alright, i got an idea to get a leo
there are a few things I need to know that I couldnt find online-
first, if I want to feed them daily, than how much should I feed them
second, would it be okay to house them in a tall tank, i understand that they are terrestrial and it is probalbly about as big at the base as a 15 gal
third, is that store bought gut-load any good
and fourth, how much would it cost a month to keep one

this will hopefully be my fourth herp, and my first lizard

__________________

MY PALS
0.1.0 BALL PYTHON-JERRI
0.1.0 AMEL. CORN-BAYBE
1.0.0 GHOST CORN-BOSS
0.0.1 BLUE TONGUED SKINK-DOUGLAS
2.1.0 CATS-POJO, CHEDDAR, SAMMIE

Hi Ryan,
I don't have any Leopard Geckos but I did search while choosing between a Bearded Dragon and a leo. Nevertheless, you should wait to someone more qualified than me to answer.
1st - it depends on the leo's age and what would you feed it as staple;
2nd - 1 leo for a 15 gallon tank seems ok but take into consideration that a tall tank might pose some heating problems with Under Tank Heater;
3rd - usually they aren't... you should buy in advance and feed them yourself for a week or two before feeding the leo;
4th - no idea. It depends on several factors, specially of the answer to your 1st question and the cost of products where you live.
Then you have to consider the quality of what you buy. For example, I can get a box of #2 or #3 crickets for $4 or for $7. In the $4 box half of the crickets are dead and the other half dies regularly every day while in the $7 box I have no dead bodies and they only die when I feed them to my Bearded Dragon.
From what I figure, I will have to buy a couple of $4 boxes a week and only 2 or 3 of the $7 boxes a month.

Hello Ryan

If and when you get your leo, you feed them in the evening and feed them as many as they will take, I drop 5 or 6 in if they eat them all I drop more in, I give mealies every other day, and wax worms every 2 or 3 weeks, maybe.

A tall tank is not a good idea, longer is better, leo's aren't very good climbers and if you leo was to fall, he could injure himself, 10 to 20 gallon is ok for your leo.

I use Bearded Dragon pellets and veggies to gutload my crix, never bought the gut-load stuff so cant help you on that one.

leo's are only small pets, so your monthly bill shouldn't be that much as long as you stick to the one, I don't know exactly what a leo monthly bill is I buy all my lizard stuff weekly.

Ryan,

Leopard Geckos are great little lizards, I think you made the right choice

1) As rbl said, it depends on the age and size of your leo to start with - a baby will eat much more than an adult, and will also eat smaller food items. Babies need feeding daily, whereas adults can be fed every other day. We don't measure the amount we feed, we just throw a load of crickets in, but at a guess I would say we probably put about 10 crickets per leo in every other night (ours are about 7 months old now). We dust the crickets 1-2 x per week with calcium and probiotics, and 1 x per week with nutrobal (multi-vit and calcium). We occassionally feed mealworms, but don't feed too many as these are harder to digest than other food items because of their hard exoskeleton.. we feed 2 large mealies each leo once a week if we have them. They also get a couple of wax worms each once or twice a month, or when we have them. Sometimes instead of crix we will feed them locusts, and again give them about 5-10 each.. it depends on how much your leo will eat, how big and old it is, and what the food is,.

2) A tall tank will be fine if; you don't put high furniture in there - Leopard Geckos are not good climbers and if they fell from a height they risk harming themselves. As Donna said, a lower tank might be better for the heat gradient factor, and the height would just be wasted on these animals. Whats a 15gallon tank in ft/inches please?

3) We use the gutload stuff that comes with the crix,. I don't know if this is the same stuff you have, but it's good over here. We also feed veg and fruit to gutload - usually greens and squash, but also whatever we have in. It's best to feed them lots of veg 24hrs before feeding to the lizard, as remember whatever your food eats your lizard eats.

4) I can only answer this judging by the price of things over here, but I would estimate at around £5-10 ($10-20) per month for food, and then extra depending on what you keep the gecko on (e.g. paper towels or newspaper is pretty cheap, but buying other substrate may be more expensive), and replacing bulbs or heat appliances. The main cost will be at the beginning though, setting everything up, but it really doesn't cost so much to set up a gecko. I can only estimate at the food bill as we have 13 lizards to feed each week, and we buy our live food in bulk.

Good luck with what ever you decide. Hope this has been of help.

__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

So Rachel, that stuff that looks like crushed weetabix in the the crickets is gut-loader?

well, sadly I dont think I could afford to care for one properly
guess ill have to stick to snakes until im old enough to get a job

ive been doing some snake researchand would like more info,
does anyone know of any snakes that are small (between 3-4'), and are desert/temperate species

__________________

MY PALS
0.1.0 BALL PYTHON-JERRI
0.1.0 AMEL. CORN-BAYBE
1.0.0 GHOST CORN-BOSS
0.0.1 BLUE TONGUED SKINK-DOUGLAS
2.1.0 CATS-POJO, CHEDDAR, SAMMIE

Ruthven's Kingsnake. Tops out about 30 inches. It's one of the tricolor complex and very docile.
Heres Spaz

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

that looks good merlin, how much did yours cost

__________________

MY PALS
0.1.0 BALL PYTHON-JERRI
0.1.0 AMEL. CORN-BAYBE
1.0.0 GHOST CORN-BOSS
0.0.1 BLUE TONGUED SKINK-DOUGLAS
2.1.0 CATS-POJO, CHEDDAR, SAMMIE

Gorgeous snake Merlin, the more I look at them, the more I want one

It was a couple of years ago. He is het for albino and was either 25-35 dollars at a herpshow. Hes a bit more shy and squirmy than a cornsnake.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!