newbie getting a leopard gecko

[bonus41]

i had "furry" pets sinc i was 4 yrs old i always wanted a reptile but my parents said "no" till now i'm 13 and i turn 14 on sept 24 and i convinced my mom to get a leopard gecko my first reptile if you can give me info on them that would be great i know nothing about them and i'm not afraid to feed anything "live" to him is a leopard gecko good to start out with? i valenter at a pet store and the owner is a good friend of the family so she is getting me a gecko for my B day i need tips on how to feed and stuff like that i always have to get crickets and superworms for people so i'm know some about them but it would be good to know more on lizards

Caitlyn

P.S a person that lives by me has a gecko so i'm going to go see him and spend sometime with him

 

[bonus41]

oh sorry forgot to say don't mind my english it's horrible they don't teach us that in school now a days

 

[Khrysty]

Hey Caitlyn. Welcome to Geckoforums and the wonderful world of reptiles!

I have a caresheet on my website, here: http://khrystys-kritters.webs.com/leopardgeckocaresheet.htm that should answer a bunch of your questions. There are also caresheets stickied in the general section of this website. If you have any more questions or need help with anything don't be afraid to ask! We love to help here and we'd love to see pictures of your new little guy/girl when he/she comes home

 

[artgecko]

Congratulations and Happy Birthday Caitlyn!
Do a search for "leopard gecko care sheets" and/or visit the breeder's sites that advertise at the top of this forum, many of them have care sheets.

I would read several to get multiple opinions and a consensus. Different people have success with different methods.

I think a leopard gecko is a great first reptile. They can be quite friendly and always have a smile.

Be sure to post a picture of your new gecko and its new home. enjoy.

 

[Alex G]

If you're getting a reptile at that age, I'd shoot for an adult rather than a baby or juvenile, just because
1. Babies are FRAGILE and flighty, not a good combination if you aren't completely confident in caring for them
2. Babies might stop eating or get sick and die. The sad fact is that not all hatchlings are meant to survive, and might have a problem in their bodies that you can't see and probably can't remedy.
3.Babies have completely different patterns from their adult form usually, so you may buy one for it's cute banding today and tomorrow it won't even be visible anymore.

With adults, they're a bit more tolerant of light handling (depending on the individual), they've already been proven to be regular eaters with no obvious health problems, and you an already see what they're going to look like for the majority of their life.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

If you're getting a reptile at that age, I'd shoot for an adult rather than a baby or juvenile, just because
1. Babies are FRAGILE and flighty, not a good combination if you aren't completely confident in caring for them
2. Babies might stop eating or get sick and die. The sad fact is that not all hatchlings are meant to survive, and might have a problem in their bodies that you can't see and probably can't remedy.
3.Babies have completely different patterns from their adult form usually, so you may buy one for it's cute banding today and tomorrow it won't even be visible anymore.

With adults, they're a bit more tolerant of light handling (depending on the individual), they've already been proven to be regular eaters with no obvious health problems, and you an already see what they're going to look like for the majority of their life.

Excellent post Alex

 

[bonus41]

thanks for all the info it really helped i am positive i'm getting a leopard gecko but one thing i'm not sure about is to get a female or male is there a diffrence with the two does one make a better "pet" also can i feed pinkies as a treat?
thanks again i'm SOOOOOOOO excited can't wait searching at gecko 24/7

Caitlyn

 

[geckooo]

hey I am still newbie my self hehe, well I learnt off my sister as she has 2 geckos and 1 bearded dragon, but yeah its easy if you need to know anything let me know

P.S I have 1 newborn 5 or 6 days old, hatched 3 days ago and my sister gave to me

 

[geckooo]

thanks for all the info it really helped i am positive i'm getting a leopard gecko but one thing i'm not sure about is to get a female or male is there a diffrence with the two does one make a better "pet" also can i feed pinkies as a treat?
thanks again i'm SOOOOOOOO excited can't wait searching at gecko 24/7

Caitlyn

well, mealworms or waxworms as a treat

 

[Khrysty]

thanks for all the info it really helped i am positive i'm getting a leopard gecko but one thing i'm not sure about is to get a female or male is there a diffrence with the two does one make a better "pet" also can i feed pinkies as a treat?
thanks again i'm SOOOOOOOO excited can't wait searching at gecko 24/7

Caitlyn

Males will generally make better pets. Females, around February-ish, start ovulating. And when they do sometimes they go off food for long periods of time and really freak out their owners. Males don't ever do that. You also don't have to worry about males laying any eggs, infertile or otherwise, and using up their fat store for that.

I wouldn't feed pinkies as a treat, but as long as the animal was large enough and you only did it once a month or so there shouldn't be any problem with it. Usually people feed waxworms as treats, though.

 

[pawsible]

Hi-
Happy Birthday and good choice in a new pet. I have a website for new Gecko Owners with a number of caresheets. Please feel free to check it out. Good luck and have fun!!
http://www.theultimateleopardgeckomanual.com/
http://leopardgeckocaresheet.blogspot.com/

 

[bonus41]

again thanks for all the replies...
i went to see my moms friends leopard gecko well i feel in love with it but i noticed some thing that i think are wrong with him please correct me if i'm wrong the first thing is he has no humi-hide and he has shead skin left on his legs and toes and he also missing the tips of his toes the second thing is that he's in a woden tank with only sprinkled sand on top also he put the under tank heater inside the tank and just put a piece of glass on top i went to feel it and it burnt my hand to touch it i took a peek at the thermostate and it was 115 he says he keeps the pad on 24/7 with no thingie controling it... i talked to the pet store lady who's a close friend off mine plus i voleenter at her store says to pick 3 gecko for her to chouse from thier coming on the 22/23 of this mounth just when i come back from thunder bay... here's my list

1. leopard gecko fancy
leopard gecko albino/patternless
leopard gecko normal
2. white line gecko
3. panther gecko

 

[Jordan]

if your planning on getting more geckos at some point then your better to vget a female as females can be housed together. and males cant. however the problem of ovulating has been mentioned.
A pinkie mouse is okay to a gecko but only very rarely, like less than once a month tbh. its too fatty to be fed more often and can lead to obesity.

 

[Jordan]

maybe next time you see this gecko it might be worth mentioning that the skin left on its toes needs sorted. and mention that its too hot and a thermostat is pretty essential.

 

[bonus41]

ok i'm getting him this week on the 23 i have some questins i got a under the tank heater but the tank is on my desk and the bottom is flat i'm scared it will over heat so i'm going to buy a cookie cooling sheet and put that under there... i also got a inferred bulb 75 W but it gets hot fast and i forgot to mist the moss and it started to smell like burning so i turned if off for now. and i don't know what to feed the pet store that i work at sells supers and chrickets big and small what should i feed him and how much when i get him?
P.S i have a 10 gallon tank

 

[Jordan]

-you dont need the infra red just take it out.
-the under tank heater wont get too hot if you connect it to a thermostat.
-get a digital thermometer to check all your temps.
-forgetting to mist isnt a biggy, but remember you cant keep 'forgetting' stuff. like to feed it.
-if its a baby then get medium crickets( 2 weeks old crickets) or small mealworms. and dont forget to gutload or dust. feed him around 5-10.
-if its a adult then medium crickets would do again, but bigger mealworms. and feed the adults as much as it wants to eat. adults can normally stop when theyre full.

good luck. but remember to lose the infra red. IMO