Fun With Geckos
There is a growing fondness among children and adults alike to care for Geckos as a household pet. Geckos are a rare breed of ground dwelling, nocturnal lizards commonly found in the more humid regions of the world. These reptiles have colorful, patterned bodies which serve as an aesthetic turn on to pet lovers, while the lack of eyelids of most of its species only contributes to its appeal. Distinctive to this family of lizards is an interesting set of toe pads which could efficiently saunter over smooth surfaces.
There are over 15 know species of Geckos, but the Leopard gecko and Crested gecko are favorite household pets. The preference over these creatures as pets is due to its fair size; in addition to an inherent hygienic nature observed in the handling of its feces that makes them manageable as pets. Apart from that, geckos are quite domesticated and typically non-aggressive, being toothless; which makes them safe to handle and play with. Pet shops normally have a handful of geckos readily for sale at very affordable prices and this only helps advance its growing popularity among pet lovers.
Anyone interested in rearing this pet can ideally start with a pair of geckos. The owner will simply need to purchase a 15 gallon tank which would serve as a terrarium or cage. To simulate the lizard’s natural habitat, improvised logs can be outfitted into the terrarium to provide a hiding place and climbing nook. Geckos, being nocturnal would thrive well in a dimly lit environment and the use of an incandescent bulb will help achieve such a condition. Geckos are insectivores and therefore feed on worms and crickets. Adult geckos can be gut fed every other day while young geckos would need daily nourishment.
Geckos are generally easy to breed. Some species have hermaphrodites and need not copulate to produce juveniles. However in breeding any gecko species, the pet owner should observe the practice of pairing only one male gecko for every group of female geckos. Moreover, it is recommended that females and males be made to interact rarely and only for the purpose of mating. There are also findings that the gender of juveniles can be controlled during incubation under the right temperature. This assumption however remains unsupported as of the moment.
The popularity of geckos as a household pet is supported by the circulation of literature related to the care and maintenance of these pets. Richard and Patricia Bartlett authored a complete owner’s manual for Gecko pet lovers which can be purchased online. On the other hand, should you be interested in rearing the Leopard Gecko species, you can check out retpile guidebooks or articles for this purpose.
About the Author
Renske Buursma, pet store owner with lots of helpful articles and a free newsletter about pet care at
http://yourhealthypetsonline.com
Leopard Gecko Care Humidity
The Leopard Gecko Habitat: The Importance Of Hide Boxes
Hide boxes are far and away the most important feature of a good leopard geckos habitat. That’s primarily because leopard geckos are nocturnal, meaning that they are only active at night and have an overwhelming urge to hide during daylight hours. Without hide boxes, your leopard gecko will feel very exposed, unhappy and under threat as long as it’s light in its terrarium.
Here’s exactly what your leo needs:
At least two hide boxes – one cool and dry, one warm and humid.
If you give your leo only one hide box, then it’ll be forced to use it during the day no matter what. This prevents it from choosing the temperature and humidity level that it feels like it needs. Remember that in the wild, cold-blooded creatures like the leopard gecko seek out different temperature and humidity conditions in order to self-regulate their temperature and to make it easier for them to shed when they need to.
Large enough hide boxes.
If you can fit them in the tank, then large hide boxes are much better than small. That’s because larger hide boxes will have a temperature gradient inside them while small ones won’t. A temperature gradient means that your leo can move around inside the hide box to get exactly the temperature it wants. If you can’t fit large hide boxes in the tank then put in extra small ones in different places, but also, make sure your tank is actually big enough.
Not to have to move from its hide box during the ‘day’.
In the wild, leopard geckos hide during the day and only venture out to feed at dusk, when it’s safer for them to do so. That means you shouldn’t try to feed your leo while its tank light is still on. If for some reason you need to do this (for example if you’re going out in the afternoon for the rest of the day), then put the food right near the door of the hide so that it can just stick its head out to grab it. Otherwise feed your leo in the early evening once its tank light is off (it’s ok if the lights in your home remain on, your leo will still react to the light going out in its tank).
A dark environment inside its hide boxes.
There are a lot of possible options for hide boxes. There are a wide range of commercially available hide boxes and if you want to make your own that’s not hard to do either. The important thing with any kind of hide box is that it’s something your leo feels safe inside, and that means that it needs to be dark inside of it. For this reason, choose a material that’s relatively dense (thin plastic won’t do it), and make sure that doorways are no bigger than they have to be.
Other articles will deal with other things required for your leopard geckos habitat, in the meantime, make sure that the hide boxes are right.
If you are truly interested in leopard geckos then sign up for my Free 10 day e-course right here: www.leopardgeckocenter.com
About the Author
Jo Morris is a leopard gecko enthusiast and author of the book ” Leopard Gecko Secrets Revealed “. To learn more about the leopard gecko habitat, visit www.leopardgeckocenter.com
Leopard spotted gecko trouble HELP?!?!?!?
okay my little brother took home a gecko to take care of for the summer. We have only had it for a day and it seems that the heat and humidity is low………..we have a heat lamp but noone knows how it works and we dont know hot to make it hotter or make the humidity go up…….any suggestions????
Ok i will tell you about the humidity first.
Humidity is one of the easiest things you can do. you should have 3 hides. in one, put in some paper towel, toilet paper, or moss from the store and mist it daily with water. place this hide under the heat lamp once you get it going, and the heat mixed with the wetness will get it humid… thats all they need. the whole tank does not need to be humid, just a hide. the other two hides should be one on the warm side, a dry one, and one on the cooler side, (the side without the heatlamp under it.)
ok so that does it for the humidity. OH! and if you only have two hides, you can make a humid one,… just cut a hole in a plastic container and put paper towel in it.
ok so the heat lamp. umm all i can say is… you need a heat bulb that you can find at the store and a fixture. it SHOULD look like this… this is the most common:
http://www.petco.com/product/9469/Fluker-s-Clamp-Lamps.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductList_Reptile_1-_-Fluker%27s%20Clamp%20Lamps-9469
just plug it in with a heat bulb that you can find at the petstore. a red or black one. you dont need a basking light (white). those are for bearded dragons and snakes. you could also get a heating pad for it like this one:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754085
ok good luck with your gecko!