What gecko morph should I get?

[Spots]

Okay...so I have two options:

1. Getting another normal leopard gecko from pet smart on Spots' birthday to honour her passing away.

2. Getting one from a breeder at the canada reptile expo this september


What do you think I should do? Are there breeders who go to these expos that mass produce their geckos that I should be concerned about? If I get a new gecko from a breeder, I like the idea of getting one that is not a normal so it won't be like I'm replacing Spots. Is there any morphs that are "easier" to care for? I was looking into the mack snow or super snows. I want one that will still have spots on it when it matures though. Any ideas?

 

[adam&nikki]

there will be a ton of geckos at the expo i cant wait to go myself just to give you a few names the bearded gecko has a ton of nice geckos and are very nice people to talk with if you have any questions. The urban gecko will be there aswell

hope this helps but definatly stop into the bearded gecko booth some of my colection comes from them and they are some of the healthiest geckos i have

 

[Northstar Herp]

I'd highly recommend option #2 with prior research and maybe contact with a member of this forum who will be vending there. You could start a thread in the "shows" section to find out what members will be there with their leos, and go from there.

 

[adam&nikki]

I'd highly recommend option #2 with prior research and maybe contact with a member of this forum who will be vending there. You could start a thread in the "shows" section to find out what members will be there with their leos, and go from there.

and i just named 2 of them that will be there but there is always a ton of geckos but i just named 2 that ive dealt with and are very happy with

 

[thegeckoguy23]

If it were me I would wait for the gecko...It really depends on what you wanna do.



Jake

 

[T-ReXx]

Okay...so I have two options:

1. Getting another normal leopard gecko from pet smart on Spots' birthday to honour her passing away.

2. Getting one from a breeder at the canada reptile expo this september


What do you think I should do? Are there breeders who go to these expos that mass produce their geckos that I should be concerned about? If I get a new gecko from a breeder, I like the idea of getting one that is not a normal so it won't be like I'm replacing Spots. Is there any morphs that are "easier" to care for? I was looking into the mack snow or super snows. I want one that will still have spots on it when it matures though. Any ideas?

Option #2. Definately. A gecko from a reputable breeder will almost always be healthier than one from a chain store. As far as care goes, all morphs aside from enigmas have the exact same care requirements. Do a bit more research. I highly recommend both Mack and Super Snows, but then, I'm a bit biased. Both will retain spots at adulthood.

 

[adam&nikki]

Option #2. Definately. A gecko from a reputable breeder will almost always be healthier than one from a chain store. As far as care goes, all morphs aside from enigmas have the exact same care requirements. Do a bit more research. I highly recommend both Mack and Super Snows, but then, I'm a bit biased. Both will retain spots at adulthood.

what do you mean all morphs are the same aside from egnigmas? they are the same as any mack snow super snow , tang , ect some do have a really bad syndrome but the care is just the same and any other morph

 

[T-ReXx]

what do you mean all morphs are the same aside from egnigmas? they are the same as any mack snow super snow , tang , ect some do have a really bad syndrome but the care is just the same and any other morph

That's not necessarily true. Enigmas that have severe syndrome often require hand feeding etc. Aside from that care is the same yes, but as a less experienced hobbyist, I want to be sure the OP knows that some enigmas may require a bit more care time invested than other leos.

 

[fuzzylogix]

i agree with ted on this one. i have an enigma snow that has to be hand fed. takes me about 20 minutes to feed her 4 supers with feeder tongs. to tell you how bad it really is, i covered the bottom of an empty hatchling tub with supers and put her in there. she missed every single one of them. she aims high and to the left, so i've gotten good at moving the tongs at the last moment so she can hit the worm. but other than that her care is exactly the same.

 

[Northstar Herp]

I'll third that one. I thought about mentioning to be careful about getting an enigma when I first responded, but decided to leave it out for some reason. I think especially given the OP's recent experience with leos, an animal that is likely to have some special needs should be avoided.

 

[Spots]

Thanks for all your help. I'm excited to go to the expo but I'm afraid it will be overwhelming lol. I definitely will stay away from the enigma. I hand fed Spots as she got sick but it didn't go so well. She was calm enough for her medications though but it was heart-breaking to see her get worse as she was on the medications so I don't think I could handle any more geckos that need special attention.

I was thinking of a crestie too but that's totally different care from a leopard gecko right? If anyone has both, what would you say is better (care-wise...no need to start debates on which is the better kind lol)

Also, I am not from the Toronto area so I would have to drive about 3 hours. Will this stress the little guy out too much?

 

[Northstar Herp]

I wouldn't worry about a three hour drive at all.

IMO, there are several reasons why a crestie is a more attractive starter herp than a leo (ease of husbandry), but if you already have the stuff for a leopard gecko, and you have experience with them, maybe another leo would be good. Cresties don't need supplemental heat, but that can be a bad thing if your house gets hot in the summer. They don't need insects if fed a quality diet like Rapashy MRP, they don't even need extra calcium because Rapashy diet includes it. There are a couple of other reasons why I think they are great starters, but they aren't husbandry related like the above reasons.