Im getting a leapard gecko for my birthday.but what all does it need!......?...?

Answer 1

I am pleased you asked that question , as it proves to me you will care for it well.
you need as much information, on this exotic pet as you can find .
It is very helpful to find someone locally who actually keeps them as well so you can have first hand tips .

I hope you have a great birthday
and you and your Leopard gecko, do well for many years to come
>^,,^<

meanwhile sift through these useful sites ;



Leopard Gecko Care Sheet
A summary sheet on the care of the leopard gecko. ... ... a leopard gecko that was a family pet for almost thirty years!
http://www.pythons.com/lg-care.html

LEOPARD GECKO CARE SHEET
A detailed care sheet to help the reptile hobbyist in caring for a Leopard Gecko.
http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html

Leopard Gecko
... pattern mutations since 1991 when the first designer leopard geckos hatched. ... The leopard gecko is becoming the Koi Carp of herps.
http://www.leopardgecko.com/

Leopard Geckos
This information on the care of the leopard gecko is that which has been successful for me in the care of my geckos. As with any animal, PLEASE
http://members.aol.com/msnick1/leopardgeckos.html

Leopard Gecko Care Sheet
Gecko hatch lings should be fed 1/2 inch crickets and adults should be fed 3 ... Mating for the Leopard Geckos can occur in January or ...

Answer 2

I am a reptile specialist and breed leopard geckos as a hobby so I hope my knowledge comes in useful. One leopard gecko needs a 20 gallon tank. They can have a 10 gallon until they are 6 months old and then then need a 20. In addition, they need a heating pad that goes under half of the tank. This creates a heat gradient (a warm end and a cool end). Under no circumstances should you get a heat rock. Those things burn reptiles all the time. You also need a UVB/UVA light for the top of the tank and a ceramic lamp. For a 20 gallon tank you need to get a 75 watt and for a 10 a 50 watt. The heating pad stays plugged in all the time and the light goes on in the morning off at night. Some people like to have night bulbs but that isnt necessary unless it gets rediculously cold in your house at night, then I would recommend a red bulb that only emits heat.

Okay, so as for decorations and what not. You want to get two thermometers, if you get the sticky strips place them on the inside of the tank as close to the substrate (the stuff you have on the bottom of the cage) as possible. That way you are feeling what the gecko is feeling. They need a place to hide (a half log works), a water bowl big enough for them to climb in and a worm bowl (so their mealworms dont bury themselves in the sand and turn into beetles). For substrage I would recommend the reptivite or the Vita sand. Both are a fine calci-sand and are digestible because leopard geckos are known for eating their substrate. Many people will tell you different things but bigger, grainier sands can make the gecko impacted.

Food: Geckos eat mealworms and crickets appropriate to their size. Other geckos can eat flies but not leopard geckos. Mealworms can be kept in the fridge and crickets you can either keep alive in a kritterkeeper with cut potato and carrots or you can get them everyother day from a petstore. But make sure there are worms in their bowls at all times. Also, they need their crickets and worms to be dusted with a calci powder.

Last but not least, something you can have that is optional is another water dish with moss in it that is wet at all times. This will help with shedding and when I got my first leopard gecko no one told me about this. When they shed, they eat it so you wont see it most of the time. Be careful of their toes though because if the skin is stuck in there and dries, they can loose their toes. If you see dried skin on their toes, soak them in luke warm water and gently pull it off. Oh! Make sure you only get one. If you get a baby you cannot tell if its a male/femal until its over six months old. Two males will kill eachother.

They are wonderful pets, I love mine. Good luck!

Answer 3

- atleast a 10 gallon tank with a screen cover and clips, 20 gallon long being better tho.
- a clamp lamp with a red heat bulb, i use a 75 watt on my leopard gecko who is in a 20 gallon long.
- an undertank heating pad hooked up to a rheostat so you can control the temp as a secondary heat source
-hide boxes or hidy logs, one on each side of the tank
- a good digital thermometer so you accuratly measure the temps on the hot side, warm middle, and cold side.
- a good book on leopard geckos
- vitamin powder to coat the crickets atleast once a week
- a good petstore that carries crickets or you can order boxes of crickets at http://reptilefood.com
- a safe substrate, i use dry coconut fiber that comes in a brick form that i expand in a bucket of water. It is safe if ingested and allows the gecko to dig. Eco Earth or Bed a beast are good brands. Do not use walnut shells, calci sand, vita sand, and bark substrates.
-a moist hide. A small tupperware container with a lid with a hole cut out on the side so the gecko can get in and fill this with moist spaghnum moss so the gecko can get humidity when he wants it.
-a shallow water dish with fresh clean water daily.

