Why Do You Keep Leopard Geckos?

[happy gecko]

I'm just curious as to what you like most about the leopard gecko, or why you like to keep them. The reason for this question is I was just curious as to what motivates you to keep a creature that you rarely get to see? As you can probably tell, I had a bad 1st experience with leopard geckos. I got frustrated really fast about having to clean the cricket cage daily, and I would not be able to get even a glimpse of the animal I was maintaining. All work with no fun (not seeing gecko) is................not fun.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Well, "happy gecko," it depends on what kind of job you have. I work from 6:30 a.m. until the afternoon, and sometimes I have night classes and meetings until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. When I get home I fix my dinner, proofread essays, and when I look up it's 11:00 p.m., my geckos are out and about, waiting for their food and handling time, and I see them a lot!!!

They sleep during the day when I'm not there, anyway, and they get active when I do, so....

If you want to see them during the day, there are a few tricks. Look under the housing section at pictures of the caves some people have - those that you can stick to the glass wall of your tank with a magnet, and where you can look inside and see your geckos.

Also, your leos might get used to your schedule at some point of time. How many do you have? From my 28, there's one that is always active during the day, demanding attention early in the morning and any time someone looks into the cage.

If that doesn't happen for you, I suggest you get some day-active geckos, too

Chrissy

 

[LeapinLizards]

I keep them for purely selfish reasons.

I have a VERY stressful job...we are in the process of starting our new business (a bar) and things are crazy stressful at this point in time. I stress out all day long, so when I come home it's nice to be able to have something to do that is not stressful, and almost therapeutic. It calms me down being able to feed them, clean tubs, etc. Not to mention they are gorgeous animals.

When I was 16 I started having unexplained seizures. Terrible ones...the most violent you can have. Since then I've had 8. Out of the 5 neurologists I saw, all were unable to explain them (I do not have epilepsy), and came to the conclusion that they were stress and lack of sleep induced. So as you can imagine...stress reducers are not just necessary in my life, they are vital.

They are much more than geckos to me...I feel like they give me piece of mind back, and keep me from toppling over the edge and being TOTALLY crazy It comes down to taking care of something else, and not caring about myself, and MY problems, even for a fraction of the day.

However crazy all that may sound, it's the truth.

 

[puckett26]

I keep them for a few reasons, for one I am very intrigued by reptiles in general. But at the same time I am pertrified of snakes. I like to look but not touching lol. I kept turtles but that got too expensive and I have kids that like to touch and I dont want to take the risk of them getting sick from putting fingers in there mouth. So i tried geckos, they are easy to set up, easy to care, and I can interact with them. Its kind of amazing watching them grow much like I wacthed my own kids grow. My kids can hold them, friends and family that come and visit can hold them and they seem just as relaxed as if they were sitting in their cave. I only have 3 but I plan on getting more to try breeding once or twice, but thats a different story

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Interesting Question

That is an Interesting Question for a GeckoForums Member.

As for me ... Peter was acquired for a Boy Scout Merit Badge for my son.

Peter's name was changed to Peter de Gecko as a play on words.

When I read more about Leopard Geckos and determined Peter's sex, his name was changed to Petra de Gecko.

Then, I read more about Leopard Geckos and went to a Reptile Convention and found Snowy.

Petra de Gecko is a normal and Snowy is a Super Mack Snow.

Then, I read more about Leopard Geckos.

As for the initial reason to buy a Leopard Gecko it was the Boy Scout Merit Badge.

Since I work during the day, I can come home at night and feed them.

You can introduce day/night simulation by providing lights so you can effectively make it so that nighttime ends when you come home.

I wanted a pet that did not need a lot of interaction but, that did interact with me when I was able to be with it.

A Leopard Gecko provides that interaction. I understand that it does not really need me and I understand that it is not a Dog or a Cat.

I get to enjoy the Leopard Gecko when he comes out (at about 7:00pm) and the time spent seeing them is fine with me.

Different animals have different requirements and different lifestyles. Since I understand that it does not bother me.

As for Crickets, Mealworms, Super Mealworms, and keeping any other feeder insects that is the cost of doing business or the cost of having a Leopard Gecko.

Lizards are interesting or fasinating. So the ability to observe one in ones own home is ... wonderful.

In nature, we may see a Lizard but, we do not see it on a daily basis. So the fact that we can see and even caretake for one of nature's interesting creatures is simply AWESOME.

In life we make choices. Sometimes we just do not have the time. We are very busy. However, sometimes you have just got to stop and smell the roses.

Since we are so busy we rarely have time for anything else. If you have a family then, you find that you really do not have anything at all with work, or school, or continuing education, or children, or children's activities.

The keeping and care of one of God's or nature's creatures helps to bring us back to an understanding that there is more in the world than just us. We can become less self-centered.

While there are many reasons that others may have in ... Caring for a creture that you rarely even see, those are my reasons.

A large part of it is in maturity and in understanding ones self.

For many other's it is a waste of time and would not care even a little bit.

