I would plan on having a separate tank for the male and only have him in with the females when you want them to be breeding. I always separate out the females after breeding season to give them some rest and let them regain some weight. If they stayed with the males all year they can be bred to death! Even with a lot of feeding and calcium supplementation, they often look so sad and skinny after producing a few clutches.
BTW. I know some people don't like sand. I've kept Leos for many years now and hatched out quite a few babies. I've always kept mine on calcium sand. Never had a problem with it. I do think paper towels are fine. But I have ten Leos on calcium sand right now and they've been fat and healthy for years.
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Member Comment
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8/12/2010 2:01:26 PM
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Nitram
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i see a lot of talk about breeding. i think anyone interested in breeding should successfully keep the animals in question for a significant amount of time before even considering breeding them. i see a lot of people new to snakes (in this case leopard geckos) that ask about breeding before they even acquire the animal! not trying to say that "breeding rights" are only for a selective few, just believe one should do the time to get to know the species before going into breeding projects, especially when information such as basic husbandry requirements are still in question. just my .02.
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Member Comment
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8/14/2010 8:51:38 AM
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Synath
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Kate when I first got my garg turned me on to pangea.com for the repashy diet. It hasnt done me wrong and my garg is growing insanely. I dont have to worry about calcium unless I give a cricket/roach treat as its all mixed in. Its really cheap and will last a goodly while. I do still leave calcium in a little cup for him if he wants. Though between the circkets or the roaches.. roaches has always been the suggested as their meatier easily digested, where as crickets sometimes the chitens and the legs arent digested and cause problems.
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Member Comment
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1/25/2011 11:40:04 AM
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abi21491
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This question has had no activity for 14 days and will be closed by an administrator unless the original poster takes action. Recommended Action: Points awarded An administrator will select responses and assign points at their discretion. Original poster, please close this question out and assign points. If you have any further information in the resolution of your problem, please post it here so that others may learn from it.
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