Good Home for Future Juvenile Leos?

I have a 20gallon tank and I would like to get two regular baby Leopard Geckos.

~HABITAT~
-20gallon aquarium (wide not tall)
-about 3-4 layers of paper towels (that will be the substrate)
-UVB light used during the day
-sunlight (the aquarium is sitting right in front of the window and I figured sunlight would be good for their skin (i would only open curtains and allow light in when i'm there to monitor temperatures))
-2 small dry hides (planning on using just a little reptile cave)
-1 moist hide (planning on using a Nesquick box (after washing it out really well and cutting a hole in the lid) and putting some sort of moss for humidity)
-small bowl (extra calcium substance)
-2nd small bowl (food for feeder insects)
-large bowl used for water
-heating pad will be secured to bottom of tank on MEDIUM at all times, unless it is already 80degrees Fahrenheit or warmer in my room

~FOOD~
-Dubia Roaches (will be Nymphs)
-food will be sprinkled with calcium supplement every other day
-food will be fed calcium-enriched foods
-calcium supplement will be supplied every day in Leo habitat
-vitamin supplements will be supplied once a week every month

~OTHER~
-thermometer will be used
-will be handled regularly, not often at first since they will be stressed out, but more often as i socialize them
-i plan on handling each one every other day

~AS THEY AGE~
-decrease calcium supplement intake
-increase roach size
-allow Leos outside during Summer under supervision (during 80-90degree Fahrenheit weather (sunlight and fresh air would be good for them?)

~QUESTIONS~
Good tips for socializing Juvenile Leos?
Is there anything i'm missing that I should be aware about?
How often should I feed my baby Geckos and how much?

You have a lot of questions that would be answered if you would read the sticky in the housing section on how to make the perfect leo set up. Please do that before anything else. Also leos aren't communal animals, they'd be much happier living on their own esp for a first time owner. There are also stickies on proper supplementing, and roaches is a good diet for leos. Best diet tho would be a rotation of different feeders. A leo is considered a sub adult at around 5-6 months old, adult at about a year.

Lots of reading ahead of you kiddo, feel free to Use the forum search feature for particular questions. Alot of them have already been asked and answered.

I've already done a lot of reading about them.
I just want to make sure i've been reading the right stuff since, as you know, the internet does sometimes lie.
Does the habitat seem okay though? From what i've read, it's fine, but I just want to check; i want to be the best owner i can be!
the rest of the questions i will look up

You don't want direct sunlight to shine into the tank. However, indirect sunlight will be good enough to give them a day/night cycle.

UVB isn't required, provided that you supplement D3 properly, such as dusting feeders with multi-vitamin w/ D3 2-3x a week (like Repashy Calcium Plus, a great all-in-one supplement that contains vitamins, calcium, and
D3).

Taking them out into the sun isn't a good idea, because leopard geckos in the wild behave like crepuscular animals, they only get exposed to sunlight during dusk & dawn mostly. They are most active at night, so taking them out into the sun would be totally against what they would normally do and could potentially hurt their eyes/skin. If you have an albino or enigma leopard gecko, they are even more sensitive to light, sunlight can actually harm them.

A 20 gallon long is perfect for 1 leopard gecko, 2 can be doable if you have 2 females, and that you provide enough hides for both of them. Understand that they don't always get along, feisty females can not be trained to get along with another gecko if they show aggressive behavior. So if you do get 2 geckos, make sure you observe carefully and separate at any sign of aggression or bullying.

I've not heard of giving leopard geckos yogurt, and bathing isn't necessary unless you are attempting to help the gecko shed or if your gecko is impacted.

Hope that helps, Kermit's right, definitely read the stickies and online resources. A lot of your questions are answered in them.

Okay. I am not planning on getting any kind of "morph" Gecko, just a regular Leopard Gecko from a petstore. I am a starter-parent and i don't want to risk messing anything up with a "morph."
I read Kermit's post about Nutrition and Other and that in order for your Leo to be "potentially healthy," a switched feeder diet is key.
I was wondering if I should switch between Roaches and mealworms, superworms, silkworms, or phoenix worms? I definitely want to feed roaches but I am unsure of which worm to switch between. I am capable of breeding 2 different feeder insects. I've already decided on breeding roaches, i'm wondering which worm i should choose to breed?

