Newbie saying Hi...

ssscales

New Leopard Gecko fan!
Messages
271
Location
So FL.
Hi all, I've been lurking on here for two days now, after considering purchasing a leopard gecko for my daughter. I've been doing some initial homework and thought I should join a forum for the best advise. Initially we had thought of purchasing Crested Geckos due to their ease of husbandry and the fact that they don't require insects. That was going great, till we decided to visit a local PetCo for our daughter to see and handle one. The second the Crestie came out of the tank he was in, it leaped 3ft and landed on my daughters forehead!....LOL After a glass breaking scream, that was the end of the Crested Gecko as the Gecko of choice.

Just a little background:
Been keeping and breeding snakes for over 10yrs. My wife and I own and operate SSSCALES as a hobby in which we keep and breed Boas and dabble in Ball Pythons. We have kept and bred a number of Pythons to various Boas. We currently have 50 Boas and 20 Ball pythons in our collection.

In case you want more info and to see a few pics:
www.ssscales.com

The reason I joined is, I am doing some homework as my 10yr old daughter would like a Lizard. She has been around snakes since she was born and is in charge of cleaning baby tubs, water bowl, handling babies, etc, etc. Most our snakes feed on frozen rats which are kept in a freezer and thawed as needed. My daughter is 10yrs old and loves being around the reptile room, has her choirs around the house as well as in the reptile room. As mentioned above, she cleans the baby snake tubs, water bowls, handles all the babies to get them accustom to handling, etc. etc.

With that said, she has always had a thing with lizards and we've had a tough time finding one that is right for her. Monitors were never an option, a Bearded Dragon seems too much, we are searching for a lizard that does not require much in insects (mainly avoiding crickets!). Even though we don't mind picking up a dozen or so crickets once a week, keeping 1000's of crickets isn't for us. I liked Crested Geckos because they required no insects! I have been reading about Leos on most care sheets and it seems they do quite well on just mealworms, calcium and vitamins, this we can live with!

We've always loved Leopard Geckos, but again the assumption that they needed to feed on crickets and housing 1000's of crickets just wasn't for us. After doing a bit of reading, I've realized that many feed their Geckos mealworms exclusively. For some reason, I was under the impression mealworms were not all that nutritious and were not a good staple diet on their own. I've been reading a bit on mealworms and they are much cheaper than Silkworms, they can also be kept in the fridge for weeks at a time. This kinda solved the insect dilemma we had with the issues of crickets or the expense of Silkworms.

We have a 20gln long tank that we planned on using for starters and a 55gln vivarium we could move one or a group of Leos to if needed down the road. We were also hoping they would be enjoyed visually in her room Vs in a sterilite tub. I've been researching substrates such as Repti-Sand, but may just go with Slate to avoid any risks, not sure yet. Also Slate is a one time purchase, wipe clean with some Virosan and take out once a month. Then again I may just use Kraft Indented paper or reptile carpets.

Forgive my newbie-ness, lizards are not my thing at all. Should I look for a hatchling, juvi, adult for starters? Is Slate a better choice Vs Repti-Sand or is there another brand of Sand that is better suited for Leos?

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks
Gerry
 

eyelids

Bells Rule!
Messages
10,728
Location
Wisconsin
Welcome!

I think it's best to get juvis because they seem easier to get on a normal feeding schedule than new adults. Slate is probably your best substrate choice if vanity is important. Otherwise I'd say go with paper towels. Best of luck!
 

ssscales

New Leopard Gecko fan!
Messages
271
Location
So FL.
420Geckos said:
Welcome!

I think it's best to get juvis because they seem easier to get on a normal feeding schedule than new adults. Slate is probably your best substrate choice if vanity is important. Otherwise I'd say go with paper towels. Best of luck!

Thanks for the response, I've been told everything from young adults are best as they are more established to hatchlings are best in order to acclimate them myself and accustom them to handling as most adults bought from large breeders are not handled frequently, etc, etc.

The tank they will most likely go in is a display tanks in our living room. I know from have 100's of snakes at a time that good looks isn't as important as ease of maintenance and cleanliness, but we're hoping the Gecko tank will be somewhat of a display for one or a group down the road. I think Slate may be the best choice for us or the reptile carpet, we'll just make sure to get 3- sets. I've already order the Exoterra Rock terrarium background. I'll use 11" Flexwatt as UTH attached to an extra Helix Thermostat I have laying around.
 

ssscales

New Leopard Gecko fan!
Messages
271
Location
So FL.
Thanks everyone, I'm not really a huge lizard fan, but I am blown away by the beauty of these lizards and everything breeders have done with them.
 
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