Life is about choices. So you have to learn to make the choices in life that have meaning to you.

For some your choices will seem rediculious, for other's they will seem weird, other's will not care and for even other's they will think it is fantistic.

Now since we are talking about keeping Leopard Geckos then, if a person decides to keep Leopard Geckos then, who if any body should care. This is not a moral decision nor it is a not an action where someone else should be tollerant.

So I can understand your feeling that keeping a Leopard Gecko is
Not Fun" but, I believe that you do not understand why one would keep a Leopard Gecko.

You have to look inside yourself to find you own answers as to what you would like to have in your own life.

We all make our own decisions as you will make your own.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Let me add

That while I was composing what I was writing, the previous postings were done while I was gathering my thoughts.

And as you can tell there are many different reasons for people caring for Leopard Geckos.

Hopefully, you will one day become a proud owner of a Leopard Gecko.:main_yes:

 

[happy gecko]

Thank you for the replys everyone, and sorry for my hot-headed moment. I worded my previous question VERY badly, and I probably did the same on the question below.

Really what I was trying to get at is how often do you see your gecko throughout the day, and if there were any ways so that the gecko would be active earlier in the evening. So I guess this is more a question of gecko behavior. Generally, do your geckos stay active, moving about the tank, after you've fed them in the evening (ie: if I fed them at 5 PM, would they be active from 5 until bedtime?)? Would a regular houselamp in the room prevent them from coming out? Also, can you handle leopard geckos? Say like once every other day or so? That would be cool- some personal 101 time with your gecko and could fully apreciate it's BEAUTIFUL colors. That's probably the most frustrating part for me- they are SO darn beautiful, but they have to hide in a dark cave during the day! If only they basked in full view like a bearded dragon. I will definately look into some sort of hide that allows me to view them through the glass (like the Exo-Terra magnetic hides).

Until then, I'll just have to do with pictures of Tangerine Tornados from The Urban Gecko as my desktop photo

 

[Bennayboi]

I only see my gecko out of its hiding spots inside its tank once every few days at best. Leos tolerate handling very well if you let them get accustomed to you. So if i want to see mine i just take her out for 20 minutes or so. IMO, crickets arent worth it to use. They really are a pain. Worms or roaches are very low maintenance and dont smell/die. I imagine bearded dragons are much more rewarding as far as viewing and personality goes.

 

[acpart]

I know what you mean about the caring for and not seeing part, but not with a leopard gecko. In addition to my leos and other lizards, I have a gold dust day gecko who lives in a beautiful terrarium but who is very rarely seen. I have moments where I feel frustrated that I don't even know where she is in the tank, but then it's really special the few times that I actually get to see her. In my case, though, I have a bearded dragon who's active during the day and also have enough leos so I can always see someone. It sounds as if you are usually around and active yourself more during the day than at night. Well now I'm going to say something that may horrify people, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway. I have been known to pick up my resting leopard geckos out of their hides during the day. Often it's because I want to see what they look like in natural daylight, or I knew someone was going into shed the night before and I want to see if they got everything off. Despite this, none of my leos seem to be neurotic.

One way you may be able to interact with your gecko is to hand feed it. Even if it's in the hide, if you drop a cricket or mealworm in front of it, it will often come out and catch it. Eventually,they start to expect food when they see your hand. This is a mixed blessing, but if you don't mind them getting that habit, it can be very rewarding.
Good luck,

Aliza

 

[Bodon]

I took a client to ***** and we were looking at some animals and i saw house geckos and when i saw how cool they were and how cheap i wanted one so i came home and did research and saw they just werent for me, thats when i saw leopard geckos. i looked them up and got hooked big time so i went and got my first one a few days after that and ive been hooked ever since.

 

[DanTheFireman]

Most of mine are like me, up at all hours.

 

[happy gecko]

Thanks for the very informitive post acpart. How many times a week do you handle your gecko in broad daylight?

Do leos stay active after they have been fed, or do they crawl back into there hides again? Also, do they stalk mealworms the same way they stalk crickets? That was one thing I always looked forward to in the evening, seeing them shake there little tails off, almost giddy with excitement.

Well I guess I'll just have to get one and see from there, as all leos have different personalities. Although at the very least I should see them when they are fed and when I have to clean the tank (maybe I'll clean the tank every day ), right?

 

[filardimarg2]

I have only had my Leo's for 5 days, but i already think they are super little pets. I got into this very late in life, i'm now 62, but do love it, i have 2 corn snakes & my 2 gecko's. I do sometimes feel frustrated that they are all in bed when i'm up & vis-versa but i will have my gecko's out in the evening when they are settled in their new home, give them a few more days yet. I also have a German Shepherd dog, so do have some company dueing the day, she is flat out at night.
Marg.

 

[kyahbean]

I love my little AFT. AFTs are a bit less active than leos, from what I've read, so maybe if the laziness isn't your favorite part about keeping geckos then you would prolly want to pick a leo over the AFT.

