Welcome Fargo!!!!

Yesterday my sister and I picked up the newest member to our family, a precious leopard gecko named Fargo. She is still to young to determine gender but we keep on referring her to a she in hopes that she is female.

The reason we are hoping she is female is because we hope to get another in the future. Male leopard geckos should not be housed with other male leopard geckos! You can house a male with a female but then you are at risk of becoming a grandparent. Since Fargo is our first herp we are not ready for the responsibility of breeding and caring for babies. Females are able to live with other females. Of course this is a case by case since some leos may not want a companion.

Fargo is in her new home. She's been mostly hiding. It is important to remember that leopard geckos are nocturnal, therefore is it normal for them to sleep all day in their hides. Fargo has been hiding out at night too but according to some google searches this is normal when you bring home a new leo. It can take up to two weeks for them to become comfortable and acquainted in their new habitats.

Fargo also hasn't been eating. We have placed live vitamin sprinkled crickets in her home but she has taken no interest to them. We have also provided a bowls with water, gut loaded mealworms and her calcium in her home and no interest there either. Again we turned to google with our concern, this is also normal when bringing home a new gecko. I will continue to try to feed her with feeding tongs and hopefully in a few days she will give in.

I took her out of her tank today because I could not resist her cuteness and wanted to hold her. Leo's are very docile creatures and with proper taming can be handled, however it is not the smartest idea to handle a new gecko. Fargo is already stressed about being in her new home, by taking her out of it just caused more stress. I will resist my temptations and leave her to herself until she becomes more comfortable in her environment and starts eating.

For new leo pet owners like myself please note that it is important to keep a dish with water and calcium (I use reptcal) in their tanks at all times. Water should be replaced with new water everyday. I have been using bottle water since I am not sure how tap water may effect her,

Hides are also very important to leos. Leos hide from the sun all day and should have proper hide. I have three in my tank for Fargo. There is a hide on the cooler side of the tank, a hide on the hotter side of her tank and also a humid hide on the warmer side.

A humid hide is essential! This hide will help Fargo shed her skin when shedding time arrives. I keep a damp paper towel in the humid hide and peat moss. I mist the moss daily to make sure it stays humid in the hide.

Fargo has reptile carpet as her substrate. While sand is aesthetically pleasing I have read from many different sources not to use sand since the leo can ingest it and it can cause them to become ill. Some owners and breeders do debate this issue and use sand but since I am a new herp owner I decided to go the safe route. The reptile carpet actually looks nice. We have a tan/brown colored carpet so we can pretend it's sand haha.

I have also read that paper towels work just as well. I personally think the reptile carpet looks better but that is just my preference.

"Mommy, leave me alone and let me adjust!" -Fargo

Another major thing new leo owners need to worry about is keeping the correct temperatures. These are desert animals after all and it is important to imitate their natural habitat as much as possible in order to keep them healthy and alive. I have been trying my best to create the temperature gradient that is important for leos. According to the research I found that most leo experts say during the day the "hot spot" of the habitat should be between 90-95F and 70-75F on the cooler side. In the middle the temp usually stays in the 80's. Even though these reptiles are desert animals I personally would not recommend the temperature to exceed 95F as it could burn or make your leo too hot.

At night time I have been letting the temperature to drop to the 80's on the warmer side and the 70's on the cooler side. The temp on the cooler side should not be cooler than 65F.

For heating I use an under the tank heater. My research told me that leo's actually retain their heat from their bellies as opposed to some other reptiles who take heat from the sun/ overhead heat. I keep the UTH in the corner of the hot side of the tank and have Fargo's dry hide over it. If using an UTH please do your research and follow the instructions correctly. The pad goes under the tank not in the tank. I also made sure to levitate the tank with these furniture pads that are made to prevent your furniture from scratching the floor. I stacked two together to get the desired height and stuck them to the bottom of the tank. Please do not place anything near the actual pad as it may be a fire hazard. It is important to have that gap between the pad and the surface you have the tank on so that the heat can flow. Again do your research. I am not an expert. I am new to this and all of this information has come from my personal research.

I would also highly recommend getting a thermostat for your UTH. This will prevent the UTH from getting too hot and burning your pet. You can control the temperatures with the thermostat so that it will maintain the desired temperature.

I also purchased electric thermometers for Fargo. i personally believe these will keep more accurate readings than the ones that stick on to the tank. The stick on thermometers will measure the temp in the air, but remember leo's get their heat from their bellies so you want to make sure to take the temp on the floor of the tank. This is why the electronic thermometers are great. They come with a wire that has a sensor on the bottom. I stuck one of the sensors in the hide over the UTH and the sensor from my second thermometer under the hide on the cooler side. Simple and easy to read!


 I also use overhead lamps although many people will say you do not need them. Since I have not purchased a thermostat for my UTH yet I use a mix of the UTH and heat lamps to keep the habitat at the right temps. I use a daytime 60W blue daytime reptile bulb and a 40W red nighttime bulb. I suggest to play around with the wattages of your bulbs to see which keep it at the desired temps, However I would not go over a 75W bulb as it may make the tank too hot and can burn your tank. Especially if you are using a UTH.

The reason I use the bulbs is so that I can better control the temps until I can purchase a thermostat for my UTH. If I see that the tank is getting too hot I will try turning off the heat lamp or UTH to bring down the temp.

Fargo also does not require any UVB lighting however it is important to keep a 12 hour day and 12 hour night cycle for your gecko. Since my room doesn't provide much natural lighting during the day I use a blue daytime reptile light. At night it should be dark for Fargo but since I like to look at her I use a red nighttime reptile bulb which I read was okay to use for leo's at night.

I purchased a timed power source outlet for the lamps but still haven't figured out how to work it haha so I've just been manually turning them on and off for her as needed.

I will post some photos of her tank setup at another time since it is night time and don't want to turn on bright lights.

For food as I had mentioned we have tried crickets and mealworms but she hasn't been eating either or yet. I am trying not to worry since it is only Day 2 of her being home and she could just be adjusting. I was hoping to keep her on a mealworm diet. Some breeders/experts say this is perfectly fine others argue you should use    crickets are her primary diet. For new owners, do your research and see what works best for you and your gecko. Since she is still a juvenile we decided to try both and then if we later decide to stick with one or the other we can do so. It is important that whatever type of insect you use that they are gut loaded. I will post later on how I gut load Fargo's food.

If you are planning on getting your first herp please please please do your own research. Again, I am NOT by any means an expert. This is my first herp and all of the information I have provided has been from the research I have done. Google, look on reptile sites, go on you tube or purchase a book on your herp. Please do not just go by a pet stores care sheet.

Fargo doesn't want to play just yet.

If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them below. I am very open on how to keep the best care of Fargo!