Leopard Geckos Anyone?

[jenfur]

I am thinking of getting a leopard gecko for myself and the kids (ages 5-10) and have read good things about them so far, but I woudl really like to know if anyone here has any personal experience. I fully intend to be completely responsible for all of its care but the most important thing for me is its temperment and how easy it is to handle. I have always stayed away from small lizards because they seem to be really nervous and I would be afraid of "losing" it. I have read these are not as nervous when they reach adulthood, but how long is that? Any information would be helpful, theres lot on the web, but actual experience is preferable.

 

[poohandwendy]

Hi!

We have had leopard geckos for about 6 years now. We currently have 5. We started with 2 adults and, soon after, the female started laying eggs! What a surprise! (we really were unsure if we had opposite sexes to begin wth)

We quickly learned how to incubate the eggs (which are soft and leather like, not hard) and hatched 6 out of 10 (we were new to this, LOL). (they lay 2 eggs at a time) Unfortunately, the male died a few years ago, but the 4 babies and mom are still doing great!

They are super easy pets to own, what specific questions do you have?

 

[poohandwendy]

I have read these are not as nervous when they reach adulthood, but how long is that?

That is true, they are much less 'feisty' when they are adults (about 2 years old). For us, the trick was making them get accustomed to walking on our hands in their cage (our cage for the four 'babies' is an 4' X 1 1/2' aquarium with about 2 inches of sand and rocks on the bottom).

We put our hands down on the sand, near them, and allowed them to smell us. Then we gradually handled them very near the floor so they can get away. This process takes some time, and it should be gradual so that they don't become annoyed by too much handling. We also have the babies cage in our game room (right by my PC desk, actually) and the couches and TV are on the other side of the room. I really think it helps to have them in a busy room of the house so they are used to noise and people.

One of our geckos, I swear, is determined to 'get' our dog...she wants to pounce on the glass to get at him, it is so funny to watch. I guess she doesn't realize that size DOES matter. IMO, it is also best to do the handling a couple hours after feeding.

The mothers cage is in my daughters room and I think she is more shy because of it (although she is fine with my daughter handling her).

They actually are very low maintenance, regardless of what the books say (about the perfect humidity and temp and all) as a matter of fact....

Years ago, we had a baby get loose (somehow jumped out of the aquarium) and was gone for 3 weeks...I found her in the game room (she had somehow gotten downstairs!!) Actually my golden retreiver alerted me of her presence!!! I think he was totally freaked out by it and didn't know whether to attack it or fear it!!!! Judging by the other baby that was born at the same time ...she had grown LARGER while she was enjoying free reign of the house....no food water bowl... (and this was in January)...So, even though they cannot climb glass, it is a good idea to have a lid (epecially if you have other pets)

 

[bjgrazi]

On Tuesday I purchased a leopard gecko for my son. The kid in the pet shop scared me about taking care of it. But thanks for putting my fears to rest. I think they're cute. I'm just curious as to what everyone feeds theirs. We brought crickets, but it grosses me out having to feed them. (I hate bugs)

 

[poohandwendy]

We feed ours crickets and sometimes pinky mice...ewwww. The crickets are gross too, but they aren't cute, so I don't mind seeing them die....

 

[Maleficent13]

There was a bar near us that was closing and one of their draws were a couple of leopard geckos in a glass enclosure. Some friends and I were there on the last night open and asked what they were going to do with the geckos. Their response was: "let them die"!!! They hadn't fed them in forever and had turned off their heat!! Well, one of my friends took them. One of them died shortly afterwards (he was too sick to save), but he's had the other one (named Art...get it? Art Gecko...) for almost a year now and it's doing great. It's very skittish but I think that's because of the way it was raised before my friend got him.

The cricket feedings aren't too bad...when I watch Art I just kinda hold the end of the bag they come in and shake them in the cage.

 

[jenfur]

Thanks for all of the info.

Do they ever get agressive, like biting or tail smacking?

Do you always use live crickets?

Is a 10 gallon aquarium enough room for one baby to begin with?

Do you use any special heating lights or humidifiers?

Maleficent13- WOW, that was really great thing to do, most people wouldn't have given the poor things a second thought!