PET Geckos care wanted?

Question

could anyone help me out with a list of things I will need when I get my Geckos? and some good Australian gecko care wed sites?

Answer 1

what kind of gecko would help me more with a good answer. I am going to assume you have leopard geckos so here goes:

The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), native of Pakistan, is a gentle, hardy, long-lived animal that is in many ways the perfect reptile pet.

Unlike their distant cousins the tokay gecko, leopards seldom even attempt to bite.

In a recent letter to the editor of Reptiles magazine, a reader noted a leopard gecko that was a family pet for almost thirty years!

Leopard geckos are also very easy to maintain in that:

· They reach only a foot in overall length, and don't outgrow a ten or fifteen gallon aquarium
· They pick a single corner of the enclosure to use as a litter area, facilitating cleanup.
· They are nocturnal and don't require the use of expensive UV light bulbs.
· They don't require high heat like bearded dragons.
· They eat mealworms and crickets, and don't require a vegetarian diet.
· Virtually all leopards are now captive hatched in this country, eliminating shipping stress and parasites found in imported iguanas and other lizards.

Descripton:

Overall the leopard gecko reaches a length of about 10 inches, and gets its name from the leopard like spots which cover the bodies of adult animals. Baby leopard geckos are born with dark transverse bands, which lighten as they grow into the spotted adults. Their general background color is yellow and lavender, although a number of new color phases have arisen through captive breeding. Some of the existing phases are animals with hi-yellow, white or lavender background color, striped, jungle and other pattern anomalies, and leucistic (actually hypomelanistic) and albino genetic mutations. Leopard geckos are members of the sub-family Eublepharinae, or the eye-lidded geckos. Many geckos lack eyelids, but the leopard geckos' are movable, which allow them to blink and close their eyes while sleeping. Toe pads, which are useful in climbing vertical walls and glass aquaria are not present in the leopard gecko. There are tiny claws on the end of the toe.

Like many lizards, the leopard gecko has a tail which breaks off readily when grabbed by a predator. This permits the gecko to get away if attacked, but leaves a valuable food resource behind; the tail is used as a fat storage reservoir for lean periods. One of the most notable traits about leopard geckos, which has led to their great popularity, is their unusually gentle disposition. Leopards in captivity appear to recognize their keepers, and are at times content to sit on a shoulder for hours. It takes a significant amount of provoking before a leopard gecko will bite.

Distribution:

Leopard geckos are found in southern Asia, in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Natural History:

Leopard geckos inhabit arid regions, particularly rocky deserts and sparse grasslands. They avoid sandy deserts. They are strictly nocturnal, keeping out of the heat of the day, emerging at night from holes and crevices to hunt for food. In the wild they mainly feed on a variety of insects, including scorpions, but will also eat other lizards. Animal often live in loose colonies. Leopard geckos are seldom found off of the ground.

Housing in Captivity:

The cage setup for leopard geckos can be as simple or elaborate, as you like. A single animal can be maintained in a ten gallon aquarium with a paper substrate. If you prefer, they can be maintained on reptile carpet, gravel or orchid bark. The use of sand as a substrate is not recommended for leopard geckos. They will occasionally ingest too much sand in their craving for calcium or accidentally during hunting activities, causing a sand impaction that could become quite serious. Basically, the cage substrate should be too large for them to swallow, and dust-free.

Leopard geckos will choose one comer of the tank to relieve themselves, and use it solely. This facilitates cleanup. You can place a piece of paper towel in the appropriate corner, and spot-clean quickly and easily. Leopard geckos require a cage temperature about 85F. A heat source on one end, which will provide a thermal gradient in the cage is recommended. This is best accomplished with heat from above; hot rocks do not provide the necessary cage heat, and have been known to cause severe burns. Red incandescent bulbs placed above one end of the cage not only provide the needed heat, but also provide light to view the animals in the evening when they are active. It is important that the nighttime temperature not drop too low (about 80 degrees F at the warm end) or the animals will not eat. As the geckos are nocturnal, expensive UV lights are not necessary.

In addition to hiding places at both the warm and cool ends of the cage, a plastic shoe box or small freezer container, with a hole cut in the lid, is provided for the geckos. Inside the box, there is a damp peat moss/vermiculite mixture. This hide box not only provides a place for females to lay eggs, but also provides the humidity required for the geckos to shed properly. In a ten gallon tank, there is usually room for just one hide box. This should be a moist box and the box should be placed in the middle of the tank. An alternative is to spray a warm corner of the enclosure 3-4 times per week. If a moist area for shedding is not provided, the shed skin may remain on the toes and constrict, eventually causing the loss of the toe.

