Page 4 - Edge: Issue 6

Just normal pet care—as long as you don’t mind the bugs.
Story by Luke Olson
L eopard Geckos, Kenyan Sand Boas, and Crested Geckos are all excellent choices for beginner reptile keepers. The best thing about these 3 reptiles is that they’re all very friendly and docile, which makes them great for handling. While these animals may seem similar, each requires specific care. Here’s a quick crash
course in these reptiles’ needs.
Leopard Geckos are popular choices for beginner pets. These reptiles are very friendly, docile, cute, and easy to care for. They have several rquirements, including a heating mat that stays at about 89-91 degrees Fahrenheit. These animals also need three different hides: one warm, one cold, and one moist. The cold hide should be a cave with a bottom on it, the warm hide can be more exposed, and the moist hide should be similar to the cold hide but with increased humidity levels. Sometimes these hides are referred to as humidity boxes and often contain moss. Leopard Geckos don’t require a food bowl because they prefer to hunt for their food. Baby Leopard Geckos must be fed every day. Adults, on the other hand, can be fed in two to four day intervals. You can feed a baby 10 mealworms at a time and an adult three or four superworms at a time. Geckos can be handled most of the time, but try not to disturb them while they’re sleeping. Don’t handle your gecko after they eat for at least four hours; their digestion is quite slow. You’re able to tell if your gecko doesn’t want to be handled if it squeaks, chirps, does a low growl, or starts shaking. For a picture of a leopard gecko, look at the top of this page!
Crested geckos are very friendly and calm creatures. They’re very fun to handle and quite interesting to watch. They’re unique because they’re arboreal (this means they love to climb). Crested Geckos are pretty jumpy, so make sure you don’t squeeze them or scare them while you’re handling. They’re also fairly clumsy, so it’s not the end of the world if your gecko
tries to jump from one branch to the other and hits the side of the tank instead. To care for a Crestie, you will need a digital hydrometer to measure humidity levels, as these animals generally prefer their environement to be very humid. Crested Geckos will generally need a lot of material to climb on in their enclosures, such as branches and logs reaching. They value vertical rather than horizontal space. The feeding for these animals is very simple: there are many varieties of commercial crested gecko food available which will generally provide a full nutrition for these creatures. For a treat, feed them insects
or fruit.
Kenyan sand boas are very amusing pets, and they’re especially fun to watch. They like to burrow, but most of the time they’ll leave half their body out, only part way submerging into the substrate. Because they are burrowing snakes, they will need deep substrate and will not be happy on ReptiCarpet. They eat small mice (pinky mice) as babies, but as they get bigger they can eat regular mice. Usually they eat these mice only once or twice a week, but make sure to ask your pet provider for specific instructions related to individual care. These animals have simple needs. Kenyan Sand Boas are quite small and stay that way their entire lives. You’ll want to be careful
handling them, because if you scare them, they’ll try to bite you. Also, make sure not to handle them after they eat for at least a day or two.
LEOPARD GECKOS
&
CRESTED GECKOS
3
KENYAN SAND BOAS