About to be 1st time Leo owner!!!

[ladyjustice33]

So, I'm about to aquire a breeding pair of leopard geckos, one is albino, and both are very sweet. I'm not really into breeding them, but they have been togther since very little and would hate to seperate them. I've been reading up on how to care for them for hours but will appreciate any advice!!!

thanks,
Kat

[infernalis]

Super easy critters to care for.

Since I already breed roaches, mine eats them, no crickets.

[alessia55]

Since I already breed roaches, mine eats them, no crickets.

...you breed cockroaches?! :eek: ewww! lol

I've never had anything besides snakes so I can't give you any advice but I can't wait to see pictures once they've settled in! :)

[TeaNinja]

my leo was awesome, i often wish i'd kept her. maybe i will get another someday.

[youngster]

...you breed cockroaches?! :eek: ewww!

Actually many people breed roaches. It's pretty handy and I've heard it's super easy husbandry.

[ilovemypets1988]

pretty much the same care as a corn snake tbh, just the fact that they eat live insects rather than mice

[alessia55]

Actually many people breed roaches. It's pretty handy and I've heard it's super easy husbandry.
Oh, I don't doubt that it's handy or easy... just gross. The way the run around gives me the creeps! :p

[youngster]

Oh, I don't doubt that it's handy or easy... just gross. The way the run around gives me the creeps! :p

Haha I don't blame you, personally I wouldn't wanna do it. Partly cause it's gross and partly because I don't plan on having many more lizards. :P

[Lankyrob]

Roaches are easy to keep, lastic box, bit of heat, eggboxes, and raw fruit and veg to feedt hem on and leave them too it!!

[ladyjustice33]

Yeah...roaches aren't my thing either, lol !!! I've read Leo's eat a variety of crickets, grasshoppers, meal worms, wax worms and some other worms. Also read the occasional pinky mouse maybe once every month or so is a nice treat for them especially if the female is breeding. Read up on calcium powder needs etc.......anyone recommend a particular brand of calcium? I took a few pics of the Leos the other day.......not great, but at least you can see what they look like. The guy selling them knows my reptile guy and brought them to his shop, he's downsizing his collection and said the lowest he would go is $40 a piece, $80for both. They are right at a year old. Male is the albino one, he has one black spec on his head and female is the normal one. Her tail isn't in the pic, but it's there and nothing wrong with it, lol. My daughter said we will name them Ron and Hermoine.

[ladyjustice33]

They are both very calm and curious in temperment and I just love their beautiful gray eyes!

[youngster]

I use Fluker's for calcium. I think any kind is good as long as it has vitamin D3 in it.

[ladyjustice33]

Thanks Youngster!!!

[youngster]

Thanks Youngster!!!

No problem :)

[Gungirl]

Aww I love their little faces!

[alessia55]

My daughter said we will name them Ron and Hermoine.

lol! Great names..... I take it your daughter is a big HP fan
Well, Ron and Hermoine look great :)

[ladyjustice33]

Oh yeah!! The whole family are HP fans, lol !! I've read all the books about 3 times, and of course we love the movies even if they aren't as good as the books.

[infernalis]

Actually many people breed roaches. It's pretty handy and I've heard it's super easy husbandry.

There are a few things I learned along the way.

Mold is lethal to roaches, the fruit MUST be removed daily, or the mold spores will wipe out your roaches.

The temps need to be warm (around 95-100 degrees) to promote rapid breeding.

Leave all poop in the cage, the babies eat the adults turds. Clean it out and the babies will perish.

other than that, they are almost indestructible.


http://www.reptard.info/photo/roach.jpg

http://www.reptard.info/photo/roach1.jpg

http://www.reptard.info/photo/roach2.jpg

[alessia55]

Those pictures are gonna give me nightmares lol Wayne

Note to self: let fruit rot and clean up roach poop

[infernalis]

does this make it better?? ;)

http://www.reptard.info/images/leo1.jpg

[alessia55]

does this make it better?? ;)

100% :p :D

[Nismo89]

Roaches freak me out to! My fiancé got a bearded dragon and we have a roach colony for it but I told her it is strictly her responsibility lol. At first I thought I would be fine with them because the only other thing I am afraid of animal wise is spiders but the first time one crawled on me I couldn't handle how the legs felt. I'm fine with putting food in there and giving littler ones to the beardie but no adults lol

[TeaNinja]

some of my old girl

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/geckosleeping001.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko029.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko032.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko024.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/waterbowl006.jpg

[Nismo89]

Nice looking leos btw lady and your old one looks good as well tea. Someday I'll have a leo they are on the forever growing want list of reptiles lol.

[TeaNinja]

yea, she was awesome but i ended up rehoming her for a few reasons. i wasn't always home midday to switch from the daytime bulb to the nighttime, and housing crickets is super annoying.

[infernalis]

housing crickets is super annoying.


