New and have some questions!

[Hankj]

Hi, my name is Hank and I am from Ohio.

I am going to buy a leopard gecko. Usually when I get a new pet I find them or rescue them and rig up some habitat for them very quickly but this time I've decided I want to get everything ready way ahead of time haha.

Right now I have a twenty gallon long fish tank. I put slate tile on the bottom and filled the cracks in with very fine reptile sand. I know I will need to get a heating pad and make or buy some hides, along with a moist hide. I know I need some reptile calcium, which I already have and a water bowl. I have been reading several care guides and have seen some discretion.

Do leopard geckos need to be misted or have their tank at a certain humidity, if so, what is that percentage?

Do I need a lamp? Some places say I need a basking lamp. Others say I only need the UTH for belly warmth. Another place said I need the lamp to simulate night and day. So yes or no on the lamp? And if I do need a lamp do I need a heat lamp or can it be any ole lamp?

Thanks for reading and the help ahead of time : ) !

 

[prettyinpink]

Welcome to GF!

Good job on researching before hand!

First off I suggest taking a look at these caresheets here, there's a few to look at made by GF members May help answer most of your questions
http://geckoforums.net/articles.php?c=115

No, you don't need a lamp...they don't bask like beardies. Yes, you'll need a UTH for belly warmth (the care sheets will explain this ) You can get a night time lamp for viewing, which I do. I turn it on, only when I'm feeding them.

No, unless you're a breeder and have a BABY hatchling their tanks do NOT need to be misted. Too much humidity can cause problems. As long as they have a nice moist/humid hide for when they're shedding, nothing else needs to be misted.

Hope this helps!

 

[Hankj]

That's what I thought from my reading. Jack's Aquarium has some crummy information on their tags haha.

Just remembered another question. At about what age can you accurately sex a gecko?

 

[Bbugs]

The best age to sex is around 6 months, though some can be sexed earlier. Just pick a gender-neutral name, or wait until you can sex s/he to name s/he.

Welcome to the forums by the way!

 

[Hankj]

Well the reason I asked is because I would rather have a female and they had some cool looking "babies" at the store and I'd say they were about 4 inches and a couple prob 6 inches and they told me they could not determine gender but then again these are the same people that said I need a basking lamp and misting.. So I was just checking

What would you say the age of a 4 inch leopard gecko is?

 

[prettyinpink]

We usually go by weight, not length. I would highly recommend buying from a breeder. A lot of the gf members are breeders.

As for telling gender, usually the breeder (if buying from one) will tell you what it is. It all depends on if it was temp sexed or how experienced in sexing the breeder is, some have a good eye.

 

[roger]

Hi, my name is Hank and I am from Ohio.

I am going to buy a leopard gecko. Usually when I get a new pet I find them or rescue them and rig up some habitat for them very quickly but this time I've decided I want to get everything ready way ahead of time haha.

Right now I have a twenty gallon long fish tank. I put slate tile on the bottom and filled the cracks in with very fine reptile sand. I know I will need to get a heating pad and make or buy some hides, along with a moist hide. I know I need some reptile calcium, which I already have and a water bowl. I have been reading several care guides and have seen some discretion.

Do leopard geckos need to be misted or have their tank at a certain humidity, if so, what is that percentage?

Do I need a lamp? Some places say I need a basking lamp. Others say I only need the UTH for belly warmth. Another place said I need the lamp to simulate night and day. So yes or no on the lamp? And if I do need a lamp do I need a heat lamp or can it be any ole lamp?

Thanks for reading and the help ahead of time : ) !

Leos do not need to have their cages misted.the only humidity they need is from their humid hide.

No u dont need any light it stresses them out.they dont bask they gather belly heat.

if u have a complete dark room like a basement where u dont get an iota light then yes put a light on a timer to simulate day.they will then know when day ansd night time is.
For waqrmth they need a heat pad not a light.

 

[roger]

That's what I thought from my reading. Jack's Aquarium has some crummy information on their tags haha.

Just remembered another question. At about what age can you accurately sex a gecko?

if u put your camera on macro settings i can sex mine at 4 months

 

[Dog Shrink]

Just to add to what the others have said, here are a couple of great images on how to sex your leo so you're not going in blind when looking at possible pets. Also keep in mind when you get a female the whole egg issues that can arise. Hopefully some more experienced breders can explain about that since I don't breed.

Male:

Female:

http://www.repticzone.com/articles/sexingleopardgeckos.html

Lastly if you do end up keeping your leo in a dark room with limited daylight a regular 15 watt incandescent bulb on a timer would do fine to make sure your day/night cycles are accurate. It doesn't have to be super bright.

 

[Hankj]

Okay. I will have them in my bed room that has a window in it so they will be able to tell.

I would love to buy from a breeder it's just they cost a little more and shipping and handling is a lot. I haven't found a price I'm willing to deal with haha.

 

[Dog Shrink]

It might be a little bit more with shipping and all that, I think I paid around $90 for my leo with shipping, but it is soooo worth it knowing you're getting a healthy well cared for animal esp. if it's a female, no surpises with them possibly being gravid prematurely. You're in Ohio, you should check out Ohio Gecko, he has an ad in the sponsors bar at the top of the page, or click here: http://www.ohiogecko.com/. Maybe you could avoid the whole shipping issue altogether if y'all are kinda close to eachother.

 

[prettyinpink]

How much are the leos at your pet store, if you look hard enough you can find some cheap leos...and shipping is usually $50 max. Imo I think buying from a breeder, one that you can talk to for years to come is worth it

 

[Hankj]

Thanks!

 

[Hankj]

I have seen them for $44 in stores and I think a $35

 

[Hankj]

Is a 8x12 heat pad big enough for a 20 gallon long (30 1/4 x12 1/2) ?

 

[Dog Shrink]

Yes it is. your uth should cover no more than 1/3rd of your floor surface. I have a 6x11 on a 20 long.

 

[Hankj]

Ohhhh no more. I was under the impression you wanted 1/3-1/2. Thank you.

 

[CalypsoTheLG]

I also live in Ohio, and before I bought my gecko I found this site and read a lot of the forums and care sheets all over the place. I started buying things slowly from Walmart, PetSmart, Meijer, and Petco. When ever I went to an actual pet store to buy stuff I looked at their geckos. The PetSmart by me normally had a baby no longer then your middle finger. I also have two Petcos by me, one the cage was horrible, the temp in the cage was 65 and the geckos were in their hides so you couldn't see them. The second Petco, they had 8 or 9 geckos and a more mature one (in a different cage), the temp was in the high 80s low 90s, they were moving, alert, had fat tails, and all were eating. So I got mine from the pet store I thought was best.
I've had her for a week, she's getting bigger, loves mealworms, and is getting ready for a shed. I absolutely love watching her.

PetSmart right now lizards are 30% off. They're orginally like $40, and when I looked they were $28.99.
Petco they're $29.99.
I also looked at Pet Supplies Plus, and I think theirs were $35.99.

 

[Hankj]

That is kind of what I have been doing. I have been running around to different pet stores for a garter snaked I just rescued. Most of the geckos I have seen are not to great looking.

I am talking to a guy that lives close to me with two for sale. Female albino and a male Blazing Blizzard. I might get both of them from him for $60 soon.

 

[Dog Shrink]

That's not a bad deal... just make sure they're healthy and being kept properly before investing.