Care

	We highly recommend that you read one of the most important resources available for the care and husbandry of leopard geckos, "The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos" by Philippe de Vosjoli and Ron Tremper. Other great resources and excellent gecko websites are also available and provide a wealth of information on leopard geckos. We feel the best terrariums available for leopard geckos are the Exo Terra medium 18"x18" size desert terrarium habitat kit for individually housed geckos, or the 36"x18" size Exo Terra terrarium for giant geckos or multiple gecko housing (three females or a trio of two females and a male). Aquariums with a screen top are also adequate for terrarium use, but we have found the Exo Terra setups to be very well designed and easy to work with for cleanability, socialization, viewing, etc. Many great rack systems are also available for those who choose to have more than a few geckos. We like Rhino Raxx for our applications. We do not advocate the use of sand substrate with your geckos. While it looks nice, it is very bad for their health as they will ingest sand when they eat which could have very adverse health consequences for your gecko. Use tile flooring or "reptile carpet" for your cage bottom....many also use paper towels, especially in rack systems. We do not recommend exposing your geckos to cats or dogs! Also small children need to be carefully supervised so that your gecko doesn't get injured or escape by having young children have unsupervised access to these delicate and precious creatures. The "warm side" of your terrarium should be very carefully regulated with a UTH (under tank heater) plugged into a good reptile thermostat (Spyder Robotics, etc.)...do not use a rheostat or light dimmer switch to control your temperatures, as they are not accurate enough to keep your warm side temperature in the recommended range of 88-94 degrees F. Use only very high quality fresh food for your gecko and change their water daily. Geckos drink very little water, but when they do you must ensure it is of high quality. We use only bottled spring water for our geckos so they do not drink tap water loaded with chlorine and who knows what else! As for food sources, always supply a small dish of high quality minerals and vitamins, which your gecko will instinctively lick up as they need it. We recommend Osteo Form, Rep Cal, and Herptivite (in combination), but there are also others out there they will provide quality minerals and crucial vitamin D3 to keep your geckos healthy. The staple for gecko food is generally a mealworm diet. You can add in butterworms, silkworms, and superworms, as well as other commonly used feeders. Butterworms are low in fat and very high in calcium, are easy to maintain in the fridge, are meaty and lively, and most geckos eat them very enthusiastically, also making them a good potential feeder for new arrivals or geckos that are not particularly good eaters. While they are pricey, you don't need to use as many at a feeding and the added nutrition and high calcium content are a major bonus to these feeders. We do not generally recommend crickets because they are difficult to manage and handle, smell, can stress your geckos, and get loose in the house and chirp...not good attributes for a feeder! If you choose to feed crickets, they should be obtained from good clean sources, and it is best to buy a separate small terrarium for crickets so you can feed them a nutritious diet of things like high quality cricket feeds, fresh greens, carrots, and orange sections for vitamin C and water, etc. If you have healthy crickets they will in turn provide high nourishment to your gecko. If you have specific questions on feeders or their maintenance, feel free to contact us and we'll be glad to help you out. So in closing, there is a vast amount of information you need to know before embarking on the journey to this wonderful hobby. We have just touched on a few important items here, so we encourage you to read and learn all you can about these wonderful little animals before buying them. Designer Geckos is committed to being a resource for all your gecko needs, and we will provide beautiful, socialized geckos at a reasonable price.

We highly recommend that you read one of the most important resources available for the care and husbandry of leopard geckos, "The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos" by Philippe de Vosjoli and Ron Tremper. Other great resources and excellent gecko websites are also available and provide a wealth of information on leopard geckos.

We feel the best terrariums available for leopard geckos are the Exo Terra medium 18"x18" size desert terrarium habitat kit for individually housed geckos, or the 36"x18" size Exo Terra terrarium for giant geckos or multiple gecko housing (three females or a trio of two females and a male). Aquariums with a screen top are also adequate for terrarium use, but we have found the Exo Terra setups to be very well designed and easy to work with for cleanability, socialization, viewing, etc. Many great rack systems are also available for those who choose to have more than a few geckos. We like Rhino Raxx for our applications.

We do not advocate the use of sand substrate with your geckos. While it looks nice, it is very bad for their health as they will ingest sand when they eat which could have very adverse health consequences for your gecko. Use tile flooring or "reptile carpet" for your cage bottom....many also use paper towels, especially in rack systems.

We do not recommend exposing your geckos to cats or dogs! Also small children need to be carefully supervised so that your gecko doesn't get injured or escape by having young children have unsupervised access to these delicate and precious creatures.

The "warm side" of your terrarium should be very carefully regulated with a UTH (under tank heater) plugged into a good reptile thermostat (Spyder Robotics, etc.)...do not use a rheostat or light dimmer switch to control your temperatures, as they are not accurate enough to keep your warm side temperature in the recommended range of 88-94 degrees F. Use only very high quality fresh food for your gecko and change their water daily. Geckos drink very little water, but when they do you must ensure it is of high quality. We use only bottled spring water for our geckos so they do not drink tap water loaded with chlorine and who knows what else! As for food sources, always supply a small dish of high quality minerals and vitamins, which your gecko will instinctively lick up as they need it. We recommend Osteo Form, Rep Cal, and Herptivite (in combination), but there are also others out there they will provide quality minerals and crucial vitamin D3 to keep your geckos healthy.

The staple for gecko food is generally a mealworm diet. You can add in butterworms, silkworms, and superworms, as well as other commonly used feeders. Butterworms are low in fat and very high in calcium, are easy to maintain in the fridge, are meaty and lively, and most geckos eat them very enthusiastically, also making them a good potential feeder for new arrivals or geckos that are not particularly good eaters. While they are pricey, you don't need to use as many at a feeding and the added nutrition and high calcium content are a major bonus to these feeders. We do not generally recommend crickets because they are difficult to manage and handle, smell, can stress your geckos, and get loose in the house and chirp...not good attributes for a feeder! If you choose to feed crickets, they should be obtained from good clean sources, and it is best to buy a separate small terrarium for crickets so you can feed them a nutritious diet of things like high quality cricket feeds, fresh greens, carrots, and orange sections for vitamin C and water, etc. If you have healthy crickets they will in turn provide high nourishment to your gecko. If you have specific questions on feeders or their maintenance, feel free to contact us and we'll be glad to help you out.

So in closing, there is a vast amount of information you need to know before embarking on the journey to this wonderful hobby. We have just touched on a few important items here, so we encourage you to read and learn all you can about these wonderful little animals before buying them. Designer Geckos is committed to being a resource for all your gecko needs, and we will provide beautiful, socialized geckos at a reasonable price.