When I first got him (which was less than a week ago) I had a lot of unneeded stuff in his cage, and he hid a lot. I never got to see him. He had this huge moist hide you couldn't see into, and I was kinda feeling frustrated. But I switched his tank around, got rid of the big hides, and left it with just a little half coconut, and I switched his moist hide to a little tupperware container that you can see through. It's foggy enough that he still feels safe inside of it with the lights on, but see through enough that I can watch him sleeping and turning during the day if I'm home.

Even watching him sleep makes me smile, because he's just so darn cute!

Also, I got one of those moonlight night viewing bulbs, so that I can watch him at dusk and at night before I go to bed. When I switched that from the regular daytime house bulb I was initially using, he started coming out a lot more.

 

[Libby15]

My son has a great love for animals, like me. We have a dog and a tropical fish planted aquarium. We had the 29 gallon aquarium, so I did research on which pet would be best for it. We had initially wanted African Dwarf Frogs, but his dresser couldn't handle the weight of the water.

The leopard gecko is working out very well and my son loves him.

 

[acpart]

Thanks for the very informitive post acpart. How many times a week do you handle your gecko in broad daylight?

Do leos stay active after they have been fed, or do they crawl back into there hides again? Also, do they stalk mealworms the same way they stalk crickets? That was one thing I always looked forward to in the evening, seeing them shake there little tails off, almost giddy with excitement.

Well I guess I'll just have to get one and see from there, as all leos have different personalities. Although at the very least I should see them when they are fed and when I have to clean the tank (maybe I'll clean the tank every day ), right?

I'm not home much during the day on weekdays. Usually I would take out my babies during the day to see how their colors were changing in natural light, so I'd bring them outside. Of course, I wouldn't do that now because it's so cold. They do stalk mealworms somewhat, but don't get as excited as they do for crickets.

From reading this latest post, I'm getting the impression that you had a leo at one time, don't have it now and are considering getting one? Am I right? If so, how old was your previous gecko and what happened to it? If your previous gecko was a juvenile, it isn't surprising that it would spend all its time in its hide. Juveniles tend to do that moreso than older geckos because they're wired to "know" that they have a greater chance of being prey. Also, geckos do have different temperaments (I think I may have already said this in a previous post). For example, I have one adult gecko who does and has always spent just about all her time in hiding. I wouldn't even contemplate selling her to someone because she will definitely be no "fun" (and this is after handfeeding her for 2 years --she still doesn't see me as anything special). By contrast, I have another adult gecko who, when he isn't brumating, will come out to see me and loves to be picked up. He'll sit on my shoulder for half an hour and just look at stuff.

I can see these differences in temperament even with my older hatchlings. My advice, if you want to try again with another gecko is to contact a small scale breeder (I specify this because a smaller scale breeder tends to have more time to handle and get to know all his/her geckos) and ask for a gecko that seems to be more "personable".

Aliza

 

[happy gecko]

Wow! Your exactly right acpart. I got it as a baby (about 3" long, the distinct black bands). I don't remember exactly how long a had her, though she had grown quite a bit I thought (about 4"-5" I think, coloration all pale in the transition from bands to spots). By this time I was very frustrated with the crickets, so I returned her to the pet store (she was almost twice the size of her clutch mates ). Do you know any small scale breeders?

 

[2bacop]

If someone would have asked me 6 months ago if I would ever own a reptile I would have quickly said no and maybe even cringed a bit. Then my little Callista came to my work as a little hatchling barely clinging to life.I had named her Calvin, because I didnt know if it was a boy or girl. She came at the perfect time! I was stressed with my job, my grandmother had just passed away, and on top of that I found out that my dad had stage 4 lung cancer and I was only a senior in high school. When I would go to work I would immediantly check on her, give her medicine, and feed her, she eased my stress. When my dad passed away a month later I fell into a depression and the only thing that kept me going was knowing that this little helpless gecko needed me. She helped me come out of a depression and when a customer wanted to buy her I began to cry at the thought of losing her. I told the customer she had already been purchased and then went and bought her myself. I have had her for a month now and I look forward to coming home every night to feed her and take care of her. I have even gotten past my fear of bugs to keep crickets in my room for her (altough I dont think I could ever do roaches!) She is everything to me, I have learned that even a cold blooded animal can have a warm heart!

 

[acpart]

Wow! Your exactly right acpart. I got it as a baby (about 3" long, the distinct black bands). I don't remember exactly how long a had her, though she had grown quite a bit I thought (about 4"-5" I think, coloration all pale in the transition from bands to spots). By this time I was very frustrated with the crickets, so I returned her to the pet store (she was almost twice the size of her clutch mates ). Do you know any small scale breeders?

Where are you located? It would be good if you can get something from a local breeder so you can save shipping and so you can see them in "person". There are lots of breeders on the forums. You could click on some of the "sponsors" at the top of the page and contact them. You could also post something in the "wanted" section of the classifieds and see who contacts you.

ALiza

 

[Bling_my_leo]

I keep leopard geckos for just the meer joy of having them. I love them, and they are just great to have around.