New to the Gecko Scene

[Bradleyy]

So I am 19 and I study Animal Management at college and today we learnt a little about Leopard Geckos and I am very interested in owning one.

My Exotic teacher keeps them in Bin cage type containers which are a fair size per one, and he has a little wire thing which heats the cage?

I have a 40 gallon fish tank and i currently am considering putting some lizard geckos in them as I really like them

I was wondering as my fish tank came with a plastic fish tank stand that if I used a heat pad it may melt the plastic so I may need a heat lamp but the top of my fish tank is built in and plastic so I;d have to figure how to put that but I don;t know what type of lamp, what wattage and other things to know about geckos ive searched things and each site is giving me different information and of course forums are the best so I figured I would ask you guys what information you can tell me about owning a Gecko!

My question I would most like you to hopefully answer are
1: What types of Geckos can you keep (i like colourful friendly ones)
2: what type of housing can they have, what flooring (substrate) , objects such as huts, rocks, plants can they have?
3: I learned they only eat things like meal worms and Crickets so how often do i feed them and where do i store the meal worms and crickets, do they stay in the box they are provided in until they are due to come out and be eaten?
4: how do i maintain a temperature in the tank
5: what other things must I know to successfully keep them


THANKYOU!!

 

[tommysatterlee]

Most peoples favorite gecko to keep are either leopard geckos or crested geckos.
Leopard geckos typically have brighter colors than the crested and are much more hold friendly.
Leopard geckos are very easy to breed if you would like.
I would much recommend a leopard gecko as your first reptile and than move on to crested later on.
Involving the tank issue, a glass tank would be the best option.
To maintain temperature you must have a thermometer in the tank. Keep the heat source on one side
that way the lizard has a place to cool down.
I would not recommend keeping multiple animals in one cage. EVER. As a first timer.
Male leopard geckos will fight with each other and that would be a horrible experience.
Most reptiles will not do well on sand or other loose substrate, therefore I recommend using paper towel or repti-carpet.
Feed your gecko every day as a baby but when it gets older every other day.
They eat mealworms and crickets which you can feed right after purchasing the food.
Leopard geckos are a great starter animal!
Most of the animals you see on this site are leos
Good luck!

 

[acpart]

Your best bet to get thorough answers to these questions is to read some leopard gecko (or other gecko, if you decide on something else) care sheets. You can find them by googling "leopard gecko care" and reading several selections. There will be a lot of information that's the same on all the care sheets and some information that's different or even contradictory. If you ask about the contradictory information on this forum, you'll get some good answers. Remember, though, that there is more than one way to do things.

Many of the under tank heat pads say on the package that they should not be used with plastic. However, if you get a good thermostat for your heat pad there shouldn't be a problem.

Welcome to GF.

Aliza

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Hey brad welcome aboard!

You could also search for colorful geckos on the web then check that gecko's availability in your store, post your selections here then we can sort out the cons/pros of each

 

[Bradleyy]

I HAVE GOT RID OF MY FISH AND CLEANED OUT MY TANK!
i have ran into problems thought because the bottom of my tank has a plastic covering over it to match the stand and is unremoveable which would make it difficult to use a heat matt?!

also the top of the tank had a built in filter which i removed and not there are numerous gaps at the back top of the tank which the lizard can easily escape from if i get a crested gecko

i have no idea what to do

 

[indyana]

Welcome, Brad. I saw that you started a thread down in the leopard gecko forum, so I replied there with some ideas for the fish tank.

 

[miggiesmallz97]

I recommend that you get a cheap 10 gallon terrarium with screen lid from a pet store or thrift store. You should definitely start with one leopard gecko so that you know for sure that you want to get into the hobby. A 40 gallon is too big IMO for a single leopard gecko in my opinion, as the feeder bugs will hide too spread out for the gecko to hunt effectively among other reasons (research). Also keep in mind that it will be difficult to maintain temperatures in a large fish tank like that (I'm assuming since it's a 40 gal fish tank that it's tall, thin, and long). Also you have to feed the animals and provide a constant supply of feeder insects which is another expense for you, and the more geckos you have the more you'll spend on bugs. Please do more research before you dive in full speed. You have to know what you're doing to ensure the animals' healths. They aren't just something cool to look at. As for your questions

1. Leopard geckos make excellent pets and are colorful and friendly
2. They should be kept on either paper towels, reptile carpet, or tiles (sand should NEVER be used) You should have (at the least) one hide on the warm side of the tank and one on the cool. At least one of the hides should be a humid hide (with moist paper towel or moss in it) to help them with shedding (I use Tupperware containers with holes large enough for a gecko to get through and filled with moss that I keep moist). Everything else is optional for your pleasure. I like to have rocks and desert plants in the tank too, as they are desert animals that live in a rocky (not sandy) habitat.
3.you have to feed babies daily and adults daily-every other day. If you get your bugs in a cardboard box you'll want to put them in a large ventilated container until you're ready to feed. (Btw you have to feed them stuff too like veggies and fruits).
4. Leopard geckos need belly heat to digest and metabolize properly. Under tank heaters are best but can get too hot so you'll need to buy a thermostat to adjust and maintain the temps.
5. The best way to expand your knowledge is to do tons and tons of research. Simple things to note are two males kept together will definitely fight, a female and a male will possibly fight and definitely breed at some point.*only keep males and females together when you are financially able to care for them* (Incubating the eggs and keeping babies is another expense and a large one at that because they can have quite a few. Not to mention breeding adds tons of stress to the female which will be giving a large percentage of her available nutrients to the eggs.) Keeping all females does not 100% guarantee they will not fight/bully one another for food. It's safest to keep them housed separately but this is up to you. It's good to keep a thermometer handy to check temps.