Leopard Gecko Care - Why Gut Loading is a Must

By Jo S. Morris

If you're thinking about getting one of these great little critters as a pet, then one of the most important leopard gecko care concepts you must learn about is 'gut loading.' In a nutshell, gut loading is the practice of giving the insects nutritious food before feeding them to your leopard gecko, effectively using them as shells to transport that food into your leo's belly. Without gut loading, feeder insects such as crickets and mealworms are simply not nutritious enough foods to keep your pet in good health.
 
Note that 'not nutritious enough' a lot of the time means 'too high in phosphorous and too low in calcium.' Commonly used feeder insects usually have these characteristics, which is a problem, because calcium is essential if these geckos are to avoid metabolic bone disease. Research show that gut loading is a very effective way of ensuring that feeder insects carry the necessary amount of calcium into the bodies of reptiles that they are fed to.

In terms of what to use as gut load, a calcium fortified chicken egg laying mash fed to the feeder insects 24-48 hours prior to them going into your leo's terrarium is effective. However if you are raising the feeder insects yourself, an even better option is to raise them on high calcium food such as turnip greens, dandelions, or cactus powder. You can even make a gel comprised of agar and cactus powder that works both as water and as food.

If you've read this far you might be wondering how leopard geckos are able to get the nutrients they need in the wild without anyone to carefully gut load their food. The answer is firstly that in the wild their diet is much more varied. In the wild these geckos eat pretty much anything they can overpower, including all types of insects and even small rodents. In captivity by contrast, their diet is likely to be limited to just a few staples like the two big favorites, crickets and mealworms.

The other reason wild leopard geckos are able to get the nutrients they need is that in the wild, the insects and rodents that they eat will in turn have had a much more varied diet than those bred by humans as reptile food.

If you own a leo, then learning about how to properly gut load feeder insects in order to replace the much more varied diet that it would get in the wild is a really important responsibility in leopard gecko care that you have. Establish a good routine for gut loading your leo's feeder insects early on, and you'll be doing the best you can to ensure that your leopard gecko leads a long and healthy life.

Jo Morris is a leopard gecko enthusiast and author of the book " Leopard Gecko Secrets Revealed ". To learn more about leopard gecko care, visit http://www.leopardgeckocenter.com.

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What Are the Important Supplements For Leopard Geckos?

By Jo S. Morris

Leopard geckos have a few needs that are totally non-negotiable: they need a properly temperature-regulated environment with both a warm and a cooler area; they need appropriate food, and they need the right supplements specifically for leopard geckos. All three are critical to the health, happiness and longevity of your leopard, but in this article it is the latter of the three - supplements - that is up for discussion.
 
So what are the important supplements for leopard geckos in captivity? Here is what they need:

Calcium

Leopard geckos in the wild eat a varied diet of insects and rodents, and those insects and rodents will themselves have eaten a varied diet up until they are caught and eaten. That adds up to a pretty nutritious diet for the wild leo, and one of its key features is a good ratio of calcium to phosphorus. That's very important, as a diet with a ratio of calcium to phosphorus that is weighted in favor of phosphorus will result in not enough calcium being absorbed. This puts them at risk of metabolic bone disease. Unfortunately, most common feeder insects fed to captive leos have a bad ratio of calcium to phosphorus, and that's why a supplement is required.

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.

Vitamin D3

Leopard geckos in the wild, for obvious reasons, get all the sun (and hence all the vitamin D3) they need. Kept indoors as a pet however, they don't get any sun at all, and that's why a vitamin D3 supplement is needed. A vitamin D3 supplement can be given as part of a multivitamin supplement (see below for how to administer this).

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is another dietary essential for these geckos, and again yours won't get enough of it unless you specifically take steps to ensure that it gets a supplement. An insufficiency of vitamin A can cause serious eye problems, so it's definitely not one to skip.

It's possible to supplement a leopard gecko's diet with vitamin A directly but a better alternative is to supplement it with beta carotene, which it can metabolize into vitamin A.

You won't find it difficult to find a specially formulated reptile multivitamin powder containing both beta carotene and vitamin D3. While a calcium supplement should be given to your leo via gut loading each and every mealtime, the multivitamin should be given only about once every two weeks. The easiest way to give it is to dust it onto feeder insects by putting them in a plastic bag with the powder and giving the bag a shake.

Knowing the right supplements for leopard geckos and giving them the appropriate food and correct temperature will mean healthy and happy leopards to care for.

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How to Avoid Leopard Gecko Health Issues

By Jo S. Morris

It'd be pretty irresponsible to own a pet, no matter what kind, and not take it to a vet when it's required. Sometimes things get serious enough that you need expert help, and that's where vets come in. Still, wouldn't you rather avoid leopard gecko health issues as much as possible by doing what you can before they arise?
 
