Been thinking...

[Lazlo]

Hello everyone I am new to the forums and very new to Leos. I'll be getting my first leopard gecko sometime in May. I've been wanting one for years and now, I am finally able to get one. I know about their care,diet, etc but I had a question about housing and heating a certain enclosure, however.

I am thinking about buying the 36x18x18 melamine cage from customcages.com. I was going to add tile, foam ledges, background, etc. I wanted to know, how would I heat the enclosure? I know leos need belly heat but seeing that the Melamine may be thick, would I have to mount the uth in the inside of the enclosure under the tile or use an alternative way to heat the enclosure? Also, would this size enclosure stress a baby leo? I was definitely thinking about getting this enclosure in the next 2 weeks or so.

I also wanted to mount an 18" reptisun 2.0 in enclosure for viewing. I was wondering would the light stress my leo out?

My last question is on quarantining. I've been pondering on whether I want one leo or two. If I got two, I was going to get a pair of females. Would I have to quarantine them separately?

Thanks for looking at my post

 

[Dimidiata]

Its normally recognized you keep babies in smaller enclosures. As for QT, if its your first, start with 1. Learn the behaviors and the warning signs. Then try 2 once you have a second tank ready and know what to watch for with 2 of them being together.

 

[mango+cola]

I agree, I would suggest you just get one Leo to start with, and then you can get another once you know how to properly take care of them!

But if you decide to get 2, I would prefer you know how to quarantine them, so yes, you have to quarantine them. For 3 months. Keep them in seperate enclosures, and thoroughly wash your hands between touching them so you don't potentially spread anything. Keep their food seperate too. You don't want one mealworm or cricket in one enclosure, it not be eaten, you take it out and the next day accidentally give it to the other one. Then after the 3 months you may be able to house them together. I say may because they might not like each other and one could bully the other, so introduce them first and see how it goes. Always have an extra enclosure on hand incase something happens and you need to seperate them. Don't house them together unless they are the same size.