Hides: Leopard geckos should really have 3 hides, 1 hide in the warm side of the enclosure, and 1 hide in the cold side of the enclosure. You can have more if you wish, but don't have to much as they need room to move aorund, if they dont't have enough room that will really stress out yur gecko. The other hide should be a humidity box.
Substrate: Reptile sand - Looks very natural, very easy to clean, just sift out the reptile droppings and you are done.
Calcium sand - Looks natural, not recommended as the gecko will like the sand but as the sand gets wet it will clog up and if digested with cause impaction.
Paper towels - Does not look natural at all. Harder to clean as you have to take out all the paper towels and replace them all.
Newspaper - Same as paper towels, but looks not natural at all.
Reptile carpet - This stuff is good and not that expensive, the only problem is when they do the buisness on it you have to take the whole thing out and wash it, but alot of the bacteria stays on it even after washing, but a good substrate to use.
Bark - Not recommended as it can be swallowed but can't be digested. Also when feeding your gecko the crickets tend to hide in between the bark which makes it hard for your gecko to find them.
Slate - An expensive substrate but looks good and is easy to clean, just get some toilet roll and wash the slate down. Very good substrate to use.
All loose substrates can be safe so long as you use them correctly. If you do use loose substrate you should allow them to have a constant bowl of calcium, that means they won't lick the sand when they are desperate for calcuim.
Heating: You can use 2 ways of heating you enclosure. You can have a heat pad which you can buy from any reptile shop. If you use a heat pad, you should put it over 1 side of the vivarium, that way it will create a warm side and a cold side. When using a heat lamp you should do the same, make sure it is heating half of the enclosure. The vivarium should be 84-88 degrees fahrenheit in the warm side.
Feeding: Leopard geckos can eat a varied diet which is a mixture of crickets, mealworms, silkworms, ( 1 every week) waxworms (1 Every week) butterworms,(1 every week) pinkies (1 every 3 weeks) Silkworms,waxworms,butterworms an pinkies are all treats and have very high fat content, so should not be fed every day. Whenever feeding your gecko you should always dust your food, an easy way to do this is put a few crickets or what ever you are feeding your leopard gecko into a bag, then put some calcuim powder into the bag and then shake it. That will coat the food with a good amount of calcium, then just feed to your gecko.
Humidity box: Leopard geckos need this to help with shedding, and also with egg laying. An easy way to make one of these is to get a cricket container, make a whole in the lid big enough for a gecko to get in, them fill it with moss or vermiculite. You can buy vermiculite from any garden centre. Once you put your moss or vermiculite in, just spray water on the vermiculite or moss every 2 days, just keeping it moist but not too wet as the gecko will not use it.
Other: You need to provide your leopard gecko with a water bowl which needs to be changed daily, and also a calcuim dish.
If you follow every thing here your gecko should be very happy.
Substrate: Reptile sand - Looks very natural, very easy to clean, just sift out the reptile droppings and you are done.
Calcium sand - Looks natural, not recommended as the gecko will like the sand but as the sand gets wet it will clog up and if digested with cause impaction.
Paper towels - Does not look natural at all. Harder to clean as you have to take out all the paper towels and replace them all.
Newspaper - Same as paper towels, but looks not natural at all.
Reptile carpet - This stuff is good and not that expensive, the only problem is when they do the buisness on it you have to take the whole thing out and wash it, but alot of the bacteria stays on it even after washing, but a good substrate to use.
Bark - Not recommended as it can be swallowed but can't be digested. Also when feeding your gecko the crickets tend to hide in between the bark which makes it hard for your gecko to find them.
Slate - An expensive substrate but looks good and is easy to clean, just get some toilet roll and wash the slate down. Very good substrate to use.
All loose substrates can be safe so long as you use them correctly. If you do use loose substrate you should allow them to have a constant bowl of calcium, that means they won't lick the sand when they are desperate for calcuim.
Heating: You can use 2 ways of heating you enclosure. You can have a heat pad which you can buy from any reptile shop. If you use a heat pad, you should put it over 1 side of the vivarium, that way it will create a warm side and a cold side. When using a heat lamp you should do the same, make sure it is heating half of the enclosure. The vivarium should be 84-88 degrees fahrenheit in the warm side.
Feeding: Leopard geckos can eat a varied diet which is a mixture of crickets, mealworms, silkworms, ( 1 every week) waxworms (1 Every week) butterworms,(1 every week) pinkies (1 every 3 weeks) Silkworms,waxworms,butterworms an pinkies are all treats and have very high fat content, so should not be fed every day. Whenever feeding your gecko you should always dust your food, an easy way to do this is put a few crickets or what ever you are feeding your leopard gecko into a bag, then put some calcuim powder into the bag and then shake it. That will coat the food with a good amount of calcium, then just feed to your gecko.
Humidity box: Leopard geckos need this to help with shedding, and also with egg laying. An easy way to make one of these is to get a cricket container, make a whole in the lid big enough for a gecko to get in, them fill it with moss or vermiculite. You can buy vermiculite from any garden centre. Once you put your moss or vermiculite in, just spray water on the vermiculite or moss every 2 days, just keeping it moist but not too wet as the gecko will not use it.
Other: You need to provide your leopard gecko with a water bowl which needs to be changed daily, and also a calcuim dish.
If you follow every thing here your gecko should be very happy.
