Pegasus Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 (edited) DD11 has been lobbying for a leopard gecko off and on for over a year now. She's researched the care of this pet, the set-up and maintenance costs, etc. It's often a subject of her assigned essays. We currently have dogs (2), cats (2), and fish (numerous in 2 tanks). I have no strong feelings against adding a leopard gecko but thought I'd check here for any real life experiences. I mainly wonder if they are boring pets. Since they are nocturnal, do they just hide away all day and come out to be active once the family is in bed? I've already warned DD that they aren't pets that should be handled much so she won't expect to be able to take it from it's tank and play with it. Thanks, Pegasus Edited March 25, 2011 by Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 We love our leopard gecko, but no, we don't handle him daily by any means. lol He *does* like to come out at night, but that's when we watch him eat or occasionally bring him out. He seems very curious and will look at us, following us if we move along his tank! Pretty cute. He seems OK with being handled--but not petted--and sometimes he's finicky and writhes around so we put him back. Our bearded dragon is much more friendly and fun, IMO, for a lizard. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Dh & I had one before we had children. He was awesome. He did sleep during the day, but in the evening, we'd turn out many of the lights in the house (he had a heat lamp that didn't add light to his cage, iirc). That's when we'd pop a few crickets into his cage and watch him hunt - which was always entertaining to see him stalk and *pounce*. :D We got him out of his cage often and he'd hang out. You could scratch his head and he'd start to get droopy-eyed and then fall asleep. Total cuteness. The most exciting pet? Nope. But, he was sweet, gentle, cute, easy to care for, healthy (and easy to keep him so). Definitely one of THE easiest reptiles to care for. Easy-peasy. We wound up giving him back to the breeder once we had our first baby. I was paranoid about handling any reptile since our daughter had some health issues when she was born, so he didn't get much attention. The breeder found him a good home, so it was all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 We LOVE our leopard gecko. About the easiest pet one can own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skissugar Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 lol no but a gecko is running around my house somewhere currently does that count?? lol.. it ran inside when i took the trash out last night :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 My dc had 2 leopard geckos, and they were very easy pets. They were fine being handled since they had been held since they were hatched. My dc held them often. Babies are very fast, so you have to be careful. Once they grow they are much slower and fairly content to sit still on your arm or shoulder or to find a pocket to climb into. As others said, they are not exciting pets, but they are easy pets. Be sure to have day and night lights, feed them properly (live crickets dusted with calcium powder will keep them healthy), clean the cage daily (very easy, takes a minute or two max to get rid of waste), and change their sand regularly (every 4 - 6 months). A good reptile pet shop would change the sand and inspect for any mites that may have gotten in there. You can have two females in the same cage, or a male and a female, but DON'T put two males together because they will fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 We have one in our kitchen. :D They're cheap, easy to take care of and you could leave the house for a few days if you had to (unlike some other pets). My kids pick him up almost every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 My dc had 2 leopard geckos, and they were very easy pets. They were fine being handled since they had been held since they were hatched. My dc held them often. Babies are very fast, so you have to be careful. Once they grow they are much slower and fairly content to sit still on your arm or shoulder or to find a pocket to climb into. As others said, they are not exciting pets, but they are easy pets. Be sure to have day and night lights, feed them properly (live crickets dusted with calcium powder will keep them healthy), clean the cage daily (very easy, takes a minute or two max to get rid of waste), and change their sand regularly (every 4 - 6 months). A good reptile pet shop would change the sand and inspect for any mites that may have gotten in there. You can have two females in the same cage, or a male and a female, but DON'T put two males together because they will fight. :iagree: Also, the sand killed our first gecko (it was a baby, too). We just use paper towels and we've had this one for several years. The babies can be hard to take care of. I think if we had to do over, I would get an older gecko. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen3kids Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 There is a lot of mixed information about the care of leopard geckos. My son got his at a reptile show so we figured we were getting the best info, but according to our exotic animal vet, we were given some really bad info. Our gecko was raised on meal worms and refused to hunt or eat crickets. We were told by the sellers that this was enough. According to the vet, mealworms aren't enough. Dusting calcium - you never know if they are getting too much or not enough. Vitamins and minerals should be given according to the pet's weight. Heating pad - seller told us no, vet said yes. Sand - both said no We used paper towel and it was very easy to clean. Humidity - because geckos shed, it is important that the humidity be kept at the correct level. Without it, the gecko cannot shed properly, especially their toes and eyelids. Having said all this, and despite all the things our vet said we had done wrong, my son's leopard gecko lived 4 years and was awesome. Loved to be held, my son read to him, easy to clean the cage. However, improper humidity probably caused her death due to the fact she didn't shed properly and ended up with her eyes sealed shut and likely an infection. Our vet highly recommended a bearded dragon as an easy to care for reptile. My niece had one and it was awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) My DS has a leopard gecko. DS got him when he was a hatchling and the cutest little thing ever. The gecko, aptly named Geico, is almost three years old and is getting big. We use reptile sand that we pick up from the pet store where we bought the gecko. The sand is a special mix and has nutrients in it the gecko needs. We feed him live crickets and enjoy watching him hunt. The pet store we bought him from told us to use pinking shears to cut a doorway in a butter tub which would become the gecko's cave. The jagged edge is used to help with shedding. Until recently our gecko has not had a problem shedding. This time (he is shedding now) he is having a little difficulty getting the skin away from his eyes. Our gecko must be an anomaly because he is active in the day, although DS's room isn't as bright as other rooms in the house. DS used his gecko for his small pet project in 4H. They won Grand Champion! Edited March 21, 2011 by The Dragon Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Thanks, everyone. I wanted to provide an update because after talking this over with a friend, she had a lead on a pair of female leopard geckos that need a new home! They would come with all the gear so that would save DD some serious allowance money. DD is very excited. I appreciate all the information and experiences. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We don't use sand; we use moss. Just keep it moist with a spray bottle ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We have one and I DO think he's kinda, well, boring. He's mostly hiding in his little dome thing. He's my husband's pet, my 10 y/o daughter couldn't care less about him. I do agree that a bearded dragon would make a more fun pet- more fun to hold and handle and less worry about him being too delicate to do so with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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