Gecker Bible

I tried posting this along time ago on a different forum.
Leopard Gecko Bible! feel free to add anything you want!

1 substrate, many people have varying preferences on this subject. i believe that anything you want to use is acceptable WITH EXCEPTION, any substrate with walnut or any other crushed shells in it. these tend to cause impaction. sand is acceptable if you like that however i wouldnt put baby geckos in sand as their hunting skills are not yet sherpened. paper towels is probably in my opinion the best for babys. no risk of impaction easy to clean, cheaper than most other forms! i woudlnt recomend the reptitarp either. the gecko's claws tend to get stuck in them as well causing the claws to rip out and lead to infection.

2. food! this is also a very sensitive subject between many breeders AND owners. most woudl argue that your selection of food is important. you should always supply a dish of calcium for yoru gecko's, i have read things about d3 but i have not seen any problems yet. i use a gut load formula told to me by herpspaz, or Karin as she is known to me. i will have her post it soon. she has in her care MANY MANY different types of heps, and i consider her to be somewhat of an expert. the nutrient content of most of teh insects in the gecko's NATURAL HABITAT suply them witha wide variety of vitamins and nutrients. now with the limited selection of insect feed at pet stores you must fortify them before offering. i use the gut load and have a calcium dish out for them all the time. the gut loaded crickets are seperated, and offered the gut load teh day before offering them to the gecko's. noen of my geckos have eaten pinkies before but i have offered everything from waxworms as a SNACK, and they should not be given out as an everyday diet. Karin woudl be more than happy to explain the almost 0 nutrient content of them. meal worms superworms, and varius other worms found on almost any feed website would be fine! i enjoy the superworms because the bigger geckos dont have to eat 6 of them to be full!

3. habitat. this is probably not as big of a debate as the other two, however i think that many people try to keep too many gecko's in a container too small to suport them. Karins golden rule of 10 gallons per gecko is a good rule, i have a 40 gallon tank with three females in it and i occasionally put my albino male in tere when ever my breeding thumb gets itchy! besides my albino deserves a little fun every now and then. then i have my male in a 20 gallon long, and the two babys i kept out of the last set of hatchlings are in ten gallons. they will be fine in that tank untill they get as big as their parents. housing two males in a tank UNLESS its a large tank and there is PLENTY of hiding spaces with a very good gradient of heat. i have seen this work only once. i woudl not recomend doing this as the males are usually very teritorial. housing females with males, just make sure the females are not getting abused all the time, mating takes alot out of them, as does egging.

3. breeding. even though these animals are very easy to breed i HIGHLY recomend thinking about breeding before you do it. i cannot emphasize enough how time consuming and expensive it gets, not to mention the problem your gonna have housing all the geckos you breed. keep in mind that the females can retain the sperm from the males for up to a couple of months after the initial mating. i would recomend talking to someone who has bred them before and ask as MANY questions as possible. research research research. i cant stress it enough.

thsi concludes my information im sure i have plenty more but unfortunatly i do not remember them all. again feel free to add any helpfull information you would like to share.

Andy