Heyyaaa.. and help!

[Helzy]

Evening!

My name's Helan and i'm from Birmingham, UK. Pretty new to all of this..

I'm used to keeping furry little creatures, my all time favourite being ratties. Had 11 in the past few years, but due to a fair bit of a heartache from the loss, i'm keeping my distance for a while. I've instead ventured into the idea of keeping a pet that will be around for significantly longer than just a couple of years, and so after a bit of research, it seems that geckos may be the way to go for me.

I've done a bit of background, but I feel I need a bit of advice from experienced owners. I haven't purchased anything yet, but know that first i've got to get the viv set up and in control before buying my new friend.

What i'd like to know is just what the daily routine is for a gecko. more to the point, what is your daily routine in caring for them? what is most important when I create my initial viv set up? what must I be wary of when I first get my gecko? anything you think I should be aware of, I would be most appreciative of hearing.

every little helps, after all!

 

[im faster]

The basics..
uses tile paper towel as substrate.. feeding every day or every other.. water everyday..
make sure you have under tank heat..

thats about iit..

if you have any other specific questions please ask

 

[Blazebabe]

Hi Helan,
Welcome to GF and i'm from wolvo mate.lol

Leo's are smashing reptiles Blaze his my 3rd one, i find the females abit more carmer and for settling down.
You need a tank for the Leo, playing sand if your using that, artifical tree's, rock's, also a Log as they love lying under those come night time and also a container with an hole cut in the side as they love lying in them but i brough a shell, i use 2 small sponges and put in there for moisture, you need lighting a thermometer and hygrometer which should be set on 26 which makes them run between 72-80 as that's the thermometer temperature they like plus lights.
If it's a young leo you buy it needs to be fed every night on crickets and also dose them 3 times a week in calcium powder, fresh water in there daily.
When you feed the leo at night time spray inside the tank with luke warm water as they love to take the droplets of water from the artifical tree's and when it shreds it's skin let it eat it, it contains everything your leo needs.

I wish you all the best with the setup and choosing one.

 

[acpart]

Welcome to the forums and I think it's great you're considering a gecko as a pet. The caresheets can tell you a lot more than a single post. I devoted 10 pages to my caresheet and wouldn't write that much in a post. I recommend you go to the tab above that says "articles/caresheets" and read some of them (mine is included). You're going to find that while a lot of the info is the same between caresheets, there are some differences, mostly because there's more than one way to do things. Those are great questions to ask here --why does it say one way in this caresheet and another way in that one. That way you can get a sense of why people do different things and make your own choice. Good luck,

Aliza

 

[ElapidSVT]

i'd recommend purchasing a male for your first leopard gecko, personally.
females can have problems when they reach maturity from things like unwanted, early ovulation of underweight animals and eggbinding which isn't an issue with males.

welcome to the forum!

 

[ElapidSVT]

Hi Helan,
72-80 as that's the thermometer temperature they like

BRRRRR!
that's a bit chilly.
leos *need* a 90F or even slightly warmer hot spot for proper digestion. 72-80F is ok for an air temp but the animals absolutely need access to higher temps.

geckos are nocturnal and are best kept with no additional cage lighting; this also reduces complexity and costs.

 

[Blazebabe]

BRRRRR!
that's a bit chilly.
leos *need* a 90F or even slightly warmer hot spot for proper digestion. 72-80F is ok for an air temp but the animals absolutely need access to higher temps.

geckos are nocturnal and are best kept with no additional cage lighting; this also reduces complexity and costs.

Hi Rob,

That's great info for knowing where females are concerned mate:main_thumbsup:

Well i have Blaze in a tank which as 2 light bulbs on all day and when i turn them off at night i have a red bulb which gives heat off and still comes on through the day but i've checked how i have the tank set up and the lights and heat temp for her should be 75-90 i've altered the microclimate to 28 and the temps gone to 84 now but cheers again mate for the advice