Incoming Leos!

[Chris Steele]

I am thinking of getting 1.4 leopard geckos. Can you guys let me know what all I am going to need first? What size tank for all those?

[Zoe]

A 30 gal long would be good for them, even 40 gal. You'll need substrate either newspaper, paper towel, sand, etc. Then you need hides, a water dish, a food dish and a dish for calcium. You need food (large crix, with some mealies, silks or waxies and the occaisonal pinky) that is to be dusted with calcium powedr every day, and with vitamins once a week. Then you need heat and light. You could get a heat lamp that provides both heat AND light, or you could get an infrared or ceramic heat emitor (or even a heat pad) for heat, and light by the sun or by a regular 40 watt.
Some of your hides (you should have at least 1 for each gecko) should be filled moist sphagnum moss for laying eggs and to help with shedding. My leos love sharing a large tupperware filled with moss with a hole cut in the cover.
Don't use cork bark because crickets burrow in it.

I think that's it
Zoe

[Chris Steele]

Thanks Zoe

[Samba]

I know you'd probably want to keep them all together, but, it would certainly be in their best interest (and as your investment this would be wise to consider) that you maintain the geckos separately during quarentine. Even if you bought them all from the same place, and they were housed together, this would be a great way to study them as individuals and double-check for health problems.

Each gecko can be housed in a 10 gallon tank with paper towels and a hide. (Don't forget food and water bowls). After quarentine the females should be fine together in a larger tank, such as a 30 or 40 gallon noted above so long as each has her own place to retreat. Generally the male is not kept with them, but this arrangment is up to the geckos and yourself. Hope this helps! Good Luck with them!

[Rebecca]

Don't use sand.

[Zoe]

Why not sand?

[JeffT]

Sand is very dangerous and will cause impaction. Besides that, how the heck did this rumor of "sand being their subtrate" start? They live on ROCKY / MOUNTAIN areas! And Chris, You should really read up on this stuff before-hand.

[Zoe]

I kept my fat-tails on half sand half mulch (as adults) and they never got impacted. Then again, they ate out of a bowl.

Leopard Geckos are originally from the arid, high desert mountains of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. In their native habitat they live in the nooks and crannies of the large rock outcroppings surrounded by sandy, rocky dirt.

Would sand mixed with, say, peat moss, work?

[JeffT]

Zoe, I only use solid things like large rocks to climb on, large stones and caves. Two layers of paper towel is my subtrate, I have had one leo die from impaction and guess what she was on? Sand and potting soil mixed.

[WingedWolf]

My advice would be to keep an eye on them if you use sand--if they eat it, remove them to paper towel. If they don't, good. Not all geckos will. I personally suspect it to be a possibly genetically-linked behavioral disorder.
I don't think labeling loose substrates as dangerous is the solution to it. I think careful observation, and possibly selective breeding is the solution to it.

Leos live in an arid to semi-arid grassland environment. The soil is sandy and rocky, and studded with grass and other plants. Plain sand doesn't duplicate it, but paper towels are a great deal further off. <lol>

[andrea1784]

I think that babies should always be started off on paper towel because their systems don't pass sand very well. Adult geckos can be Ok on sand but I would not put my geckos' safety at risk so that they can have a substrate you think looks nicer. I have had geckos 2 impacted, one from regular fine play sand and the other from calci-sand. Leos constantly lick the ground they walk on so sand could start to build up whether they intentionally eat it or not. If you do go w/ sand, check their poops often and look out for any sand in it. If there is sand in it then switch to paper towel asap.

~Andrea

[drewlowe]

i use paper towles for any leo under 6 inches. but will convert them to bed n beast after that. Ive used bed n beast for over 2 years now with no problems. It's not quite thier natural subtrate but i don't worry about impactation as much. but i've been to the zoo and talked to a curator. i'm going to be completely redoing thier cage when i buy my own house.

i also have a juvi housed on slate if you would like to see a pic look in my gallery

Ive tried calci sand- impactiation
lizzard litter - impactation
playsand- impactation

I won't use repti carpet cause of the risk of catching thier toes on it and possibly ripping out a toe nail or losing one of thier toes.

[andrea1784]

On a side note, if you are getting a group that was not originally together you should probably quarantine them before throwing them all together.

~Andrea

[Bartman]

I would tell you to get a 40 gallon tank atleast...the rule of thumb from what i have heard is you need to have 10 gallons for each leopard. so 50 should be what you get but i think 40 would be just fine. You would also need a heat lamp, fixture for it, probably a rather large water dish so you dont have to fill it up every day and it could last 2 days since they will all drink. You will also need ALOT of hides. I would suggest 2 main hides which they would go in a lot and than around 3 or 4 other little hides from cork bark or rocks. This will give them security and let them not be to stressed. I would also suggest that they are around the same size so a bigger on does not pick on the smaller ones. And when i had my 3 leopards together i had to make sure they all got the right amount of food because 1 of them was much quicker than the other 2. And i would say to use sand as subtrate when there older and the aquarium carpet when they are younger so they dont get impacted. Thats about all you would need.
good luck!