I have my heart set on getting a leopard gekko once I start work and have my own place and I've been doing some research about them and have a couple of questions.

I won't be moving into my own house until October and probably won't be settled there until November. I'd really like to start with a fairly young leopard gekko so I can watch it grow up and change it's colours - how long does the breeding season go on and how fast do they grow? By November will all of this years hatchlings look pretty much like adults or will the younger ones still be showing some of their hatchling colours? I know that as a first timer I shouldn't start with a tiny hatchling anyway but one that is still growing and changing a bit would be great.

Second question is, how long can you leave a leo unattended? I am not planning on abandoning it and I realise that if I go on holiday etc it will have to be boarded somewhere (or I'll have to make some rep loving friends!) but will it be OK if I go out after work and leave it from 8am to 10pm, or go away for a night and leave it 24 hours? I suspect that a young one would need me to be there morning and evening but as an adult could I leave it with a dish of mealworms and water for 24 or 48 hours or would it scoff them all in the first hour, poo in it's water bowl and be very unhappy by the time I get back?!

Just want to be sure of what I'm getting myself into before I commit to getting one

When i got my first leo in December she was tiny, now shes more than doubled in size, so yeah they grow fairly quickly. Im not sure about breeding seasons as ive never bred them before (just beardies and anoles).
If you put plenty of food in for him in the morning then there should be enough to last till you get back. Then feed him again at bedtime.
Ive got a 5 week old and i feed him twice a day.

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Thanks for that - if you got a tiny gecko in December they must still be hatching quite late in the year so I shouldn't have too much trouble finding one that's a couple of months old.

Sounds like when it's young I'd need to be feeding twice a day - what are peoples views on leaving adults for 24 or 48 hours? I am a bit worried that my new work might send me away overnight at fairly short notice and I don't want to have to keep disrupting a gecko by boarding it out but I don't want to neglect it either - checking I could give it a suitable home really.

Well leos are nocturnal lizards anyway so they are asleep all day (usually).
As long as there is plenty of food and water then it should be fine.
Adults only need to be fed once a day. Unless you get a greedy one.

__________________
3.2.0 Bearded Dragons
2.2.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Budwinged Mantids
1.1.0 Chinese Mantids
1.4.0 Border Terriers
julie2bb@hotmail.co.uk
Add me as a friend on msn

To be perfectly honest, the gecko probably won't notice you're gone all day at all.
An adult does not need to eat daily, either - we have two adult males who are fed once a week; more than that makes them FAT.

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Lizards: 2.2 E. macularius, 1.2 H. caudicinctus, 1.0 R. ciliatus, 0.2.1 A. fragilis, 1.1 T. merianae, 1.0 V. niloticus ittibittius
Colubrids: 4.4.8 P. guttattus, 1.0 P. guttatus X E. climacophora, 1.0 P. o. rossalini, 1.0 P. o. lindheimeri, 0.1 E. anomala, 0.1 C. radiatus
1.2 Lamprophis spp, 1.0 L. g. nigritus, 0.1 L. g. californiae, 1.0 H. n. nasicus
Boids: 1.1 E. c. maurus, 0.1 E. conicus, 4.1.6 P. regius, 1.1 A. maculosa
We HAD a three-bedroom house... Current lodgers: 1.0 E. c. maurus, 1.1 E. c. loveridgei