Answer 4

Congratulations! And congrats on doing your research before getting your leo. He will thank you for it :)

You need something to house him in. A fishtank will do nicely. I suggest no less than 15gallons, but if someday in the future you want to get a couple more leos, a 20-30 gallon tank would be nice. That way you can decorate it nicely, too.

There are lots of substrates out there (stuff that goes on the bottom of the cage). However, leopard geckos tend to eat some of it when flicking their tongue or catching crickets, so you have to be careful about impaction. If they eat too much of it, or if it's very cohesive, it will collect in the intestines of your leo and cause impaction. So, paper towel is really the easiest way to go. Just lay a layer or two down on the bottom. You can replace it every week or whenever there are some poop spots.
You can also go with bed-a-beast (ground coconut shells) or calci-sand. They are both pretty decent substrates; the risk of impaction always exists with any sand or dirt substrate, but it's rare with calci-sand or bed-a-best. Another option is to put down lots of slate rock.

You will need a good lid for your tank. You can probably buy a tank and screen lid, used, for 10-40$. You can also make a lid with wire mesh and wood frame for 5-10$.

Leopard geckos need heat. DO NOT use heat rocks, they can burn your gecko. Instead, use a heat lamp. They have clamps which you can attach to the side of the tank (ABOVE the mesh lid). Do NOT put a heat lamp INSIDE cage - it will burn your gecko. You can also put a heat pad under the cage (the zoo-med type), but that is less effective. They like to sit UNDER warmth, rather than on top of it. You should get a thermometer to monitor the heat... The warm end (under the light) should be 85-88F, and the cool end should be 82-85F. This can drop a few degrees at night.

You will need cage decorations. You can some pieces of driftwood from the petstore, as well as rocks, half-coconut shells and other cave-type decorations. You should have at least two real hide boxes (you can buy some from the petstore, or make some out of tupperwares with holes cut in the lid), one at each end of the tank. At least one (the one at the warm end of the tank) should have some sphagnum peat moss in it, which you can keep wet. Your leo will go there to shed (they need high humidity to properly shed - if not, their shed skin can stay stuck on their toes, which can eventually fall off :(

Leopard geckos are very active and curious, so provides lots of stuff for them to climb on / into / under. Even paper towel roles are great. If you can to use live plants, DONT use cacti (obviously) - pothos vines are great, and will help keep up the humidity.

You will also need a water dish. It should be shallow enough that your gecko can't drown in it. Keep it full with fresh water, ever day.

And of course, you will need to provide food. Crickets should make up 80% of the diet, and you can also feed them some mealworms, waxworms and silkworms occasionally - but not too often, because they have a high fat content. be sure to dust all your crickets and bugs with calcium with D3 and vitamin powder. Do a shake-and-bake kind of thing. You can also put a small dish full of calcium for your leos inside the cage.

Here are some pics of set-up cages:
http://www.vmsherp.com/images/LearningCenter/LeopardCage.JPG
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/jmilsrt4/Picture004.jpg
http://www.crestedgecko.com/lgbreedersetup2.jpg
http://mk23.image.pbase.com/u37/ultanoleman/small/24258077.S2010259.jpg

If you need more info, read up on caresheets. You can find plenty if you google "leopard gecko care"
http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html
http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html

Good luck!! :D

Answer 5

Large tank. Peat moss (no rocks) heating pad that goes under the tank, plenty of place to hide plants logs things like that, thermometer, barameter, large thing of water, they like to bath, and Vitamin D powder, you can get it anywhere...And finally lots of crickets or pinkie mice

Answer 6

You can allow geckos to run loose or keep them in a cage or terrarium. They need some warmth and eat flies, crickets and other small insects.