Adopting 3 leo's tomorrow HELP!!

[dsmalex97]

*this is posted in the housing section, but no one seems to be in that sections so I posted here for a quicker response sorry...

Hello everyone, long time no talk!

Last time I was on here I was going to get some leo's but it fell through, now it looks like its happening for real so I wanted some info before I got em...

Heres the deal: 20 Gallon long tank, 3 leos 1 male two females. Not sure what kind of heat accessories are coming with it, I think there will be a heat rock included, but I know thats no no so I'm taking that out. I was just gonna throw a 75watt basking bulb on top of the cage connected to a dimmer, and I'm pretty sure my house is warm enough for ambient temps, usually stays around 80 when its warm out dropping into low 70's at night. Not sure what kind of feeding regimen to put these guys on, so any help with that would be awesome. How many crickets each leo eats, how often, etc.

I guess thats it for now, so if anyone has any good tips please let me know!!

Peace&love
~Alex

P.S I also might be adopting two other females that are currently being housed in a 10 gallon. All adoptions are for free too, but If I get them I'm not sure where I would house them. I just know that these two are being somewhat mal-nourished. Only being fed like once a week, and no adequate heat, they need help.

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

20 long will keep 3 Females, will need to have some sort of heat source other then basking light. Most people will recommend under tank heater. the male will have to be housed separately as to not have any oops and have gravid females. Feeding can be done every other day to every day depending upon how you want to do things. all food items should be supplemented with Vitamins as well as Calcium w/ D3. Some people will say that you need to put plain calcium in a bowl in the tank i disagree with this. The only geckos i keep calcium in their tubs at all times are my females laying.

i would start with giving them 3 medium sized crickets at a time. if they seem to finish them off quickly add 2 additional. Anything that hasn't been eaten with in 30 min remove from tank. keep a clean/fresh water supply in the tub at all times.

uh make sure there are enough hides in each enclosure to give the geckos plenty of space to be in their own hide if desired.

i ran out of things but feel free to ask any questions there are many people that are very helpful in helping ya out.

 

[dsmalex97]

Thanks for your help!!

I am kinda uneasy about keeping them all together because I'm not sure as to how I'm going to keep them all heated. Being that theres three, how should I provide a basking spot? I understand UTH is the way to go, but how do you provide a basking spot for each leo with UTH's. I mean the zoomed one for a 20 gall isn't that big, do I just get a big one? Or do I use the light as a basking spot accompanied uth just located somewhere else? I'm just kinda confused on how to furnish this tank, hides and stuff? Don't these guys need humid hides too? AHHHH SOO MUCH STUFF IT SEEMS, LEO OVERLOAD!!

 

[Barbel]

Leopard geckos don't need a basking spot. They are nocturnal so the lighting may actually hurt their eyes. An UTH will provide enough heat for all of them. I personally don't think a 20 long is enough space for more than two leopard geckos and a ten gallon is definitely too small for even one adult leo, much less two. If you end up getting all five, I would upgrade to a larger tank, like a 40 gallon, for the females and then put the male in a 20 long by himself. You will need at least three hides: one warm dry hide, one warm moist hide, and one cool dry hide. You can add a few more if you want, but that would be the minimum. Also, you will want to avoid loose substrates like sand. Line the tanks with something like tile or shelf liner that the geckos can not ingest. For feeding I like to leave a bowl of mealworms in for 24 hour access to food and then feed roaches a couple times a week. If you want to go with just crickets I would feed every other day. The first few times you feed just toss in crickets for about 15 minutes and kind of see how much they eat. Over time you will learn how much they will eat each feeding. Just make sure that one isn't eating everything before the others get a chance. As far as calcium dust, I think you can do it either way. I used to dust with every feeding, but it is too time consuming with all my geckos so now I put a little bit of calcium in the mealworm dish so they get the calcium when eating the mealies. It is up to you which way you want to do it. That's all I can think of for now! Good luck with them and keep asking questions!

 

[BGalloway]

Congrats on the new leos.

You will need another tank for the male just so he's not constantly bothering the two females. You might even want a backup tank as well; for one of the females in case they ever start fighting and need to be separated or if you need to quarantine one of them. You can use a 10 gallon tank for the male and the backup tank (if you decide to get one).

For feeding, keep track of who gets what so none of the geckos are being bullied out of food.

The UTH is your basking spot, just have at least one hide per gecko over the UTH/basking spot so they can be alone if they want. As long as you have a hot spot from the UTH they should be fine.