You could try mealworms for smaller hatchlings/juveniles, then switch to superworms when they get older (5-6+ months). While variety is key, don't feel bad if your gecko takes onto dubia roaches and reject everything else. They are low in fat and are very healthy for your geckos.

Some geckos can be very picky eaters

Okay
I heard that the combination of mealworms and Dubia Roaches can cause those little bubbles under their armpits; protein pouches, i think is what they're called? Should that be a concern?

yeah, I think because both insects have lots of protien. they love roaches tho. they go crazy!

Protein pockets form usually due to overfeeding and over-supplementing. We like to spoil our pets sometimes, even though it's not always healthy for them to eat so much. Some believe these protein pouches are normal developments when geckos grow up, some don't think they are harmful. But it's generally a good idea to cut back on feeding and supplementing if you see these protein pockets form on your gecko's armpits.

What you want to look for are how fat of a tail your gecko has, and whether your gecko has protein bubbles along with a fat tail. If your gecko has a very fat tail + protein bubbles, it means it's probably getting an excess of fat and protein. It's a good idea to cut back on feeding if you notice that with your geckos. Whether the bubbles are harmful or not is up for debate. But it never hurts to cut back a bit.

In my collection I have a female breeder that didn't used to have the protein pockets. But after she laid 2 healthy eggs, she started feeding a lot and developed protein bubbles and a pretty fat tail. Now in my case, since she's still ovulating & gravid, it's likely ok as egg development takes a lot of nutrients out of the female. She definitely could use the extra fat & protein. Now if you have a gecko that just lays around, not being bred, then it's a good idea to cut back on feeding when you see fat tail + protein bubbles.

I have another female, a super giant mack snow raptor, that feeds primarily on dubia roaches. She's got a very full fat tail, but no protein bubbles in the armpits. See in her case, she's considered healthy, not overfed as we've already put her on a 1 roach every other day diet, and she's a female that'll be bred eventually. You can see how she looks like in this youtube video.

Okay and now I'm realizing that even normal Geckos can get huge!
Why is the one at the high school not that big? She's 7years old! It may be because she isn't taken care of properly but could it really make that big of a difference?

The one in the video is a super giant, a genetic mutation that makes them larger than normal sized leopard geckos. The leopard gecko you saw at the high school is probably a normal sized one, so it doesn't mean she's not taken care of properly. It could just be her normal size.

Oh, okay; I see.

Just a recomendation, Sometimes tile feels more natural to the leo's then the repti carpet/indoor outdoor carpet. Seeing as how there natural habitat is on a rocky desert in the middle east.

It hasn't been mentioned yet, so I will mention it quickly.

Be aware that leopard geckos aren't social animals. They don't crave socialization with their own kind. They do best by themselves. Keeping them alone also prevents the spread of disease/infection.

If you are planning to house two leos together be aware that they can fight. Females can be kept together. Males should never be housed together. And male +female pairs can be kept together, although many (including myself) only recommend it if you are planning on breeding them.
Many people have kept leos together successfully for years, only to one day have a fight break out for no apparent reason. Be aware of this and have an extra home ready, in case fighting does occur.

Honestly, if this is your first leopard gecko, I recommend just getting one for now, and then in the future if you want another, then get another. Its a lot easier starting with one.

Again, if you do get two, you actually need to double the hides. You will need two hides on the hot side and two hides on the cool side. This will lower the chance of fighting by providing areas in which the leos can get away from each other.

Also, I remember seeing in one of your posts (I think it was you) that you said you were getting normals because you didn't want to screw any morphs up. Normals and every other morph are just as easy to take care of (except enigmas - enigmas can be difficult because of enigma syndrome). A normal isn't going to be any more hardy than a blizzard, for example. So if you do want something besides a normal (I have nothing against normals, I actually have three) then I say go for it. Its when breeding that you need to be careful with the morphs.

HomeworkCrazy wrote:Okay
I heard that the combination of mealworms and Dubia Roaches can cause those little bubbles under their armpits; protein pouches, i think is what they're called? Should that be a concern?

If you are only going to feed 2 kinds of insects for example roaches that are highest in protein, it's best that the second insect is a lot lower in protein. Prevention is the key. It is unhealthy to allow protein pockets to develop in the first place because anything in excess effects their health in the long run.

