# Hi newbie thinking of getting a leopard gecko



## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Hi there 

I have a tortoise already and had him for a few years now, i am interested in leopard gecko. I have never had a gecko before and just wondered how much it would cost to setup and then how much weekly cost be??

Thanks and this site looks brill.

Helen


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## ToxicSiren (Aug 8, 2008)

Heres list of stuff you will need:

2ft viv around £40 +

heat mat £12

matstat/thermostat £20-£30

substrate £2 0r you could use paper towels

2 hides, various prices could use caves, logs etc

Moist hide, could be a simple as cricket tub with hole cut out for entrance will need to be filled with moss or damp paper towels

Thermometer £2

2 dishes- water, calcium £2 each

calcium £5

nutrobal supliment £7 (vit d3)

Food does not cost much 1 to 2 boxes crickets per week £2 box

:2thumb:


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## w33connie (Sep 21, 2008)

*exactly*



ToxicSiren said:


> Heres list of stuff you will need:
> 
> 2ft viv around £40 +
> 
> ...



This is the best reply I've seen yet : victory:
Nothing left out and BTW you won't regret getting a leo...... they're easy looked after and brilliant pets :flrt:


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## RepBex (Jan 17, 2008)

Good advise from the first poster :2thumb:

i keep my two in a 23 gallon old fish tank 

yes they are very addictive animals i find i always want to buy new things for the tank 

Good Luck 
you will never look back


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks for the posts back i already have a 3ft by 22 inch high and 15 inch depth viv, it is a old one i have in garage.


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## ToxicSiren (Aug 8, 2008)

Sounds good should be able to house around 3 geckos in there. Just make sure you do not house more than one male or they will fight. Try to make sure geckos are around same age or one may become dominant over the others. x:2thumb:


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Are these the best for being handled?? Where is best place to get all the stuff from, i live in exmouth devon.

Sorry for all the questions


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## w33connie (Sep 21, 2008)

welly said:


> Are these the best for being handled?? Where is best place to get all the stuff from, i live in exmouth devon.
> 
> Sorry for all the questions


Can't say about rep shop in your area BUT I can say that I have 6 and they like to get out of their vivs and sit on my bed :flrt:

I LOVE THEM


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## Elmodfz (Jan 18, 2008)

Mine is currently in a flat faunarium but moving to a 18inch cubed wooden viv soon.

Also instead of crickets you can feed meal worms, I prefer them as less bouncy and you get more for your money lol. Also Waxworms as a treat once a week feed them like 2 and all is good.

If you get a leo you will see that people are half and half about using sand on here as a substrate. I personally wouldnt for fear of impaction (google it) but the choice is yours.


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## smilewithme (Dec 15, 2008)

hey...
living in exmouth u have to options about where to buy geckos from. U could go to exmouth reptiles (only open at weekends and by appointment i think) or u could go into exeter and got Tiny Boas (formally South West Retiles not under new management). Tiny Boas is good and now has a large stock of animals and all the equipment u will need.
Hope that helps

xxx
oh and like th others said they are great pets xx


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## lizardloverrach (Dec 1, 2008)

w33connie said:


> Can't say about rep shop in your area BUT I can say that I have 6 and they like to get out of their vivs and sit on my bed :flrt:
> 
> I LOVE THEM


 as does mine for a cuddle in the evening! they are GREAT pets, get one........and you'll end up with many more, addictive creatures:flrt:


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## Natonstan (Aug 9, 2008)

ToxicSiren said:


> Heres list of stuff you will need:
> 
> 2ft viv around £40 +
> 
> ...


Yeah its pretty much covered here, also if you want it to look good fake plants and rocks are always good :no1:


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

Yer you can also add decoration!


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks for all the posts.

So are leopard geckos easy to look after??


