A Habitat for Your Gecko

The bottom of the cage should have some kind of paper toweling so that it can be changed easily in order to keep the cage clean.

You might want to try cedar shavings or dirt as well, or sand, to give it the feel of a more natural habitat.

One really important point about raising reptiles is to keep the area sufficiently warm. Geckos thrive best when the daytime temperature is in the eighties, up to eighty-eight degrees.

Nighttime temperatures can get to the middle sixties without causing any health problems. If your house is normally cooler than that, a lamp with a forty-watt bulb over the top of the cage should create enough heat to keep the gecko warm.

There are also hot rocks that you can buy and put in the cage to keep your gecko warm and give him areas to crawl and play.

Keep the cage out of direct sunlight (because it will get too warm) and have a screen cover for the top if you have small children or cats in your household, and to keep in the crickets for the gecko’s dinner.

Leopard geckos come in a variety of colors, and you can keep several in the same cage as long as there is only one male in the group (most geckos that are sold are female).

They eat mealworms and crickets, and correct care and feeding should be discussed at length with the seller. A well taken care of gecko can live as long as twenty years.

Many large pet stores will help you put together (and spend a lot of money on!) a lizard starter kit, but why not just start with the basics we have outlined above, and add on as you go and get to know your pet’s needs better.

Raising a reptile can be a fascinating hobby whether you are eight or fifty-eighty years old. Leopard geckos are among the easiest to raise, are easily tamed, not expensive, and are always beautiful and interesting pets. If you are thinking of a lizard, consider a gecko for your next pet.

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