#lizard circus

Hi! Is this the Budo you’re referring to? I sure hope so: he’s awesome!

In all seriousness though, your new gecko sounds a lot like Stannis when we rescued him; he was from a similar situation. The number one thing you need to focus on is getting you gecko accustomed to you and your smell. She needs to understand that you are nothing to be feared. I’ve seen recommendations of putting a worn piece of clothing (something small, like a sock) in the tank so the gecko becomes used to your smell and views it as ‘normal’. You’ll want to make sure that she actually wants to come out and be with you - don’t just scoop her up and throw her on your lap, that will just freak her the freak out.

Instead, put your hand in the enclosure laying flat - knuckles on the floor of thank with your open palm making a platform for your geck. Keep your hand there for 10 minutes (it’s killer, I know) - until she comes over and starts licking on/around your hand. You want her to climb on you when she feels comfortable enough to do so. Patience will be the biggest key here - progress will not come overnight; it may take weeks before she puts her hand on yours.

Teach you my ways, eh?

Where to start… I guess we’ll start with basic Leopard Gecko housing and husbandry.

My go-to spot for information regarding Leopard Geckos is The Leopard Gecko Forum, found here:

http://theleopardgeckoforum.com/

One of the head moderators, Kermit, is a very knowledgeable and friendly guy. He’s written a few helpful guides on that site that are great jumping-off points. One of those guides (titled: Proper Housing for Leopard Geckos) can be found here:

http://theleopardgeckoforum.com/topic166-proper-housing-for-leopard-geckos

This post is very informative and I’ve used much of his advice to my own advantage. The most important topics to pay attention to, in my opinion, are:

Tank heating (under tank heater/thermostat)

Tank substrate (I use thick, glue-backed vinyl tiles in all of our enclosures)

Now, some people may give you flak over vinyl tiles that have glue on them, due to fear of toxic fumes being emitted from the glue when you use an under tank heater. However, if your floor temperatures are correct (90 degrees F or so), you will not have any issues. The glue on these tiles needs to heat up to 120 degrees F in order to release any fumes - way higher than your floor temperatures should ever be. We’ve been using these tiles for nearly a year without any issues (and we have 5 separate terrariums, all with these same tiles). They are very easy to clean and maintain and my geckos seems to love their floors. I would suggest trekking out to your nearest Home Depot/Lowes and purchasing some. Follow Kermit’s advice as far as how to determine what a “quality tile” feels like. You want ones that are 1-2 millimeters thick; they’ll crack, rather than bend.

Enough about Kermit, now back to my set ups: all of our Leopard Gecko tanks are in Exo Terra Medium-lows or 20 longs. Everyone’s tank has the following items in it:

Hot Hide – Exo Terra Reptile Cave (medium) - http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Reptile-Cave-Medium/dp/B001F3YJ9O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1464096334&sr=8-3&keywords=gecko+cave

Cool Hide – Exo Terra Reptile Den (medium) - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AR5BU/ref=twister_B005HSG8JM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Humid Hide – Zoo Med Reptile Shelter (medium) - http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptile-Shelter-Medium/dp/B000BNZTAC/ref=pd_sim_199_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=616R45nnnsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR316%2C320_&refRID=0XCZZABXNVX6M3T0PFES

Food Dish – Lee’s Mealworm Dish (fair warning: these things aren’t that great…) - http://www.amazon.com/Lees-Pet-Products-SLE20165-Mealworm/dp/B00BUFVURG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1464096965&sr=8-4&keywords=gecko+dish

Water Bowl – Everyone has cheap little dishes I found at Petco for 99 cents. Stan has a large, custom water dish that I sculpted by hand, since he enjoys occasionally laying in the water and I couldn’t find one big enough without being too big.

If you have the proper housing and husbandry for your little Leo, the rest will fall into place. Floor temperature is on the biggest things you need to keep your eye on. That being said, I would recommend getting one of these (preferably both):

Probe thermometer (to tape to the floor of the tank) such as this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B00JA3BMDW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1464097258&sr=8-3&keywords=infrared+gun

Infrared Temperature gun (shoot this bad boy at the floor to make sure the temperatures are correct, as the probes are not always super accurate). This will also help you determine just how ‘big’ the hot side of your tank is. Here’s a cheap, reliable model:

http://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B00JA3BMDW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1464097258&sr=8-3&keywords=infrared+gun