decoration

hi. new leopard geko owner here

a few questions that i couldn't find here:

i've seen a few pictures of peoples vivs who have made their own deco, is there anything that SHOULDN'T be used as harmful to the geko.
also there's not much in the way of decorations in shops other than caves and logs (which i have) and i was wondering if i could use fish tank statues and stuff (secured) or small mammal stuff.

a few pics of your setups would be great for ideas

thanks in advance

elaineandsparky wrote:
also there's not much in the way of decorations in shops other than caves and logs (which i have) and i was wondering if i could use fish tank statues and stuff (secured) or small mammal stuff.

I'm also wondering this too. I asume the fish stuff would't be harmfull, not sure about the small mamal stuff though.

Hello and welcome to the forum! I'm Kathryn. I hope we are able to answer any and all questions you have!

What kind of things were you planning on using to make your decoration?
I've made my own decorations a few ways. I've used old tupperware containers and cut holes into them to create hides.
I've also taken styrofoam and shaped it into different hides. I've grouted it to make it sturdy, and then painted it, followed by glazing it with modge podge.

A member of the forum, Karagain, created an awesome thread that shows how she is making her homemade decor. She was my inspiration to make my own decor :P You can see that here: http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t494-guide-to-creating-a-naturalistic-enclosurewarning-pic-heavy (this is similar to how I made my decor).

I would avoid obviously toxic materials such as paints or the like with warnings on them. Things that may have an odor, or would not handle heat well. Flimsy/weak materials should be avoided as well. If you youtube homemade reptile decor you will get a lot of ideas.

Yes, fish decorations and small mammal decor is fine to use! I use it as well actually. Just make sure it isn't sharp, and if you are re-using stuff from previous pets to clean it super well!

Check out our show off your set-up thread for some awesome pictures of people's set-ups!

Again, welcome and I hope this helped!

I, in fact, look at different stuff for little mammals all the time. Usually they don't fit my purpose, but I can say I do use small mammal water bowls for my python and one of leo cages!

Also make sure to avoid buying anything with sharp edges. Some of the aquarium decorations are sharp, and they won't be suitable your leopard gecko to use. When leopard geckos shed, they rub their whole body, including their face, onto the sides of anything they can find. Anything sharp could cut their skin and cause injuries. One good way to test is by running your own fingers through the decorations, both inside and out. If there's anything that can cut your fingers, it can cut your leopard geckos.

And avoid using something too tall where a gecko may climb up high and fall down. Leopard geckos are quite good at climbing given that they don't have sticky pads. But they often don't know how to get down, kind of like a cat that knows how to get up high in the trees but can't get down. Your geckos will fall down and it could cause severe internal injuries if they do fall the wrong way.

I personally have had to take away quite a few good looking decorations that are high because of this. Some geckos just want to climb on anything they can find, and it's dangerous if they get too high off the ground.