# Leopard gecko/tortoise advise



## Aimeesid (Nov 20, 2017)

Hi, apologies if this is in wrong place as I'm new to all this! My son has been asking for a tortoise or gecko for a while now. We had put him off till he was a bit older and able to take on a few more responsibilities looking afta the pet. (while supervised by me) He is 8 now so I have been researching and leaning towards a leopard gecko. Just want a few more opinions on this being the best option? Any advise would be great, thanks :2thumb:


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## FK Geckos (Jun 29, 2017)

I think a Leopard Gecko would be better but both might be a little boring.

A tortoise will obviously be day active but I don't know how fun they will be in the long run for a kid. I have no experience with them but I can't see them being very exciting animals.

With Leos it really seems to depend on the individual and the setup. I've even found a huge difference in my Leos now compared to when I started out keeping. I started out, as many did, being spoon fed nonsense from idiots even though I couldn't understand how their 'advice' was best. A tiny 2' vivarium with kitchen roll as substrate, 3 hides, a heat mat, water bowl, calcium bowl and food bowl. That was the setup and honestly the geckos done nothing. They would sit on their mat all day inside their hot hide and would come out at night to feed. Now they have 4'x2'x2' vivs with overhead heating and UVB lighting and the difference is night and day. They are active throughout the day, happily basking and hunting during the day.

Something like a Bearded Dragon, Rankin's Dragon, Orange Spotted Agama or similar may be more entertaining throughout the day for a child.


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## daysocks (Nov 25, 2016)

My recommendation for an interesting easy to look after reptile would be the crested gecko. They're really fun to handle, they come in a lot of different patterns and you can make their vivs really really good looking!

They live at room temperature and their diet consists of largely Pangea/Repashy with bugs sometimes. Spray them once a day for their water and they're pretty much good. Really easy to care for, which is good for an 8 year old learning responsibility


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## FK Geckos (Jun 29, 2017)

daysocks said:


> They live at room temperature


That would depend on what room temperature is. They really should have a heat gradient, as should any cold-blooded animal. The use of a heat bulb is highly recommend for cresties. Yes they can survive at a constant temp of 24C but they are better off with a range of temps throughout the enclosure.


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