You will need a humid hide. You will want at least one hide per gecko on the cool side as well. Don't forget water dish, calcium dish, and mealworm dish if that's what you'll be feeding them. For hides you can use tupperware containers, old butter tubs, paper towel rolls, cardboard packaging, just about anything, so don't worry about buying those fancy reptile palaces they sell in stores (unless you really want one )

Try making a list of what you need and check off what you have, it'll help keep things simple and organized.

As a side note: If you do get the other two females in addition to the three leos you'll want to house the groups separately to avoid fighting and prevent any diseases or parasites from spreading. Once they're all settled in you can upgrade to bigger tanks and worry about intorducing everyone.

 

[Riyo]

I'm not trying to be mean but I wouldn't get so many leos at once since you're just starting out with them! Three is plenty to start with (in my opinion). I know it's hard to resist a freebies but you can't overwhelm yourself.

 

[Foreverandever]

I'm not trying to be mean but I wouldn't get so many leos at once since you're just starting out with them! Three is plenty to start with (in my opinion). I know it's hard to resist a freebies but you can't overwhelm yourself.

Agreed. I would even go so far as to say start with just one...

Or maybe the two that are in the 10 gal

 

[Barbel]

I'm not trying to be mean but I wouldn't get so many leos at once since you're just starting out with them! Three is plenty to start with (in my opinion). I know it's hard to resist a freebies but you can't overwhelm yourself.

Agreed. I would even go so far as to say start with just one...
Or maybe the two that are in the 10 gal

I think that it's okay to start off with more than one or even five since they aren't too difficult to care for. AS LONG AS you really understand what you are getting yourself into and consider all cons, like all the amount cleaning/cage maintenance, if you have the space and the cost of and amount of food, instead of just focusing on the pros and the fun parts of gecko keeping. I started out with three and it was just fine. I also did a lot of research before I got them. This person seems to be on the right track by asking questions here and as long as continuous research is done and the person has the money, time and is willing to do it, then I don't see why it would be a problem.

 

[dsmalex97]

sorry it took me so long to respond, long day yesterday....

But, regardless to what you all of you have said I went through with it anyway. I only got the trio for now. I am by no means a "newb" to keeping herps, and leo's are really easy IMO to care for. I was always into snakes, and amphibians, I never really got into geckos, but I know the basic care for them. Now thanks to all you I now have a foundation of knowlege to build on as well. I deffinately plan on seperating them, although its quite funny because they all seem to enjoy eachothers company. I think I'm going to keep the male in the 20 gal alone, put the females together in a 32qt tub.

Now heres where it gets a little interesting. The person I got them from said one of the females might be gravid. I don't really see any kind of buldge anywhere on any of them so I can't tell by that. Are there any kind of conditions I should be providing if she is though? I mean I'm not going to do anything unless I am 100% sure she is gravid before I change things, I just was curious if they require more when there gravid.

Once I have the trio all situated I will probably adopt the other 2 girls as well, and keep them in a tub set up. And as far as feeding is concerned, I was going to wait a few days to feed so they can relax a little and get used to their new surroundings. She was feeding both mealies and crix so I'm going to continue the variety she started. And I'm buying that calcium without d3 today. But so far so good, I will take pics ASAP and post them up here.

OHH ALMOST FORGOT!!

She has a humid hide built out of a ziplock container and has coco fiber in it. Is that the best substrate or could saphagnum moss be used instead. Or, what SHOULD be used?

 

[ajveachster]

To see if there are eggs slightly bend the girl backward. You should be able to see the eggs on each side of her belly. Usually they are offset a bit. You may see pink ovules instead. These may or may not turn into eggs. Coco fiber is fine for a humid hide, and if you have a gravid female it will work good for a lay box material. They like to do a lot of digging. The UTH that is labeled for the size tank you have will work ok. It heats the glass a little further than its actual size. I would suggest getting a probe to check the floor temps to be sure.

 

[dsmalex97]

I forgot to say I got it on a dimmer right now

 

[dsmalex97]

also what kind of humidity should I be shooting for in a tub? When I make a tub for my balls, I don't poke a lot of holes because they like at least 50% at all times. So how should I go about this?

 

[Barbel]

also what kind of humidity should I be shooting for in a tub? When I make a tub for my balls, I don't poke a lot of holes because they like at least 50% at all times. So how should I go about this?

Congrats on your first geckos!
They really don't need any humidity other than their moist hide. For the moist hide I personally prefer to use moss, but I think you can use almost anything that will retain the water.

 

[dsmalex97]

So can I make these tubs in the same manner I make my ball tubs?

They roughly will hold 40-60% a daily basis without me adding any kind of moisture. So basically what I'm asking is can they tolerate these levels.

Also I really am happy with my decision in taking them in, very fun to watch. I'm used to snakes being secretive, these guys seem very outgoing. I will post pics as soon as i can. Thanks everyone!