I've been to a few different places an seem some absolutely gorgeous leos. We are seriously consiering getting one, but really don't know much about keeping them (ie set-up, care). Any help or websites with goo info would be apreciated. Don't trust any info I get at pet stores after the mess of info they gave me about caring for our brown anoles... about 90% of the info was wrong. Again any help or directing me to a good source of info would be great. Thanks in advance.
Keeping leos is real easy. A 10 or 20 gallon should easily suffice for a single leo. A pair can be kept in a 20 or 30. But, as with most reptiles, don't house 2 males together Have a look in the knowledgebase and the FAQs here. There's a few care sheets in there I wrote, and some that other members have written. If there's any other questions, just post 'em in here
I agree that one of the best things you can do is read care sheets to acquaint yourself with leopards' needs. There is also a very good book, "The Leopard Gecko Manual", by Philippe de Vosjoli. You can get it at www.geckoranch.com. I recommend that you read as much as you can.
I hope I can help, by explaining what is working for me. you may need to set up your environment differently depending on your specific environmental factors. I have a 20 gal. tank. My place gets cold at night, so heating is a big concern. I think the best idea is to seperate your heating system from your lighting system. If you use a basking bulb for heat, when you turn it off at night, the heat drops. Leos need a hotspot temp. maintained at 88-90 degrees for proper digestion. 40% or less humidity to prevent respiratory problems. Heating surface: on the bottom of the tank I use an Under Tank Heater with sand aprox. 1 and a half inches deep. I do this to keep the surface tremp from getting too hot. I find that the more sand Over the U.T.H., the cooler the surface temperature is. You can place paper towels over the sand to keep your leo from eating it, but there needs to be a buffer layer of some kind of substrait over the U.T.H. It is possible to use a build up of paper towles as well, but I find that sand holds the heat and maintains it better then towels. (So again If your leo is a Juvinile, place towles over the sand to prevent them from eating it.) Heating air: At night the temp in my place gets down to 70, so on the top of the screen I have a 250watt ceramic heat bulb which emitts heat and no light, so it can come on day or night without disturbing the light cycle. I have both the 250watt Ceramic heat bulb and the U.T.H. on an Alife thermostat. On the hot side I have a piece of drift wood that the leo's climb on and/or bask under (this is why you need to heat top, and bottom). On this drift wood, I have placed two temp probes. One probe is for the Alife thermostat; the other is for my digital thermometer. Both Temp. probes are directly over/under the heat source. This makes for much more accurate control over the heat which is absolutely critical to the digestion and well-being of these desert creatures. I maintain a "Hot Spot" temp. of 88 degrees to 91. I do this by setting the thermostat to click on when the digital thermometer reads 88. I watch the heat rise, and wait for the thermostat to click off, and check the temp at that point to make sure it's not too hot. From that point, it self maintains. Hides, Decorations, tips on feeding: In the middle of the tank I have a small rock cave that they sleep in all day. I find them in the humid hide on the hot side at night. On the cool side I have a large rock cave with three doors. This is the "Cricket cave" and I have a small dish with cricket feed/gutload inside. I have a small "glass" food dish behind the cricket cave where I offer meilies, or sometimes waxies. If it is empty, I leave it because Crickets get stuck in it, and that makes them easy to catch for a hungry leo. This dish has smooth sides to prevent prey from escaping. A rock dish of water, and a small dish of Calcium with B3. Lighting: At night I use a 30watt nocturnal black heat lamp; not for heat, but to simulate moon/star light. I have it off to the side but not on top of the screen, cause it's plenty bright enough to watch the action. I don't want to cover the screen on the cool side and trap heat. For the day time I use a standard 50 watt on a 12 hour timer. General: For heating a 15gal, if your room maintains a good temp day and night, you can probably use a 100watt ceramic bulb for your heater, but I definetly recommend a thermostat, and a digital thermometer so you don't cook or freeze them. Make sure that you are taking your temp. at the hot spot, and remember that at the back of the tank, the anologue thermometer can sometimes read 10-20 degrees cooler then it is at the hot spot. Don't forget the UTH because Leos love a warm belly. As these are desert creatures, they like warm rocks, preferably smooth, but I strongly advise you not to use a "Heat Rock" in the tank, because these can burn the skin of a leo. Conclusion: The most important thing is that your environment is setup and maintained with proper temp, and light, and hides, and basking logs, etc. for at least a week before you bring your leo home. You want to make the transition as stress-free as possible. Even with a proper environment it will still take your leo a little while to get used to it. I wish I could post a picture of my tank, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. if I could post a pic, I'm sure that this wouldn't be as wordy. Hope my advise helps you. A0. lso if I am doing anything wrong, or left anythin out, tell me anyone who wants to reply. Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. :mrgreen: CBJ [Edited on 30/12/2002 by CowboyJoe]
