Pet Goddess

A Habitat for Your Gecko

The bottom of the cage should have some kind of paper toweling so that it can be changed easily in order to keep the cage clean.

You might want to try cedar shavings or dirt as well, or sand, to give it the feel of a more natural habitat.

One really important point about raising reptiles is to keep the area sufficiently warm. Geckos thrive best when the daytime temperature is in the eighties, up to eighty-eight degrees.

Nighttime temperatures can get to the middle sixties without causing any health problems. If your house is normally cooler than that, a lamp with a forty-watt bulb over the top of the cage should create enough heat to keep the gecko warm.

There are also hot rocks that you can buy and put in the cage to keep your gecko warm and give him areas to crawl and play.

Keep the cage out of direct sunlight (because it will get too warm) and have a screen cover for the top if you have small children or cats in your household, and to keep in the crickets for the gecko’s dinner.

Leopard geckos come in a variety of colors, and you can keep several in the same cage as long as there is only one male in the group (most geckos that are sold are female).

They eat mealworms and crickets, and correct care and feeding should be discussed at length with the seller. A well taken care of gecko can live as long as twenty years.

Many large pet stores will help you put together (and spend a lot of money on!) a lizard starter kit, but why not just start with the basics we have outlined above, and add on as you go and get to know your pet’s needs better.

Raising a reptile can be a fascinating hobby whether you are eight or fifty-eighty years old. Leopard geckos are among the easiest to raise, are easily tamed, not expensive, and are always beautiful and interesting pets. If you are thinking of a lizard, consider a gecko for your next pet.

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Posted March 18, 2008 Comments(0)

You may have admired the unusual looking lizards at your local wildlife center, or perhaps a neighbor may have an iguana in their back room.

The non-stop ads for a certain car insurance company have also boosted people’s interest in having a small lizard or two as a pet

If you are just starting out with reptiles, a good choice for an easy to raise lizard is the leopard gecko.

The leopard gecko has two very big advantages. First, it does not get very big. Second, a leopard gecko has been kept and bred in captivity since the 1920s, and is among the healthiest lizards and easiest to keep.

A juvenile gecko is quite active, but as they mature they become rather quiet and tame, and can be held and will take food from your fingers.

The adult gecko does not get larger than nine or ten inches, and can be handled by older children. Even younger children can hold them, but make sure they are supervised to handle the gecko gently and to avoid picking them up by the tail, or holding the tail tightly.

As with other lizards in the reptile family, their tails can break off easily. It is not desirable, but it is not a major disaster either. The tail will re-grow, though it will never look exactly the same as the original tail

Leopard geckos are easily kept in an aquarium or other plastic cage, as long as each gecko has at least ten inches square of floor space. The cage should be a minimum of twelve inches high.

Have a shallow bowl for water that doesn’t spill as the lizards crawl into or over it. The food bowl for the gecko can be something about the size and shape of the lid for a gallon jar, a larger flat area.

You will be using crickets or other insects as food, and it is better if the food remains in the food bowl. You can buy live crickets at most pet store very inexpensively, though it is not a sight for the squeamish.

Continued in Owning a Reptile as a Pet Part 2

Posted March 15, 2008 Comments(0)