As previously posted I had fell in love and wanted a Uro - after much research I decided it might be foolish to get an animal that probably isn't for a novice lizard keeper.

We were at The Snake Shop in Sheffield - browsing when we came upon a BEAUTIFUL female Leo she is 4 months old.


She is still to be named - but she is just BEAUTIFUL

She has a wonderful spot pattern -her tail is lilac with a small flash of orange at the base. Her body is a pale yellow and her spots are so cute


We have her in a 24" x 18" x 16" viv with an air vent in one side - it also has to shelves at different levels - my other half spent ages carving a piece of wood for her to climb up! She has her damp box on one of the levels and space to bask on the very top one!

We are feeding her on mealworms with the occasional cricket - when I can conquer my fear - when it's time for a cricket I have someone on hand to deal with them.

We have fine sand as used in the pet shop he says he's never had a problem with impaction and as we are using a tub for the mealworms to go in we are careful that the sand is getting in.

She has a cave to hide in, and a gargoyle statue that she loves to climb on and stand whilst warming up - with her eyes closed looking rather content!



Pictures to follow when my batteries are charged up!

Congrats. Good decision on the Leopard gecko. They are a fantastic species to begin with.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Congrats on the new addition! Just so you know, I have yet to see a petstore state that they have had issues with sand as a substrate. After all, if they state they have had issues, why would they still be using it? Sand is used as an asthetic because it looks nice in an enclosure. It serves no actual purpose beyond that and isn't even the natural substrate these little guys come from.

I am not one to force my beliefs on anyone, I just offer the facts as they are and allow the reader the chance to see what could be coming. They can base their decision off whether or not they wish to risk it based on the facts.

This is the one thing every new owner should know about sand:

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Congrats on the newbie and I totally agree with the sand issue as Rich stated.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Hopefully this will work

here are a couple of pictures I took with my phone camera - sorry they aren't great quality

And here is the viv we have done up






Thanks for the replies above - I have heard about possible problems with sand - but I am willing to trust the breeder of the animal and follow the advice given.

I will of course look out for any signs of distress or illness in my animal


My poor Leo is still without a name - we haven't thought of one that suits her just yet!

Nice looking leo hes got some sweet digs lol

another good idea if your using sand is to feed the gecko outside it's enclosure in a plastic box or something, thats what I do with my geckos because I house the adults on bark.

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"Reality is wrong, Dreams are for real"
-Tupac Shakur

0.2.1 Eublepharis macularius
0.1.0 Pantherophis guttatus

Just to make a point that you may be unaware of, most of the larger scale breeders don't use sand with their leopard geckos. While sand itself is known to be a dangerous risk for all sizes of gecko, it is especially dangerous for hatchlings and juveniles.

Just so you know, I have been keeping Leopard Geckos for over 10 years and have been breeding them now for over 8. I currently own 16.

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I'd ditch the sand too. If there is even the smallest chance of their being a problem, why use it? You don't see stores with problems because they don't have the animal in their care long enough to see any problems. Impactions with sand happen over a long period of time.

Stores suggest sand, because you have to buy it from them. They don't make any money off people who use paper towels or tile.

Those little critters aren't built for sand. They come from areas of hard packed ground, not desert.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.