[atkinsww]

Hi there

From my title you may all be thinking this is just an impulse buy, but trust me, it isnt. From my profile you can see i'm 16 and this may suggest a gecko wouldnt egt the care it deserved, this is also wrong hehe. I keep 2 very damendaing fish tanks and I'm jsut after a different hobby to follow, and i've heard that crested/leopard geckos are some of the easiest reptiles to keep, and i would lke to find out more information about the leopard, so i'm asking the community to help please

Now onto the questions:

1- Tank size? I was thinking about buying a terrarium that is 45x45x45cm made by Exo-Terra. Would this be acceptable? If not, please reccommend another enclosure that would be rated better.

2- lighting? I read somewhere that lighting only has to be one side of the enclosure? In this case, would the above terrarium be good? And the light doesnt have to be a heat lamp as Leo's are nocturnal, so is there a special reptile light to buy? Please can you reccommend one/a brand if something special is needed?

3- heating? I am under the impression that a heating mat is needed for half of the enclosure so the reptile can have a warm/cold side in their home, is this correct please?

4- decoration? I am a fan of natural looks, I hate anything artificial, so this means that all decorations and substrates need to be natural looking. Do Leo's like rock and wood/branches? If not, please advise me of the decorations they need.
In terms of substrates, am I correct in thinking reptile mats are the safest form of substrate as opposed to sand/bark?

These are the main questions I have at the moment as they cost the most money. Also Top Gear is on now so I need to post quickly

Another question quickly is, are private breeders better as opposed to shops? If yes, are there any good breeders in Norfolk please?

I will have many more questions for this thread so hopefully it will be active hehe

Thanks in advance, I know there are a lot of questions but as with all pets, you need to know as much as possible to save you from getting it wrong at the start and trying to correct errors whilst keeping the Gecko.

Will

 

[atkinsww]

bump?

 

[piglet37]

The fact that your 16 wont matter, im 15 :2thumb:


1- That is a good size for geckos

2- lighting? They do have to have a heat lamp, and we have a reddd bulb too so that we can watch them in the evenings. They also need a UV

3- heating? Yep the heat mat should cover half to a third of the enclosure

4- decoration? they like things that they can hide in during the day, like hides and stuff which you can buy from pet shops. You can get either live or fake plants for them to hide in an a shedding box with spagnum moss in it


In terms of substrate, you will find that no 2 people agree, and you are right in that lots of people are against loose substrates cos of impaction, but the mats and stuff can look less natural. People will all reccomend different things.

Private breeders do seem to be better than shops, as shops have a habit of conning people, but it should be a reputable breeder. As for near Norfolk, i live in Gloucester, so i dunno

 

[freekygeeky]

ive just added my 2pence worth (IN RED)

The fact that your 16 wont matter, im 15 :2thumb:

i started at 10 - i now have over 100

1- That is a good size for geckos

personally i woudlnt use glass for leos, they dont hold heat that well.

2- lighting? They do have to have a heat lamp, and we have a reddd bulb too so that we can watch them in the evenings. They also need a UV

They dont have to have heat lamps infact most peopel dont use them
And they don tneed UV again most people dont, they can also cause eye problems, leos are nocturnal...they dont spend their time in the sun

3- heating? Yep the heat mat should cover half to a third of the enclosure

with STAT

4- decoration? they like things that they can hide in during the day, like hides and stuff which you can buy from pet shops. You can get either live or fake plants for them to hide in an a shedding box with spagnum moss in it

I personally woudlnt use spagnum moss ive had problems with it, i also dont use anythign fancy it gets too pooey! and i dont wanna spend my time cleaning poo, lol, so mine get boxes carboard boxes, loo rools etc better for enviroment too

In terms of substrate, you will find that no 2 people agree, and you are right in that lots of people are against loose substrates cos of impaction, but the mats and stuff can look less natural. People will all reccomend different things.

i have had problems with im paction and have used bark sand lino an dnow paper.

Private breeders do seem to be better than shops, as shops have a habit of conning people, but it should be a reputable breeder. As for near Norfolk, i live in Gloucester, so i dunno

i live near norfolk, my OH lives in norwich, and i have two for sale.

 

[piglet37]

yeah toilet roll tubes are good, and they love them. We bought them an expensive hide and they hardly go in it, give them a toilet roll tube and they love it!!!

 

[piglet37]

oh and sorry, yeah i forgot to mention that glass isnt a good idea, ours are in a viv

 

[freekygeeky]

oh and sorry, yeah i forgot to mention that glass isnt a good idea, ours are in a viv

did you pet shop who told you that your geckos can liev togeth (when they probably cant) also say that you need a bulb and you need uv?....

 

[piglet37]

yeah... im starting to get the impression they have told us a load of crap???

 

[freekygeeky]

yeah... im starting to get the impression they have told us a load of crap???

your correct...
quite a bit they have told you is cr*p.. so i woudlnt pass your info on.. lol
otherwise peopel new to leos will think its correct also. you really do need to seperaqte your male at least seriously.

Sorry OP it went a little off topic then

 

[piglet37]

Some people said yes get a UV and some said dont, so we kinda thought, well in the wild they would have sun even if there not out during the day so would surely get UV, so got them a UV light. Is this not right??

 

[freekygeeky]

Some people said yes get a UV and some said dont, so we kinda thought, well in the wild they would have sun even if there not out during the day so would surely get UV, so got them a UV light. Is this not right??

you can use uv but its gotta be the right one, not to high, most people dont. leos woudl be hidden away under rocks etc they dont bask out in it like (for example) beardies...(its more important for them)

 

[piglet37]

ok, sorry then Will, you probably dont wanna listen to what i said :blush:

 

[piglet37]

its a 5% UVB it wont do any harm will it? Sorry for going off topic, im just worried im not doing things right

 

[atkinsww]

dont worry about the thread going off topic, it was useful info.

So, please can someone give me a simplified version of what is needed exactly to keep a leopard gecko optimumly?

 

[freekygeeky]

dont worry about the thread going off topic, it was useful info.

So, please can someone give me a simplified version of what is needed exactly to keep a leopard gecko optimumly?

i have a fairly simple one on my website

Welcome - Home

 

[atkinsww]

Thanks for the website but I couldnt find the link to the equipment needed?

 

[boaboy888]

hi

exo terra is fine viv 4 them

 

[shell2909]

exo terra is fine viv 4 them

but as Freekygeeky pointed out glass doesnt hold heat as well as the wooden vivs. also if your looking for a more natural set up a wooden viv would look better anyway

 

[boaboy888]

yeah wooden would look better but glass is cheaper

 

[shell2909]

yeah wooden would look better but glass is cheaper

and thats not very good advice! just because its cheaper doesn't mean it will be better!