Groups of juvenile or female leopard geckos can be maintained in the same cage. Young animals, however, must be housed with others of their own size, or the smaller animals in the cage will be dominated by the larger ones, and will not do well.

Food and Feeding:

Leopard geckos can be fed mealworms or crickets, with an occasional meal of wax worms or a pink mouse when they are older. When maintaining a large colony of geckos, mealworms are significantly less work than crickets. There appears to be no significant difference in health or growth rate between geckos fed crickets or meal worms. Wax worms are a good supplement or treat, but are too fatty and not nutritious enough for a regular diet. Start with a feeding schedule of once daily or every other day. Babies seem to prefer to chase their meals, adults will eat mealworms out of a shallow dish. Feed early evening if possible .The geckos soon learn when it is dinner time, and will come out of their hide boxes to eat. Some appear to enjoy being hand-fed. Feed as many mealworms/crickets as they will eat in a single feeding. If the animal eats what is provided, put in a couple more food items to see if they are eaten as well, to help gauge the correct amount of food. Be sure to remove any crickets that are not eaten in a feeding, as they will annoy and unduly stress the geckos. Baby geckos that are getting enough food will shed every two weeks or so. Adults should be hefty, but not obese with a nice, fat tail. Leopard geckos require a shallow dish for water and a calcium source. With many other species of gecko, crickets and mealworms need to be dusted with calcium; the leopard geckos will lick the calcium powder right out of a shallow dish if provided.

Health:

Leopard geckos adapt well to captivity and have been known to live 20-30 years. They are not highly susceptible to health problems, and seem to enjoy being handled. Like many lizards, their tails will break off as a defense mechanism if handled roughly. The tail will grow back fairly quickly, although it will not be as elegant as the original.

Breeding:

It is very difficult to sex leopard geckos before they are about three months old. At this time, the sexual characteristics of the male can be seen, especially if a magnifier is used. The male is identified by the presence of hemipenes, seen as bulges at the base of the tail.The male also has femoral (preanal) pores above the tail.The female has a row of modified cells where the pores would normally be, but there are no visible pores.

Answer 2

don't forget water. i have 13 geckos. My house geckos drink water I've sprayed into the tank off the glass and plants and my leopard geckos drink water from a bowl. My geckos only eat crickets and other small insects. Since they only eat at night I feed them at night. Try keeping a piece of carrot or a wedge of an orange in the tank for any crickets that don't get eaten right away so the crickets don't nibble on the geckos. Also, an undertank heater on one side is important. reptiles need their tanks to have a warm side and a cooler side. They need a light on one side of the tank also. Blacklights work well for my nocturnal reptiles.

Answer 3

It does depend somewhat on what species of gecko you have, but some general 'musts' are:-

* Provide fresh water (in a shallow dish that the geckos can get in and out of easily - if they can't they could get stuck and drown).

* You can use paper towels, reptile carpet or reptile bark as a sustrate, but don't use sand as it is too fine. Your geckos could accidently eat sand with their food, this can then get stuck in their guts and cause what is called an 'impaction'.

* It is best if you have a heat gradient in your tank. Use a heat bulb or heat matt to heat the warm corner up to 85%s. Don't use a heat rock as these can burn your gecko.

* Geckos generally eat meal worms and crickets and when they are older you can add the occassional wax worm or frozen/thawed pinky mouse to their diet.

* You will need to supplement your gecko's diet with calcium powder. You can brush this on their food.

* Depending on the species of gecko (diurnal or nocturnal) you may need to provide UV light for them.

Please see the caresheets I've given you links to below for more information :) They are for a variety of different species of gecko that are kept as pets, hopefully one of them covers the species you have.

Answer 4

Im sorry i cant really help just wanted to say that we have geckos living wild in and under the house not sure what they eat but they are still alive

Answer 5

Well first you need ti find out exactly what kind and what size they will be at maturity, that way you can make sure you have the right size tank. Make sure you also have a heat lamp, they are noc-ternal so they will need a day heat lamp and a night heat lamp. They eat crickets, fruit, and dries flies.

I used to work at a pet store>>

Answer 6

water food (crickets) a tank heater plenty of places to hide like a log or a branch (you can get them cheap in a pet store) i should know i love animals and plan to work with them when im old enough thats all i can offer but i cant help u with the web site

Answer 7

this might help you....or give you some info

http://www.repticzone.com/

good luck