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## repkid (Nov 30, 2007)

Leopard geckos are great starter lizards and easy to look after. Depending if you want a naturalistic viv or a viv that'll save money you can make hides out of cardboard boxes etc. Make sure you do lots of research on them before you get them. And as for where to get your stuff from there are many online shops that I find are much cheaper than shops.

Take a look at my care sheet: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizard-care/226287-leopard-gecko-care-sheet.html

Good luck


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## smilewithme (Dec 15, 2008)

pop into Tiny Boas and have a lookxx


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

Well I don't have one but people say leopard gecko's and bearded dragons are the best starters!!


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks again for all the post, where is best place on the net to get stuff , good stuff but cheapest??


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

I'm not sure but i think 888 reptile aren't too bad but im not entirely sure!


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Tommy123 said:


> I'm not sure but i think 888 reptile aren't too bad but im not entirely sure!



Thanks for that, anyone got any others they know of??


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## Sambee (Jul 4, 2008)

welly said:


> Thanks for that, anyone got any others they know of??


I get all my stuff from Livefood UK Crickets Locusts Mealworms Reptile supplies mail order

They are the best ones I've used.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks again for the post, i have been reading through the forum and didn't realise there was so many different lizards. Is a leopard gecko best to start with or is there others?? I wouldn't mind a couple in the vivarium.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

so would it be worth getting a old fish tank with a lid and kitting it out - i have an old vivarium but want to house it on a room divider between the kitchen and dining room so would like to look through - would also like more than one but want them to have plenty of space etc the space in kitchen is approx 5 ft and could go to a height of 4 ft my vision is a house that can be improved and changed but one that they would always have plenty of space etc


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## ryanthepet (May 6, 2008)

great advise from the first post but jst 1 thing missing make sure you get a uv


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Why would a person getting a nocturnal leopard gecko need to get a UVB light bulb?

These animals do not require UVB light (although they may benefit from small amounts of UVB exposure) - and it can damage the sensitive eyes of some morphs.

If you do choose to have UVB lighting, make sure you have plenty of hides so the geckos do not have to be exposed to it, that it's kept on a 12-hour daylight cycle and that you get a 2% (relatively weak) tube - the strong desert tubes will probably result in your geckos being hidden ALL of the time the light is on instead of learning to come out when you're in the room to beg for food.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

So would i need a uv if i have a bigger setup?? Bit confused now as i thought i didn't.


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

ours absolutely love being out and being handled. we handle them before feeding every time they're gonna be fed.
then we feed them and they're fun to watch 
everyone loves my geckos when they come visit :2thumb:

EDIT: oh and mine aren't kept with UV.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

maddragon29 said:


> ours absolutely love being out and being handled. we handle them before feeding every time they're gonna be fed.
> then we feed them and they're fun to watch
> everyone loves my geckos when they come visit :2thumb:
> 
> EDIT: oh and mine aren't kept with UV.


Someone said to me that i would never see a gecko as they only come out at night. that true?


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

welly said:


> Someone said to me that i would never see a gecko as they only come out at night. that true?


would have to say it depends on the leo ~ most of mine are out and about during the day either snoozing crashed out anywhere they fall (they don't always sleep in their hides) or being nosey as to what I'm doing and if there's a chance of an extra snack lol


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

SleepyD said:


> would have to say it depends on the leo ~ most of mine are out and about during the day either snoozing crashed out anywhere they fall (they don't always sleep in their hides) or being nosey as to what I'm doing and if there's a chance of an extra snack lol


Where do you have your set up too?? I was wondering if anyone had a setup downstairs as i see quite a few people have setups in bedrooms.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

All of my leopard geckos worked themselves around to my schedule - they'd pop their heads out when I came into the room to find out if I was going to feed them. We certainly DO see them in daylight, although most of when we're home is dawn and dusk so that they are coming to their most active time anyway.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> All of my leopard geckos worked themselves around to my schedule - they'd pop their heads out when I came into the room to find out if I was going to feed them. We certainly DO see them in daylight, although most of when we're home is dawn and dusk so that they are coming to their most active time anyway.



