most friendly/placid ??

[kawajj]

What is the most friendly/placid lizard to keep...

reason i ask is my kids have asked if they can have thier own lizard to look after and i want something different for them than the young beardie i have ( obv i will oversee it ) ,,any suggestions

thanks....joe

[zebrajanie]

Hands down.. leopard geckos.

All you would need is a 10 gallon tank for 1, or a 20 gal for 2.
I'd make sure you didn't have a male/female pair though.

These guys have a life expectancy of around 10+ years...

You'll need a damp hide ( plastic sandwich container lined with a damp paper towel- changed daily, hole cut out of the lid large enough for the gecks to get in and out without rubbing against cut sides), under tank heater for cool nights, dry hide, meal worm feed bowl, water bowl (needs to be washed and refreshed daily), calcium bowl ( I tend to use plastic lids off of small containers).

Substrate: I use paper towels which are changed daily.

Food: appropriately sized crickets, roaches, meal worms.

Lighting: these guys are nocturnal pretty much, so either black light or red light is good for them.

Hope this helps out !

[kawajj]

ye thanks a lot...

when you say nocturnal does this mean that they will only be active in viv at night or does the coloured light encourage day activity ?
do i not need UV light for them ,and do i still need basking bulb and what temps do i need ?
are they ok on a sand substrate..?
are they good for handling ?
and what do you think is a good env for them i.e tree branches / leafy etc ?

sorry for all the questions but i want to be sure.. they may be ideal for the kids and what im looking for..

thanks again for your help and advice ..joe   

[zebrajanie]

No don't worry about all the questions... It is important to have as much knowledge before starting with a new species.

No no uvb is needed.  Yes, you can switch their "day" and "night" around with the lighting.

Yes, geckos will climb if offered secure arboreal areas.

Temps.. well mine are mostly adults, with one juvie less than 6 months old.

Day time can be in the high 70's to mid 80's, night time should not fall below the 65*F.  Cold makes them torpid and causes difficulty with digestion, just as it would with dragons.

Yes, you can do sand- play sand, washed and sifted, but this opens up a greater chance of high bacteria levels, and provides and excellent home for parasites.  This is why I prefer using paper towels..
I can remove daily when I clean, and replace with new. 

As for handling, with young gecks, allow them to settle in, just as you would a dragon.  Handle then for short periods after this, and increase hold time until they are comfortable with you.  Now, you can't carry them around, as you would a dragon, but for short periods they will come out.  These reptiles are curious, but don't do much of anything fast (except for fleeing from "predators" and hunting their prey).

To start, lay your hand inside their enclosure for several minutes at a time, once they are settled in.
Continue this until the geck(s) actually step into your hand... This means they have "dominated" your hand and are not afraid.

This is a slow process, and patience is needed.

Next step is to raise your hand, with the gecko on it, just a tab bit.  This allows the geck to hop off safely.
Just continue this practice until you can raise you hand, with the gecko on it, completely out of the enclosure, without any jumping or agitation.

I am still working on my "baby" geck.  She has just started to partially come onto my hand.. I've been working with her for around 2-3 months now.
Older gecks might be the ticket here.  If you can find one that has been handled well, this would remove most of this process.

I would highly urge you to make sure that any animal you bring into the house, be given a once over with a fecal test for parasites.

What to look for in a healthy animal:
Bright eyes, and fat tail.  Adults should weigh around 36-40 grams.  Active hunting, with the tail twitching, (or as I fondly call it... the raptor dance).
Check to make sure there is no binding on toes, or tail from previous sheds.  This can lead to the limb being cut off from blood supply and becoming nacrotic ( dead).

Color isn't important, though I rather doubt you will find a "normal" line.

I hope this helps out !

[kawajj]

thanks very much you have helped a lot ,,

I will defo look into it and make some enquiries on availability and prices,,

once again thanks......joe

[Kazzy]

Hi there Joe Janie covered most everything, but I'd like to point out that like bearded dragons, leopard geckos are very prone to impaction. Especially young ones. With proper diet and temperatures you can probably get away with sand BUT like Janie said, sand can hold heaps of nasty bacteria and parasites.
They can live past 20 years old as well. Ron Tremper (probably the #1 leo breeder) has a male that a friend of mine actually sent him that is 28 years old and is still breeding! My friend worked at the herpetology dept. at his school in Knoxville and noticed that this leo was different (won't say how...it's kind of a secret ) so he worked it out so that he could send him to Ron Tremper.
Heating pad is ideal for them as unlike bearded dragons they absorb heat from their bellies (since they are nocturnal). The hide over the heat pad should be at around 86-90 F. If you plan on keeping on sand, definitely go with higher temperature range so as to make it easier to pass any sand ingested.
Like Janie said make sure you don't have a male and female together, or two males. If a male and female are together the male WILL breed with her and a lot. If two males together...they will probably kill each other. Just go with two females.
Interesting and helpful thing with leopard geckos is they usually pick one spot to do their business so it's pretty easy to keep their cage clean.

[kawajj]

thanks kazzy for your time and info

joe...

[Kazzy]

No problem!

[draxus11]

I also agree with Leopard Geckos, Ive had 2, they were both very sweet.  And please don't buy one from petsmart, the ones around me look like they are on deaths door.  I also recommend checking craigslist, I can always find people who just get "bored" and are getting rid of these fellows, and that way you can get an adult who is a bit more "sturdy" for the kids!

And another thing.  Once you figure out where they do their business as Kazzy said    you can just put a paper towel piece in that spot of the tank and throw it away at the end of every day! Simple cleaning!