Ever heard of leopard gecko patterns like the Ruby-Eyed Tremper Albino morph? What about the Patternless Mack Super Snow? Or the Tangerine Super Hypo Carrot-Tail? You might not have heard of any of these, but they’re out there and available for you to purchase. Even as you read this, professional leopard gecko breeders are hard at work producing ever more amazing morphs (that is, visually distinct leopard geckos) for people to fall in love with and buy.
But where did this all begin? How is it done? And was there a time when this little leo actually looked kind of like a leopard making it the only option for the wannabe reptile owner? Read on to find out more…
Housing
A good rule of thumb for Red Eye Tree Frogs is 5 gallons per frog. A ten gallon tank is perfect for a pair of frogs. Flip it on its end to make the tank taller, Red Eye Tree Frogs are arboreal and like to climb. The cage top should be half glass, half screen to keep humidity up.
The best way to feed your leopard a calcium supplement is to gut load its feeder insects with a high-calcium diet. Blend together a sauce made from any of: dandelion greens; watercress; collard greens; mustard greens, and/or endive. Be sure to include both the juice and the pulp. Feed this to the feeder insects during the period 24-48 hours prior to feeding them to your leopard.
You want humidity in the 60-80% range. This can be achieved by using potting soil, orchid bark, sphagnum moss as a flooring substrate. These substrates help hold moisture in. You can also do regular misting, or close off part of the cage top to hold in moisture. A good rule of thumb is, if the glass has water beading on it, its to moist. Adjust as needed. It is a good idea to mist your frogs a few times a week.
They will require branches and plants to climb and have hidey holes.
Diet
Red Eye Tree Frogs are insectivorous. So a diet of crickets, mealworms, fruit flies, and just about any insect that fit in their mouth is fair game. I recommend gut loading anything you give them, as this adds to the nutritional value of your insects. Provide them a large water dish with fresh water, they rehydrate themselves by soaking in the dish. Use ONLY distilled water, or filtered and De-chlorinated water. Chemicals in tap water can kill your frog.
Today
With all the leopard gecko patterns currently available, what’s left to do – are there still any ‘holy grail’ morphs that no one has been able to breed yet? The answer (at the time of writing in 2010) is yes, absolutely. Chief among the morphs that everyone wants to develop are an all-black morph and a true all-blue morph. There’s probably no doubt that these morphs will be achieved soon…so start saving your pennies!
Snakes give me the willies. Can’t even go through the repile house at the zoo where they’re under glass. Cold chills, such creepy slimy looking things.
Not for me thanks,
Sandy
I do have respect for all living things in this world and I’m so inlove with nature but I’m really scared of slimy creatures. I don’t even know why!? its just that my instant reaction to it is to stay away. But I do have respect for them though and I used to treat our house lizard as a pet. But then I grew up and I’m just terrified to hold it. So hats of to you, because it shows that you really care for the amphibians. Keep it up!
NO problem with turtles, but geckos and frogs can give me paralyze me with fear. It may sound funny but my fear of these animals is really in an extreme level. Although setting up a habitat for this animals is pretty interesting.
In my opinion, one of the most exciting things about owning reptiles is setting up their reptile enclosures (It’s a lot of fun doing it). My favorite reptile enclosures are the ones offered by Cages By Design They have a great selection and I really like the wooden frames. Since my house has a more country look to it, these reptile cages and snake cages blend nicely. I’ve also been able to find a number of accessories for my reptile enclosures from Cages By Design. Their assorted pants and vines are awesome! They actually look real and the leopard geckos love them! They are made from silk or plastic so they last a long time. I prefer my lizard cages and large reptile cages to look natural and “outdoorsy,” so I was excited to discover that Cages by Design offers custom backgrounds for your reptile enclosures. You can choose a background that looks like a desert (for desert reptiles) or one that looks like a great rainforest for your more tropical pets. I couldn’t be more pleased with the way these reptile cages look in the house!!
I have recently returned from a break in Tenerife wheer Gekkos are rife. As you walk back to your apartment at night the sight of them scurrying across the hot tiled paths is wonderful. I am really considering setting up my own reptile ouse and purchasing some now.
Came across this by accident – really taken with the idea of having a gecko as a pet – will let you know
I love to set up my leopards enviornment it is so much fun. Here and there I love to change his living area. But I never knew I should give my leopard a high calcium diet? I am going to give him a high calcium diet from now on because I want him living for a long time.
Thanks for sharing these tips. Got an iguana from a friend recently and I wonder if they have the same food preferences-with the gecko I mean. I just love my iguana. ^_^
Be super careful about what you clean with around reptiles. Dry chem cleaning can kill your pets. Just a little fyi for ya.
Thanks for the infos. I have a six year old boy and I’m trying to get him to shift his attention to easier to manage pets because his sister is allergic to dogs. This has become one of my options because of the great write up, so thanks
I’ve always wanted to have a reptile as a pet – definitely sounds like a lot of work to build up the perfect habitat though! Still, really good advice – if I ever decide to take the plunge I’ll definitely refer to this!