@kathstew
thank-you, you're right, that topic was me; the other thing is that i have a limited amount of money
i've looked up the Leo Morphs and i've seen several that i've really liked the looks of but i look up just to see how much they'd cost and they are very expensive
i'm not willing to pay $500 for a Gecko and even $100 is asking too much if you ask me but here are the Morphs that i've seen pictures of and liked...
-Aberrant
-High Yellow
-Hypo
-Rainwater Patternless Albinos
-Bell Albinos
-Tremper Albinos
-Tremper Giants
-Hybino
-Mack Snow
-Mack Super Snow
-Raining Red Stripes
-Red Stripe
-Jungle
-A.P.T.O.R.
-R.A.P.T.O.R.
-Eclipse

HomeworkCrazy wrote:@kathstew
thank-you, you're right, that topic was me; the other thing is that i have a limited amount of money
i've looked up the Leo Morphs and i've seen several that i've really liked the looks of but i look up just to see how much they'd cost and they are very expensive
i'm not willing to pay $500 for a Gecko and even $100 is asking too much if you ask me but here are the Morphs that i've seen pictures of and liked...
-Aberrant
-High Yellow
-Hypo
-Rainwater Patternless Albinos
-Bell Albinos
-Tremper Albinos
-Tremper Giants
-Hybino
-Mack Snow
-Mack Super Snow
-Raining Red Stripes
-Red Stripe
-Jungle
-A.P.T.O.R.
-R.A.P.T.O.R.
-Eclipse

I definitely understand. Were you planning on shipping your leos are finding one close to home?
I've found the albinos to be fairly cheap. Hypos are normals with reduced spotting on the body, so they should be fairly cheap as well. High yellows are also like normals with a bit of reduced spotting and brighter yellow. It does depend on your area though, as I know some areas charge a lot for some of the simpler morphs. Which ever leo calls to you is the one you should get though :P
I love RAPTORs and APTORS as well. They are one of my favourites! I am hoping to get one some day.

Something else you should check out is the rainbow morph on leopard gecko dot com. They havent held dthe color past 1.5 months but they are gorgeus.

I just went thru trempers whole site and didn't find anything defined as "rainbow" in his leos. He did have something referring to the blue morph he was tring to produce but not only did the color not last but all the leos that exhibited the blue bellies died by 2 months old. " June 4. 2010 - BLUE PROJECT REPORT
The breeding efforts for all of 2009 resulted in a few more geckos with colored ventrums but as before the bright colors disappeared by the time geckos reached 5".   As adults these "blue" geckos have red eyes and a faint faded look to their colors.
This year we have already hatched more project young and still the same results in color.
At this time I feel that the blue or green coloration is due to metabolic enzymes and not genetics.  Although we will continue to breed this bloodline I think there is very little. chance for the long sought after blue gecko.  But there is always hope."

He hasn't updated this project since june 2009.

Thats what it is the blue morph but they look like rainbows and if you google the rainbow leopard gecko it comes up. sorry for the false info.

@Kathstew
i'd rather go and see the Gecko... i don't believe in shipping live reptiles or animals other than insects...
i live in the York, Nebraska area so i don't know if there would be any Morphs of decent price around

There's nohing wrong with shipping herps. My leo was shipped from utah to pennsylvania and was here by 9 am the next morning with no problems. How do you think they get herps to places like petsmart? They ship them... so if you buy from a petstore your supporting the shipping of herps and I guarantee you that a lot more die being shipped to those big box petstores that get 15-20 in a single box all packed together rather than the responsible breeder that lovingly packs your single leo in a nice deli cup with padding and heat packs for a quick overnight flight to your house.

HomeworkCrazy wrote:@Kathstew
i'd rather go and see the Gecko... i don't believe in shipping live reptiles or animals other than insects...
i live in the York, Nebraska area so i don't know if there would be any Morphs of decent price around

I've heard a lot of good things about shipping reptiles. But I do like to meet my gecko before hand, as well. Its nice to pick for personality as well as looks.

I would look on classified websites such as craigslist and kijiji to see if any breeders are posting. Maybe contact some petstores and see who their suppliers are. Reptile expos are also good places to get your geckos, and they are fairly cheap there as well.

Kathstew gets my point... i will maybe check out criagslist to see about finding a good source for Leo Morphs