So my friend has a rescue Leopard Gecko he doesnt have room for

[Deliverme314]

My good friend's wife deals with herps as a living and keeps a ton of stuff. But somehow doesnt know much about these lil guys. And they dont have room for this fella/gal since they have so much as it is. They have asked me if I would like to have him/her.

I know zilch about them as well.

Do they need special treatment as far as light/heat? What do they eat? What size enclosure? What type of "furniture" do they need? What type of substrate etc...
typical caresheet info... or if you could link one up.

Thanks all. It is a rescue lizard and I would like to give it a better home than what it was in.

 

[MilkmanWes]

Here is a good place for care info : www.google.com

 

[Deliverme314]

Here is a good place for care info : www.google.com

HOLY CRAP!!! Google?! What the hell is that? So you just type in a phrase or key words or something and it searches the world wide web FOR YOU and provides "links" to information that could be helpful in my quest for knowledge!? OH MY GOD! HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME!?

<You were well within your rights until here... WATCH IT. -MrI> (Sorry about that)

So anyone with experience with these little guys feel free to share.

 

[Mister Internet]

Or you could try being ACTUALLY helpful...

The best place for Leo info I've found is the Leo forum at FaunaClassifieds... http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=149

They have most of the well-known Leo breeders and hobbyists visiting there on a regular basis... probably the best person all-round to deal with regarding them would be Kelli Hammack (I believe she is KelliH here as well)... she's one of the forum sponsors over there, and she's infinitely patient.

Let us know how it goes...

Here is a good place for care info : www.google.com

 

[Deliverme314]

Or you could try being ACTUALLY helpful...

The best place for Leo info I've found is the Leo forum at FaunaClassifieds... http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=149

They have most of the well-known Leo breeders and hobbyists visiting there on a regular basis... probably the best person all-round to deal with regarding them would be Kelli Hammack (I believe she is KelliH here as well)... she's one of the forum sponsors over there, and she's infinitely patient.

Let us know how it goes...

Right on. Kelli has always seemed like a really good gal. Kingsake.com had some good links to some caresheets... they seem relativley simple to care for so I will probobly go ahead and adopt this homeless lil lizard. And ask here/her if I have any specific questions as they arise. I will also check out that forum.

Thanks

 

[Wade]

Leopard geckoes are possibly the easiest reptile to keep in the world, I've kept and bred them (albiet in a small scale) for years. Many large scale breeders use plastic sweater boxes without substrate and a strip of heat tape under one end. You might want to do a little more than that, I'm just demonstrating how undemanding they are.

No special lights are needed, and temp-wise they seem to need little more than an area heated a bit above room temp. Unlike many geckoes, they will drink from a bowl and do not need to be misted. They do seem to appreciate a humidified shelter, but most breeders have a nest box full of moist sand or soil for egg laying anyway so that's covered.

Substrate can be alot of things. Ideally, the substrate should be fine enough that it can pass easily if the lizards eat it (or be digestable), OR be too course to be swallowed. Gravel and bark chips have been known to cause blockages. Right now, I use a mix of sand and coconut coir (bed a beast, etc) Some keepers, as I mentioned, skip this alltogther and use bare boxes, or newspaper or paper towels.

I feed mine crickets primarily, dusted with calcium and reptile vitamins. I feed three times a week, so keepers feed smaller meals daily. Serious breeders really push the calcium, since the females really need it to make eggs.

Generally, any number of females can be kept together, while males do not tolerate one annother. Some breeders use a communal set up with with a ratio of 1:20!

These geckoes are also relatively neat. Their feces is very dry (compared to most lizards), probably an adaption for living in arid climates. They also, convienently, deposit it in the same spot almost every time! This makes cage cleaning a snap.

Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Wade

 

[danread]

They also, convienently, deposit it in the same spot almost every time! This makes cage cleaning a snap.

It it wierd the way they do that isn't it? Does anyone know why they exhibit this behaviour, and other lizards dont? My bearded dragon and my collared lizards juts drop them where ever they feel like

 

[Wade]

I wonder if it's a defense mechanism. If you're living in the desert, with little or no organic debris to cover your scent, and you just drop poop wherever, it would make it pretty easy for a predator to figure out where your burrow is. On the other hand, if you always go to a spot far from your burrow, you might put them off your track.

Wade

 

[Deliverme314]

course that would make it preety easy for them to discern where you will be visting as well... ambush preadtors with low metabolism and patience may wait near this spot...

 

[Wade]

Good point. Perhaps instead they have a toilet room within the burrow, which helps maintain humidity inside.

All speculation, of course.

Wade

 

[eksong]

Here is another vote of confidence for Kelli. My very fat and very healthy Patternless Albino comes from her stock.