new to owning leopard gecko

[sheltiefan]

We just got our first leopard gecko for my son. We got him of craigslist for $30. He came with a 20 gal long tank and a day and night light and a rock cave.
We went out to petsmart and got some more hides for him including one moist hide. Im gonna show you a picture of his tank. What do you guys think? Does it look good for a leo.
The owner says he eats 5 crickets every other day. Is that enough? They said he is roughly 3 yrs old.
Also the light is that all he needs? I was reading about under tank heaters does he need that? If so I have a question about them. His tank is on my son's dresser will the heater be ok on that? Will it burn the dresser? Or cause a fire?
Any other tips for a new owner?

The only reptile experance i have had is. I had hognose snake once. It died of old age. We also had a Anole lizard. We were told they were friendly and loved to be held. He was super mean and bite every time. My son just LOVES reptiles. He is in love with him. Also how can I tell if he is a male or female.

 

[sheltiefan]

pictures didn't load here they are hopefully it shows

 

[ajveachster]

The animal looks ok to me in those pictures. It has good color (normal morph), clear eyes, a nice fat tail, and no visible injuries or stuck shed. Leos typically don't need any lights since they are nocturnal. You can just use a UTH. Some people like to use the red light so they can watch the leo at night. Depending on the appetite of your gecko 5 crickets every other day might be just fine. An easy rule to follow is let the gecko eat as many crickets as it wants in 10-30 minutes (some get bored/full faster than others), then remove the leftovers. You may catch some flack for having sand. There is a longtime debate about whether or not it is safe for leos because of the possibility of impaction. The best thing to do is to monitor if your leo seems to be eating the sand. If you are worried there are several alternative substrates. There are multiple care sheets available on the forum. There is a tab at the very top of the page for them. To tell if it is a boy or girl look for a V shape of pores between the back legs. Boys have that as well as a couple bulges at the base of the tail. If you aren't sure, we can usually tell you right away on an adult if you take a picture of that area. Good luck, and enjoy your new pet.