Here's how to do what you can to avoid health problems with your leo:

Think seriously about sand

Do you know how many hits you get on Google if you search for "leopard gecko" and "impaction"? You get 22,600 - that represents a lot of people concerned about this all-too-common health problem.

If you didn't already know, sand impaction is where a leopard gecko eats sand and it gets stuck in their digestive system. This causes pain, bloating, and eventually (if the leo is unable to pass the sand and doesn't receive treatment) death.

So how do you avoid your leo developing sand impaction? Here is the formula:

- If possible, avoid putting sand in your leo's habitat altogether. There are plenty of other substrates to choose from, such as slate tile or coconut husk.

- If you put sand in your leo's tank, use only a fine 'play sand' (this is a screened and washed sand with a fine, rounded grain).

- Don't put juvenile leopard geckos on a sand substrate - wait until they are at least 5-6 months old.

- Supply plenty of dietary calcium. Leos are more prone to eating when they feel calcium deficient, so provide them with a bowl of calcium powder, gut load feeder insects with food containing calcium, dust feeder insects with more calcium powder, and consider switching to a feeder insect that naturally contains more calcium (such as silkworms).

Choose food carefully

Strange as it may sound, obesity is another common health issue with leopard geckos.

To avoid obesity problems, don't feed your adult leo a diet comprised only of worms, as these tend to be fatty compared with crickets and roaches. Instead, alternate between feeder insect types every 3-6 months.

Also, don't feed your leo more than 3 times per week, and when you feed it don't give it more feeder insects than it can eat in 15 minutes.

Ensure there's adequate heat

Leopard geckos need a high temperature of around 90 degrees Fahrenheit in their environment. This is necessary for all kinds of reasons, but health-wise there are two important ones: to aid digestion, and to maintain a properly-functioning immune system.

Remember that you must carefully and accurately measure the heat in your leo's tank so that you can be sure that it's the correct temperature. Use an infrared temperature gun (search the web for "temp gun")) to precisely measure substrate surface temperatures - mercury thermometers may not give you an accurate reading unless they are positioned exactly.

A word of advice here: The vet you choose must have knowledge of reptile care in order to be able to advise on any leopard gecko health issues.

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Creating a Natural Leopard Geckos Habitat

By Jo S. Morris

When you're trying to give a leopard gecko a home in captivity where it'll be happy and healthy, the starting point should of course always be to think about its habitat in the wild. In the wild, the leopard geckos habitat is the desert areas of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
 
Does this mean that every leopard gecko terrarium should contain sand? Well, no. A common mistake that people make is to hear that these geckos live in desert regions in the wild and to think "desert = sand

It's hard to shake the visual association of the word 'desert' with 'endless shifting sand dunes,' but the fact is that only about 20% of the areas of the world that are classified as deserts are covered in sand. 'Desert' means 'dry,' but it does not necessarily mean 'sandy,' and the desert areas where leopard geckos live in Asia are characterized more by rocks and grasses than by sand.

This is probably the major reason why sand remains a popular substrate for the bottom of the leopard geckos terrariums, despite its known health risks. Then again, it's not the only reason: many leo owners would probably still prefer to use a sand substrate even if they knew it wasn't a natural environment just because it looks good. It's hard not to have a little sympathy with this position, because you could argue that it doesn't matter whether a pet's environment in captivity is natural, so long as the pet is happy living in it. After all, what's 'natural' about human beings living in cities?

However, for those who want to approximate a natural environment for their leo without sacrificing looks, there are two other options worthy of consideration:

1. Slate Tile

A slate tile in the bottom of you leo's terrarium looks good, is very easy to clean, and approximates a rocky habitat in the wild pretty well. If you want to, buy a selection of smaller tiles in different colors and patterns and mix-n-match them to create a more interesting visual. Add fake rock features and plants for an even more authentic look.

2. The 'Full Natural'

For those with the time and the will, the five-star habitat option for leopard gecko owners is something that truly replicates the leo's home in the wild. Start with a large tank, at least 20 gallons (ideally 40 gallons) for one leopard gecko - this is necessary, as creating a natural environment means more of the floor space is covered, meaning less space for your leo to run around on. Put a one-inch layer of a mixture of equal parts peat moss, potting soil and play sand into the bottom of the tank as drainage for the plants. Then add some plants (you'll be able to find lists of plants which are reptile-safe on the internet). Next put in a layer of sand/soil mix, then add rocks, logs, and finally fill any gaps with more play sand.

(NB: If you haven't heard of it before, 'play sand' is a washed sand that's produced for children's sandpits. Because it's clean and very fine it greatly reduces risks associated with geckos ingesting it, particularly when it's used sparingly.)

Either one of these two suggestions is going to give your leopard geckos habitat one that is worthy of this amazing lizard.

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