Leopard Gecko Advice

[Nicholasdeaan]

So I'm getting a leopard gecko tomorrow. I've kept salamanders and such before. Love em! I know the basics and have everything set up for him when I go get him tomorrow. I just need opinions. I'm torn between using wood chips or sand for substrate. I see there's a lot of talk of sand causing impactation on here. Yet, I see many people breed them and use sand, never having problems for years. So which one is the better option? Or could it be just a lizard to lizard basis, depending on if they'll eat it or not?

 

[FlChamMom]

Generally the fear on impaction from sand is for baby and juvi leopard geckos, I had adults do great on sand. Take a look at natural planted enclosures though. There are some awesome vivs online using soil and natural plants- the thought is that it mimics their natural habitat and allows the geckos to dig and burrow. Leos are awesome pets, be sure to post pics!

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I shall look into that! Yeah I've noticed it's common with younger Leo's. Do you think Eco Earth and something alike would suite him until he reaches adulthood? I plan on using sand when he's an adult but don't want to until then.

 

[oneillchameleons]

As with any substrate, unless you are adding living organisms (springtails, isopods) it will harbour bacteria and make cleaning difficult. To each their own but over the years I've abandoned substrate with all my reptiles in favour of easy cleaning.

 

[kinyonga]

I never used any substrate for babies but I did use washed playsand for the adults and it worked well...they all lived for over 19 years. I put curved pieces of bark from firewood I had in for hides and clay wine coolers too. The plants were usually artificial. Since leos usually use one corner of the cage for the washroom it made the cages easy to clean....just take out a good amount of sand from that area and shove all the sand towards that corner and add some new sand at the other end. I used clay saucers from plant pots for a water dish and changed and cleaned them daily. I had a few rocks in the cage too for decoration making sure they were sitting firmly on the floor of the cage so the leos couldn't dig under them and get squashed. Some had uvb lights and some didn't. They were on shelves so that the light on the shelf below heated the cage above. The lights were at the fronts of the shelves so the back half of the cage was cooler. I put a small lid from a juice bottle in each cake with calcium in it. I misted one end of the cage to provide moisture in the hide at that end leaving the other end dry. I kept three females to one male in each cage. Once in a while a baby would end up in the cage having hatched from an egg I missed digging up. I dusted the insects like I do for the chameleons.

Hope this helps.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I never used any substrate for babies but I did use washed playsand for the adults and it worked well...they all lived for over 19 years. I put curved pieces of bark from firewood I had in for hides and clay wine coolers too. The plants were usually artificial. Since leos usually use one corner of the cage for the washroom it made the cages easy to clean....just take out a good amount of sand from that area and shove all the sand towards that corner and add some new sand at the other end. I used clay saucers from plant pots for a water dish and changed and cleaned them daily. I had a few rocks in the cage too for decoration making sure they were sitting firmly on the floor of the cage so the leos couldn't dig under them and get squashed. Some had uvb lights and some didn't. They were on shelves so that the light on the shelf below heated the cage above. The lights were at the fronts of the shelves so the back half of the cage was cooler. I put a small lid from a juice bottle in each cake with calcium in it. I misted one end of the cage to provide moisture in the hide at that end leaving the other end dry. I kept three females to one male in each cage. Once in a while a baby would end up in the cage having hatched from an egg I missed digging up. I dusted the insects like I do for the chameleons.

Hope this helps.

That helped a lot actually. I'm going by your guidelines basically. I've got one dry hide and another warm hide. Thanks for the other tips as well! I'll post pics when I get him here shortly.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

As with any substrate, unless you are adding living organisms (springtails, isopods) it will harbour bacteria and make cleaning difficult. To each their own but over the years I've abandoned substrate with all my reptiles in favour of easy cleaning.

I'm not concerned about whether or not it will harbor bacteria. More concerned with impactation occurring. I went with sand. If I notice a lot of sand in his fecals I'll switch immediately. But I feel it's better and more natural. A glass bottom to walk on isn't natural to these guys.

 

[WilcoxAE]

I actually just rescued two leopard geckos last week and will be following this little post here.

I used to raise them but all my memory of their care seems to have gone out the window. Chameleons feel so much easier....HA!

They can over-eat like beardies right?

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

That's actually the only thing I need to know is a good, hardy feed schedule. I read several and have been debating on which to follow!

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

Got a female today! She ate from the feeding tongs with in 30 minutes of having her home! She's a healthy girl.

 

[kinyonga]

Regarding feeding...for babies I feed as much as they will eat in about five minutes and then leave a couple of crickets in the cage so they have a snack. For adults, I judge how much to feed them by how fat or thin they are.