New to geckos!

Hey everyone! Im a new member here. just joined up a few minutes ago! I have a baby leopard gecko, that i bought at a local Petco about 2 months ago! Ive read many articles online and watched several videos, and talked to many people in person, but i am excited to learn more about my leo here!


Any tips for a first time leopard gecko owner?

If I were you, I'd review each and all threads that are linked in my signature.

Welcome to the forum! And the exciting world of herp keeping!

Thanks man! Maybe you can be of some assistance. I originally had two leo's one seemed to be eating more than the other then out of no where, the one who was eating, just died. i followed all basic rules for housing and feeding and all that. so im not sure what killed him. after he went, my other one stopped eating for a while and lost a lot of weight.

Ive tried a lot of things to help him gain weight back but i havent seen much change in the last 3 weeks. I gave him a UV bulb (as per instruction from a petco worker/owner of many reptiles including a few leos) and he became a little more active. I even saw him eating more. My problem is that he still hardley eats. He drinks often which is good and i have a dish with vitamin powder in it and i see evidence that he visits it from time to time. His tank is heated/lit by a heat bulb during most the day and the temperature is in the low-mid 80's...which i read is average? I plan to use a lower wattage bulb and get a small UTH in the next two weeks. He has two hides, one that i keep moist and one that is more dry.

He has fresh water every two days about and attempt to feed him regularly. I get him crickets every week, and i have a dish of small mealworms too. The worms tend to stay untouched and eventually die off before he eats them. The crickets, for the most part either hide or roam around the tank for days and he only seems to eat a few.

What is your advice? should i start another thread for this issue?

It's hard to say what killed the first leo. The list is pretty long in that respect. The other one could just be put off due to insecurity.

Regardless of what that petco guy says, Leo's do not need UV bulb. They're crepuscular, meaning they aren't active when the sun is completely up.

You should move compeletely over to UTH's, one that covers roughly 1/3rd of the entire enclosure. This will work out your temperatures, in case you're having problems wit that, and should be kept in the high 80's to low 90's. Bulbs actually irritate leos, to an extent, and please- oh please- don't listen to anyone who works for petco. If they leo's are housed there on sand or repticarpet then they have no business recommending anything to you.

What I would do when I still fed crickets was I took everything decorative from the tank and then put the crickets in. That way there was no "hiding" for the little things and my leo's got free range hunting land. It worked for me, but my leo's aren't juvies and therefore didn't freak out about it.

Welcome to the forum!! Can't wait to see pics of your leo!

+1 Kodieh for not needing a UV bulb.

I use paper towels for my substrate Easy tank cleaning and little to no chance of impaction!

Their leos are on repticarpet, yes. And dont worry. i take most things they say with a large grain of salt. The only reason i trust the one guy there is because of his large and healthy reptile collection. The uv was a suggestion, now that i remember it was by a different employee, not that one guy. It was a lady and she said either a uv bulb or put him in a place where he might get some UV from the sun. I was willing to try it because i am just worried about his health.

I use newspaper and paper towels for my substrate too. As far as using a UTH - He is in a 10g tank right now. should i go for the small UTH or the mini UTH? Do i need some device that controls the temp? Or will the small/mini UTH max out at a comfortable temp if i keep it at the far end of the tank?

Ill post some pictures of him soon...i am a little embarrassed because he is under a healthy weight.

hiya and welcome to the forum



glad to see Kodie is being helpfully already

There is no need to be embarrassed about his weight since you are here asking for help

Welcome to the forum and I look forward to chatting with you.

As for putting your leo where they can get some sun because they do not come out in the day. They are crepsecular which means they are most active in the evening and the early morning(neither times when the sun is out).

You should get a UTH rated for a 10 gallon tank. As for controlling the temperature, if you want to spend the money you can get a thermostat. Petco should sell rheostats or you could go to Lowes and ask for a "Credenza Light Dimmer" and that will help control the temp.

Welcome to the forum!

Don't be embarrassed at all! No one judges here, as we all want to help. Its so disappointing when the pet store employees don't know what they're talking about. You think you can trust them, but you can't. Sigh.

Anyways, sounds like Kodie is being super helpful, so I'll let him continue

Again, welcome the forum, can't wait to chat with you and see your lovely leo.



I'm sorry for your loss of your other leo, by the way.

Thanks everyone!

@Kodie - Should i use a rheostat/thermostat? will the UTH get too hot? plus, i rearranged his tank, and now the temp is high 80's close to 90 degrees and i keep it moist...he still isnt eating much tho

Leo's will get URI's (upper respratory infections) if it's too moist. Low humidty is needed.

The UTH will not get too hot with a rheostat, thermostat or light dimmer. With a thermostat, you don't have to monitor it as much. With a rheostat or light dimmer, a regular temp check is required.

Okay. and what i meant by keep it moist was one hide on one side of his tank is kept moist.

*Pictures have been edited so that we can keep the thread on track. This thread has been split so that Paul's introduction and his needs for his ill leo can both be given all the attention they desirve, plus it assists the search function for others looking for underweight leo topics. For the conversation on the sick leo please go to this thread here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] THANKS... Kermit

heres a shot of my ball python too, just for the heck of it.

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Also Take a look at this sticky [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] It should help you set up a proper set up and hopefully you leo will be on the road to recovery after a visit to the vet!!

Hello and welcome to the great world of geckos, I hope your little one gets better, I'll be praying for the best.

If for some reason the gecko does pass, do not stop wanting them, there are a lot of geckos looking for homes, look on your craigslist or ask your local petstores if there is any geckos to be rescued.

Thanks everyone! i am in talks with a vet. and hopefully we can help my lil pet back to being healthy! i will be posting progress.

if he doesnt make it, i will never give up on leopard geckos! i love leopard geckos, crocodile geckos, and bearded dragons! i really think that the petco gave me sick Leos.

with that being said, its a month or two beyond refund date. would it be wrong of me to fuss a little bit with managment?

It wouldn't be wrong at all! They should know that they sold you a sick gecko. I would encourage them/demand them to take better care of their geckos (and animals in general).

Pet stores (specifically chain stores such as petsmart and petco) are notorious for taking poor care of their animals for sale. As more and more people complain, they WILL change their ways, we just need to speak up. I know someone who complained so much, one store's manager was fired, someone new was hired and there was improvement immediately.



I wouldn't try to take your leo back, but just raise a good amount of noise about the poor care.

I'm glad you won't give up keeping reptiles. You will find joy in many more leos.



Good luck, and I hope your little one now can pull through!

Hello and welcome to the forum. Any questions or problems you might have we will answer them the best we can for you

Im looking forward to seeing photos of your new leopard gecko. Tip they are additive lol