Richard Walker Leopard Gecko

Leopard Gecko information, care and sale

Basic Gecko Care

There are many sources on the internet for the care and maintanance of Leopard Geckos so I have compiled here some of the basic but also fundamental aspects of keeping and maintaining healthy Leopard Geckos by fulfiling their basic needs. You will often come across conflicting advise on certain subjects, 

Food/Water

Leopard Geckos will eat a variaty of livefoods including Black and Brown Crickets, Meal Worms, Super Worms, Wax Worms, Locusts, Roaches, and Pinkies (Baby Mice). Their staple diet would be mainly of Crickets, and then a mixture of the above for variation. Wax Worms should only be given as a treat or for 'fattening' an individual that is looking particularly thin or recovering from injury (such as tail loss) I have not had any experience with pinkies but I beleave you can try feeding a fully grown Leopard Gecko with one occasionally so long as it is the smallest of pinkies. If unsure I would stick to the others. The Crickets are going to need gut loading because whatever nutrients there are in the Crickets is ultimatley going to be digested by your Geckos so healthy live food equals healthy Gecko. I gut load my crickets for at least 24 hours before feeding by giving them Cat food biscuits and fresh vegetables such as Carrot and Brocoli. There is also gut load powder available at most Reptile Stores although in comparison it is quite costly. In addition the Geckos need a Calcium Supply especially if you are breeding them as they will need the extra calcium to produce lots of healthy eggs. This can be Left in the vivarium all the time in a little feeding bowl or dusted onto the crickets prior to feeding. Finally a Gecko developed nutrient dust will be required once a week just to maintain levels of all the Geckos mineral and nutrient requirements. A water dish with fresh water should be available at all times, watching out for drowning crickets, and unless you want to fill it up every 10 minutes place it as far away from the heat source as possible.

Heating/Lighting

Leopard Geckos are nocturnal and so when it comes to heating and lighting there is much debate as to the prefered option. The method i use is simply my prefered method for a show vivarium. I use a basking light for day time and although nocturnal you will find a sleepy Gecko basking in the sun most days. The hot spot of the tank should be positioned towards one end of the tank to create a tempreture gradient so your gecko's can regulate their own body tempretures. Tempretures directly in the hot spot should ideally be around 88-92F. If you were using a heat mat there would be no obvious need for a nighttime tempreture drop although a seperate thermostat would be able to create this if you wanted to. Using day and night bulbs as I do (They are on timers so remembering to switch them off and on is not a problem) you will get a natural drop in night time tempretures when the bulbs switch over, to an extent I can only presume this recreates what would happen in the wild when the sun goes down. So for night time heat (when they are most active) I use a heat rock in combination with a moon glow bulb. The heat rock is often quite controversial as there have been stories of animals not realising the heat given out and burning itself. I have had no problems with my heat rock, all three of my geckos slumber on it all night and to touch it only warms up and never gets hot, with an inbuilt thermostat that will cut it off if it shorts leaving no risk to your pets. The heat rock is in essence a heat mat encased in a rock shaped facia, but as in the wild after the sun sets, objects like rocks retain heat that the geckos can absorb. The moon glow bulb releases a little bit of heat to keep up night time tempretures but also as the geckos are nocturnal it gives you a better chance to see your pets doing what they do.

Substrate

Again another factor with conflicting views as to the prefered method. I have seen people using Astroturf, Newspaper, Specialised Gecko sand and Cork bark to name a few. I like the look of sand especially when trying to recreate their natural habitat which is deserty and rocky although it is advised not to use sand with newborns or juveniles as they may swallow some sand and the grains may get impacted in the intestines possibly leading to the death of the Gecko (kitchen roll is simple, cheap and probably the best option for young Geckos. It is also advised to get special fine lizard sand so if any is swallowed it is less likely to impact, calcium sand is not a good choice because you don't want your Gecko's eating the sand to obtain a source of calcium, also regular builders sand or play sand should not be used as the grains will be too large causing a risk of impaction. From experience my Leopard Geckos are not allways the most graceful hunters often getting a face full of sand when successfuly catching crickets. In the year I have had them I have had no problems with the lizard fine sand.

Leopard Gecko Checklist

2Ft Vivarium or bigger (3ft viv can hold a male and about 3 females)

Heat source (Basking Bulb, Night Bulb, Heat Mat, Heat Rock)

Light Source (Remeber their nocturnal)

Substrate

Water Dish/Food Dish

Thermometer/Hygrometer

Hide/Cave

Ornaments

Source of Live Foods and supplies

Reptile supplements e.g Calcium powder and an allround gecko dust

 

If you have never kept a Leopard Gecko before then this is an idea of the equipment you are going to need in order to maintain healthy lizards.

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