Roaches. 1
Crickets. 0

[ladyjustice33]

Ron and Hermione are getting settled in their tub. I have them in a large 24 gallon clear sterilit tub. They have a heat pad on one end under the tub and I am monitoring the temp with a indoor/outdoor digital themometer. I have a lutron dimmer on the pad to adjust the temp and the room is temp controlled also. They have a cave on the hot end and a humid hide on the cool end. Water, calcium powder. I used non adhesive shelf liner for the substrate cause the crickets kept getting under the paper towels. Much better than the 10 gallon tank with sand and no heat that they were in. The male is not shy at all. Ate a meal worm out of my hand (missed and got my finger on first try, lol) and has been hunting and eating the crickets. The female is still shy and nervous and the male hogged all the meal worms. I'm leaving them alone to settle in for a few days and if I see she isn't eating will feed her seperately I suppose.

[youngster]

housing crickets is super annoying.

x2!

blahblahblah (10 character min.)

[Gungirl]

blahblahblah (10 character min.)

Lmao thats why you add............ instead. I also agree crickets suck. When I get a lizard I am breading roaches. keep it simple, clean and quiet that way.

[ZARADOZIA]

Roaches freak me out to! ...only other thing I am afraid of animal wise is spiders ...

I agree 9999999999999.9999999%

I am from Florida, where roaches grow to a size that would make most Texans jealous. I have a roach horror story. It will make you laugh. My husband STILL laughs about it. I (really BAD BAD word) hate roaches.

We were stationed in Pensacola, Florida and had a nice little house, only problem was palmetto bugs, aka American Cockroach. Most don’t get much larger than 2 inches, but for someone that is CREEPED out by the nasty little buggers, 2 inches seems closer to 6 inches when they are flying across the room at you. Our Landlords sprayed monthly but I swear it was roach food instead of roach poison!

I was managing a bar back then. It was a Friday night and one of the servers called out so I was filling in and wore a pair of tight jeans with my lace up boots. Please take note: Tight jeans, calf huggers – lace up boots – the kind that are 6 inches above your ankle bone. Remember this for later.

I get home and my darling hubby was waiting up for me, playing a game in the office. I walk in, sit down beside him, and we talk about our nights. Then I see something fly across the room, I look up and it’s a palmetto bug! I become rather excited (I REALLY DON’T LIKE THEM) and begin pushing on my hubby and exclaiming that he needs to get up and kill the darn thing! He sighs at me, shaking his head, and finally gets up to take a swat at it. Well the lil bugger has moved to the ceiling and hubby grabs the fly swatter, takes a big swing, and “BAM” gone bugger. Can’t see it. Can’t see where it fell. I am beside myself trying to find it. We can’t find it. Hubby tells me to chill out, he sits back down, and we continue our discussion as if it never happened.

Next thing I know, I feel something sharp and prickly on my leg. I smack my pant leg. The sharp and prickly thing is now MOVING INSIDE MY PANT LEG. I am now screaming.

I’m fighting with the bottom of my jeans trying to pull them up my calf so I can take my boots off, so I can take my pants off. I can’t get my pant leg up. I am freaking the (bad word) out. Hubby is laughing his butt off at me. The sharp and prickly thing is now MOVING UP INSIDE MY PANT LEG.

I am now screaming at him to help. With his help, I finally get the pant leg up. I am trying to untie my boots, but the double knot somehow became a knot and I can’t get the darn things untied! I can feel IT WIGGLE. OMG!

Hubby is laughing EVEN HARDER and smacked my hands away and begins untying my boots with dexterous speed and finally frees my leg. I am jumping up and down, ripping my pant leg off as fast as humanly possible. He is literally rolling out of his chair, red faced, laughing, complaining his side hurts …watching me.

I crunched that lil bugger with my booted foot, crunched it again with the boot in my hand and rubbed it into the carpet. Screaming at my dear loving hubby, “THAT IS NOT (BAD WORD)’ING FUNNY! I TOLD YOU TO KILL THE (BAD WORD)’ING THING!” He says to me inbetween fits of laughter, “Hunny, look at you. You are on all fours, one boot on, one pant leg on, butt in the air, one boot in the hand, other pant leg sprawled beside you, reverently squishing a bug as if your life depends on it. YES THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!!” My reply, “Jackarse!” and I start laughing too because it really was funny…after the drama was over.

So ..uh…yea…I don’t do roaches! Give me crickets any day. I prefer spiders to roaches and I HATE spiders…but not as much as roaches….

[Gungirl]

LMAO... sorry for laughing but That must have been a site to see. I don't blame you for doing what you did. I probably would have done almost the same thing.

[youngster]

Hahahahahahaa! :D My cousin makes yearly trips to Guatemala and he told me a story once. He was making coffee over the stove and he took a mug of it. He took a couple sips before he noticed something rather big in his mouth. Swished it around trying to figure out what it was until he finally spit it out and found out, to his horror, it was a full grown roach! :eek::confused::shocked:

[Mikey T]

I laughed so hard at the pant leg story, I think I just peed a little ....

[jarich]

It was a good one. Anyone heard from Zara lately?! Miss having her around

[GarterPython]

I was actually wondering that too, Jarich. Most of her posts are either funny or very imformative.

[beardeds4life]

pretty much the same care as a corn snake tbh, just the fact that they eat live insects rather than mice

ummm no that is horrible advice the husbandry is way different