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Leopard Geckos care

LEOPARD GECKO CARE

keeping leopard geckos must be one of the easiest reptiles to keep that is cheap common in the pet industry.

HOUSING

firstly you need a tank to keep you leopard gecko in. the tank can either be plastic or glass but must have air holes in the lid. for a hatchling that is (+-5cm) long should have a tank no smaller than 30cmx20cm and height is not really a major issue unless there is no lid. preferbly have a lid in case your dogs or cats can get it. for adults if you keep one in a cage it should be no smaller than 50cmx20cm and if you keep 2 or more than obviously you need a bigger tank.

OBTAINING

when purchasing a leopard gecko make sure it is eating. make sure the tail is thicker than the hips as these geckos store fat in their tails as they are from the deserts in pakistan and if the tails are thinner than the hips it is a sign of dehydration and malnutrition . see if the gecko is walking properly and the legs aren't caved in from a calcium deficiency. look by the anal to see that it has no faeces attached. also look at the toes to see if it has all its toes and that there is no shedding left on the toes, this is a sign of not enough humidity. it is not a major issue if it is missing the tips of its toes but just try get ones with toes. if you are not able to see the gecko before purchasing try get a photo of it or go to a well known dealer.

FEEDING

there are two main types of food sources available in almost all pet stores. the first and personally the best is the common house cricket. then there is the meal worm which is also a good food source. you should feed a hatching everyday and cover the food in a calcium every second day until it is about a year old. make sure the food is not bigger than the geckos head as this may sometimes scare the gecko. give the hatchlings about 5 crickets everyday then after a year give them about 5 adult crickets every two to three days and cover in calcium about once a week.

MATERIALS NEEDED IN THE CAGE

obviously you need a dish of water. the water dish should not be any deeper than up to the geckos knees because if it is any deeper the gecko could drown. the water should be changed daily to every second day but if you see faeces in the water change immediatly. the best substrate is carpet, newspaper or paper towels as the gecko would not be able to swollow any bits and get its stomach congested and it is easy to clean. DO NOT use any bits of bark or pine firstly because it makes the gecko congested and if bought from nurserys it has a poisonous substance on it. rather use logs or branches not from a poisonous tree if you want some decoration. you also need a hide box (as these geckos are nocturnal) for during the day and need a place to get away if scared. if keeping more than one together have more hide boxes with an exit and entrance as one might sometimes chase the other. there should also be a box with moist vermiculite, corn cob or sphagnum moss in it with a hole big enough for the gecko to go in as this helps them shed. i put a bottle cap on the floor filled with calcium so the gecko can help itself to calcium when needed. for heating buy a reptile heater which is stocked in all most all the pet stores and put the heater under the tank about 1/3%. make sure there is a cold side and warm side to the tank. also have a uv light especially for hatchlings as it helps with calcium.

BREEDING

firstly you will obviously need a  healthy male and healthy female to have fertile eggs. the females tail must be fat in order to breed her. you do get females that will lay eggs even if there has been no male but obviously it will be infetile. you only need to keep your male and female together for about a month at the start of spring and then you can take the male out but i keep mine together all year round. the female can store sperm for the whole breeding season after being bred with once. it takes about 3 to 6 weeks before the eggs are formed in her stomach. i find it better to use moist (not wet) sphagnum moss as a laying substrate and moist ( NOT wet) course vermiculite in the incubator. you will then see your females underbelly showing the eggs on either side. the female will stop eating from about two weeks to 4 days before laying the eggs. when she has laid her eggs you will see your female thinner and the moss dug up. sometimes she will lay her eggs in the water and if found soon enough the eggs can be saved from drowning. when placing the eggs in the container with vermiculite use your thumb to indent where you are going to place the egg. DO NOT turn the eggs any other way as the yolk will drown the baby inside. mark the eggs with a pencil on the top so you can always see what way the egg should be especially when there are hatchlings in the container they dig and turn the eggs while doing so. after the female has laid feed her lots of crickets covered in calcium or about 2 pienkies as she will be weak and hungry. after she doesnt want anymore crickets leave her to sleep and feed her again the next day. then place the tub with the moss back in the tank. in some first time breeding females they lay only one egg every two to four weeks otherwise they lay the normal 2 eggs every two to four weeks. they can lay up tp 16 eggs but ive read of them laying up to 20 eggs. if egg start growing mold on it, the vermiculite is too damp or if the eggs are infertile or the vermiculite is not coarse enough. to get female hatchlings the temperature in the incubator should be 80F and for males and females about  85F and for males only it should be maximim 89F. if it is 90F or above you may get agressive females that dont breed and attack cage mates.

also be careful when you see the gecko is about to hatch DON'T touch or rub the eggs. I have lost 2 corn snakes as im sure it was from rubbing the eggs before they were about to hatch and they tried to get away and go to the bottom of the egg and drowned in the egg yolk.

THIS CARE SHEET IS ONLY A GUIDELINE AND BASICALLY THE WAY I LOOK AFTER MY GECKOS AND TO HELP BEGINNERS AND OTHERS WHO WANT TO SEE HOW OTHER PEOPLE TAKE CARE. OTHER CARE SHEETS SHOULD BE READ BEFORE OBTAINING OR BREEDING.