i want to keep geckos, any advice?

Question

Hiya, i would like to keep a pair of geckos, i would like some that are easy to handle and like being handled, i have heard that different typed of geckos are more handlable then others? What else can i do and how much is it roughly gonna cost in GBP?

Answer 1

If you're new to reptile keeping, i'd say your best to opt for a Leopard Gecko.

One Leopard gecko is quite happy to live in a 20 gallon tank, although bigger is always better. The more Gecko's you keep the bigger the tank should be. When fully grown they usually reach about 6-7 inchs.

Never keep 2 males together as they will fight, and results may be severe. 2 or more females can live quite hapilly.

In the UK they cost around £35 upawards depending on age and type. When purchasing a HEALTHY Gecko, check for these signs :

Bad Signs :
Runny eyes.
Unremoved shedding.
Discharge around mouth and eyes.

Good Signs :
Active.
Eating well or showing an interest in food.
Bright colours.
Bright eyes.
Fat tail.

I own one and find them quite beautiful. They seem to have a little smile spread across their face. If handled reguarly they will become tame, and even enjoy sitting on your shoulder! :]

I read that they can survive with even the most abcent minded owners, which is quite sad actually as they shouldn't have to.

If you did consider purchasing a Leopard Gecko make sure you provide a hide on each side of the tank where the lizard can escape to for refuge. Provide more if you are keeping several Geckos. You should have a 'hot' side and a 'cool' side.
The hot side should be where you place the heat mat UNDER the tank, and the basking bulb.
A water dish is best kept on the cool side.

I find reptile carpet is a good substrate and very easy to clean. Dry droppings can simply be hoovered up.
For tank decorations, rocks/pebbles, fake plants and logs are all great.

Leopard Gecko's can't stick to glass or climb very well as they do not have the suction pads on their feet as other Gecko's do. So no escapees!

Their diet mainly consists of Crickets, brown or black. Although I prefare black as they survive longer.
Juveniles (babies) should be fed around 5-10 crickets per day. Adults should be fed around 4 every other day. Food items should be no bigger than the Gecko's head.

All food must be live and dusted with a good reptile calcuim. You can also treat your Gecko to Wax worms, Meal worms, Moths, and any other small bugs you can get your hands on! I'd suggest you get these from a pet store though as ones brought in from the wild may contain paracites or have pest sprays on them which will be harmful to your Gecko.

Overall in my experiance i have found Leopard Gecko's to be wonderful,facinating and enjoyable pets to own.

Good luck with whatever decision you decide to make. :]

Look at this little fellows big smile! :

http://www.antiquark.com/blogimg/leopard_gecko.jpg

Answer 2

I've never kept geckos but Leopard Geckos are always recommended for beginners. They are easy to keep and handle. I've included a few links to get you started. There are many different colour morphs of Leopard geckos so one should take your fancy! The 2nd site listed has a lot of photos so you can see the different colours. They also have a price list. If you are starting a set up from scratch you will need a vivarium, light, heater, substrate, hide, water bowl, food, thermostat and geckos! It can be a bit pricey to start with. www.livefoods.co.uk has a list of all these things to give you some idea of cost. Hope this helps and enjoy your new pets!

Answer 3

First & foremost- stay the hell away from Tokay geckos. They look great and make neat noises, but they are viscious little bat's terds with incredibly strong jaws. The leopard is a better choice and is probably the only other readily available/affordable choice. A leaker aquarium with an inascapable lid some newspaper on the floor a branch a little hiding box an upside down lid for water and live crickets (compare pet store price to baitshop) should put you in the gecko business. Cost unknown but pretty cheap

Answer 4

you could get a pair of breeding geckos for about ££150-£200 depending on the type of gecko you buy. Lizards have a great appeal for someone looking to buy a pet. Maybe it is the gross factor that so many lizards evoke in people or maybe it is the amazing differences between lizards and common house pets. Despite the reason, it is important to understand that lizards can be some of the hardest pets for which to provide care. Many require special lighting and temperature monitoring. Geckos are perhaps the easiest lizards to make a pet. They have been commonly bred in captivity and are well adjusted to being kept as a pet. Gecko species vary as do colors and sizes. Buying and caring for a gecko requires some basic knowledge about gecko’s and understanding about their needs.

Gecko’s naturally come from different climates, such as rainforests, deserts and grasslands. The average size of a gecko is 8 inches long. They are most often characterized by their feet which have sticky pads on their fleshy toes. Their eyes, which are large and provide excellent vision, are covered by a protecting membrane that the gecko cleans with its tongue. Most geckos are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. Males and females are easily distinguished apart because the males have a “v” shaped pattern of large lumps at the base of their tail. Geckos are meat eaters or carnivores. The smaller species usually eat mealworms and crickets. Bigger gecko’s can feed on pinkie or feeder mice. There are around 400 different species of geckos. Many geckos live between 20 and 25 years. While these lizards are usually less “scary” when compared to others, do not let there somewhat cute appearance fool you, they still require a fair amount of work to care for them.

Answer 5

i just got a leopard gecko they are easy to take care of but they dont like to be handled alot and the cost of starting out in american dollars was 150 for one including the housing, heating mechanisms,food, dishes and his little houses inside the terrarium and i got off cheap but on the upside if you are handling them they are ground dwelling so you wont have to chase them as much as other geckos. And it is so cute how he stalks around his little house like he is way bigger than 8 inches

Answer 6

I would suggest Leopard Geckos, Eublepharus macularius. They are a terrestrial desert species from southwest asia, and they are easy to care for, become very tame and are quite long lived, with longevity of over 20 years in captivity. They are also easy to reproduce in captivity.

They should be relatively inexpensive, about 15 to 20 GBP each.

Answer 7

I have dozens of geckos on my veranda walls, and watch them most nights.
It takes commitment though to keep them in a vivarium. They only eat live food, otherwise it would be easy. Snakes might eat once a week. I had a snake when I was young, only took a chicken egg a week and was very clean (unlike those bloody hamsters).
But geckos need a daily feed. So that means you either catch stuff everyday or keeps insects as well.
It's what has kept me to an aquarium, otherwise I would definitely go for a vivarium.

Answer 8

GBP???

Well the only geckos I have seen are wild ones in Maui, they crawl on your walls at night, and they are very fast too. Just be careful grabbing them because you can easily pull their tail off on accident, it is like a safety measure for them.

Go to a local pet store and ask them about geckos, they can help tell you about the cages, their diet, cost, etc. Or simply do a google search for pet geckos. I love geckos.

Answer 9

leopard gecckos are great beginer gecko.use a 25 gallon tank with aheat pad and heat lamp. a uvb lamp would be abig plus for the geskos.for substrate, iuse ground english walnut shells.adults cost about 60 dollars usd. if there are reptile shows near you , you can get all these supplies for a lot cheaper yhan retail.jim z is getting info off kingsnake.com, which usually has animals from private breeders, so i would suggest getting some on the website

Answer 10

Get 2 female leopard geckos.They are gentle and easy to handle providing you never hold their tail.

Don't get 2 males as 1 will be killed in a fight and a male and female pair never works-the male will harass her for sex too much.You need 3 females at least for every male.