Arh they sound sweeties :flrt::flrt:

So would a setup in my kitchen/dining room be okay??


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

I would be slightly concerned about cooking "fumes" - especially if you use non-stick cookware, which can put out gases that are toxic to small animals if they're overheated - but that said we do keep rats in our dining room next door to the kitchen - and we've never had problems with them. 

I would personally be more inclined to put the geckos in my lounge than the dining room, but it depends on where you spend your time, too.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> I would be slightly concerned about cooking "fumes" - especially if you use non-stick cookware, which can put out gases that are toxic to small animals if they're overheated - but that said we do keep rats in our dining room next door to the kitchen - and we've never had problems with them.
> 
> I would personally be more inclined to put the geckos in my lounge than the dining room, but it depends on where you spend your time, too.



I think my lounge would be to cold as it is a outside room. My dining room/kitchen is all open plan and i have marine fish in the dining room and they are fine.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

welly said:


> Where do you have your set up too?? I was wondering if anyone had a setup downstairs as i see quite a few people have setups in bedrooms.


I have all my vivs etc in a spare bedroom ~ I used to keep a couple downstairs in the livingroom/diningroom areas (my downstairs is open plan) but found that between the other pets, kids and heat variations from the kitchen when cooking they were better upstairs


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Our kitchen/diner is approx 25" long and it opens out to our lounge so open plan as far as fumes are concerned. We are very careful about using chemicals as the marine tank would be affected by that as well. I wouldnt really want them in the bedroom. Not sure what to do now


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

welly said:


> I think my lounge would be to cold as it is a outside room. My dining room/kitchen is all open plan and i have marine fish in the dining room and they are fine.


As long as you're careful with your cooking and don't overheat any teflon pans, you should be fine, then.

I do keep a couple of reptiles in our (largely disused as a) dining room - but both of them are high body weight, so I don't know how smaller animals would be affected. Certainly the monitor who's in my dining room thinks every bit of food that goes through that room should be his - but he thinks the same thing about my legs and fingers. This probably wouldn't be a problem with leopard geckos, who are not dead-set on eating their owners


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

Thank you that does help - we were thinking of getting a 4ft covered fish tank so that they would have plenty of room and fun so we could also see it from both sides and get plenty of branches, hides etc do you think this may be suitable?


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

As long as there were LOTS of places for them to hide - reptiles as a group are pretty shy when they're unsure of things, and having two sides of the cage "open" might make them nervous. Having an easy hide to retreat to will make them feel safer.

However, I personally prefer front-opening enclosures (whether glass or wood) for leopard geckos - they can get spooked by having hands reach down towards them like their primary predator (birds of prey), and it's much easier to get calm, tame, happy geckos who will climb onto your hand if you can approach them from the side instead. 

There are glass vivariums (if you're set on having glass so you can see through from both sides) that have front-opening doors - look for the "perfecto" range. Those are also designed for reptiles with secure lids and ventilation, so you wouldn't have the problems with escape-proofing a lid and working out how to ventilate a standard fish tank.


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## welly (Jan 3, 2009)

thats a good idea i will go and investigate - thank you very much


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## Gexter (Nov 11, 2008)

No need for a UVB mate :whistling2: They are awesome pets :grin1:


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

the UV light thing is personal preference with leos.
the argument is that they dont need it being nocturnal, but we should maybe supply it anyway just incase.
Personally I dont.

and I see my leo's alot during the day too. they dont just hide away but they're all pretty tame.
in the middle of the day they're all asleep, but any other time you often see them wandering about.... having a keek out at you if you're in the room. or just getting a drink of water or moving to a different hide.

make sure they have loads of hiding places. although they'll probably choose their own personal fave spaces, its good to give them options. 

I think you've made a good choice with leo's they're awesome and lovely : victory:: victory:: victory:


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