If both crosses result in albino offspring, then he is a Tremper, and Bella is also a Tremper. If Winston and Bella are Bells, I will get albinos with this cross and no albinos when I breed hom to a Tremper albino.

My female Tremper albinos are not yet big enough to breed, so that cross will wait a few more months.

The second breeding project is with 2 tangs. I don’t have a detailed history of their genetics. I got Halloween (the male) at Petco and the female I picked up at the Manchester NH reptile expo back in September. She was a very dark juvie and the person selling her didn’t know why. I thought she was cool and I got her for only $10. We named her Midnight, because she was so dark.

As Midnight has matured she is a nice light tangerine color with high contrast dark, bold spots of black.

These picture are from when this pair was younger. Will get some new pictures up soon. I promise.

Lemon Drop looks like she will lay another clutch in a few days. Fingers crossed for fertile eggs.

Here are some sources that ship mealworms. I was surprised that the price of bulk mealworms varies considerably. While price may not be the only thing to consider, it is a primary concern if you are trying to raise geckos in the most cost effective way possible.

Some of these sites do not offer a 10,000 mealworm size option but I have determined the price you would pay for 10,000 mealworms. Most do not include shipping so you would need to check the shipping to your home.

Grubco.com
$50 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, super worms, wax worms.

ReptileFood.com
$54 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, wax worms, super worms.

SouthernCricket.com
$57.50 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, super worms, wax worms.

ArmstrongCricket.com
$60 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, super worms, wax worms.

FlukerFarms.com
$60 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, super worms.

NYWorms.com
$69.99 for 10,000 mealworms (includes shipping!)
Also carry crickets, super worms, wax worms, butter worms, roaches.

Ghann.com
$72 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, super worms, phoenix worms.

CricketsOnline.com
$74 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, hornworms, super worms, wax worms.

MulberryFarms.com
$99.95 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry super worms, silkworms, roaches, phoenix worms, wax worms, butter worms, horn worms.

PremiumCrickets.com
over $100 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry crickets, wax worms, super worms, butter worms, Phoenix worms.

Wormman.com
over $100 for 10,000 mealworms
Also carry butter worms, wax worms, super worms, crickets.

It is still unclear if she had been with a male, or if these eggs are infertile duds. I guess I will find out in about 8 weeks.

I followed the directions on incubating leopard gecko eggs at Albey’s site. I wired up a six inch piece of heat tape that I had and put a tile square on it to get a more even heat and plugged it into the thermostat that regulates my gecko rack. It took a little playing around but I have the temperature between 82-84 degrees F.

Poor Bella was only about 40g with the eggs and now is only 32g. I tried to get her to eat tonight but she seems like she would rather rest.

I hadn’t expected this, but also hadn’t looked so carefully at the expo when I bought her. I should have asked how the vendor housed the geckos etc to make sure she had not been introduced to a male.

Never having had a pregnant gecko, I went to the Gecko Fourms to ask some questions. I learned that sometimes when a female ovulates for the first time, she can produce and egg even if she has not mated. She can either lay the infertile egg or resorb it.

I turned her humid hide into a lay box by adding some damp coconut fiber to be ready of she lays an egg (or eggs). Not sure what I will do if it is fertile. Guess I will have to make an incubator and see what happens. To be continued…

To make the plastic bins I used sixteen quart Sterilite plastic boxes and melted air holes in the sides with an inexpensive soldering iron. (if you do this make sure you do it in a well ventilate area – like outdoors!).

I bought the 4 inch wide FlexWatt heat tape from Reptile Basics and a Johnson Controls thermostat. I soldered the cord to the Flexwatt, but it might have been worth it to order it with the cord already attached. Seems to work great at keeping the bins at 90-92 degrees F.

I started out the week with only 3 geckos in the rack. But on Wednesday the SHTCT female I ordered from Supreme Gecko arrived. I turned on the heat tape on the second shelf and now had 2 empty spots on that shelf.

Off to the Manchester Reptile Expo

The New England Reptile Expo was in Manchester NH on Saturday so I took my daughter and told her to help me find 2 new gecko. Drove up in the pouring rain and arrived at about 9:45. Overall I wasn’t too impressed with the Leopard Geckos that were there. Didn’t find any amazing ones. Olivia found a male tangerine with a great carrot tail and a very dark “normal” female. Then I saw a large Mack Snow male that was a ‘proven breeder’ and a pair of Bell Albinos. The male Bell had snake eyes and looks cool. So ended up getting 5 new geckos.

The rack is only half full so I might add a few more…

Here is a link to a site with some graphic images of what can happen when a leopard gecko is allowed to ingest sand.

Warning: some of the images are unpleasant, however, I feel it is important that you see what can happen to a healthy gecko that is housed on sand.

Before feeding the feeder insects to the geckos, it is important to feed the feeders. This is called gut loading. The idea is to get the feeders full ofnutrietiosus food before giving them to the geckos. This way you improve the nutrition value of the feeders.

You can buy gut load for crickets but I have not seen a gut load marketed for mealworms specifically. Some people make their own gut load from grains and vegetables. I attempted to make some gut load for the meal worms the other day. Here is how I did it:

0.5 cups of raw unsalted almonds
0.5 cups of bread crumbs
0.5 cups of oatmeal (rolled quick oats)
0.5 cups of whole wheat flour
0.5 cups of wheat bran
0.25 cups millet flour
0.25 cups oat flour
0.25 cups bulgur whole wheat

First I added the almonds to a food processor and blended until finely chopped.
next, added the other ingredients and processed until it was a consistent powder.

To use I added about 1:1 with the wheat bran mix that the meal worms came in. Added a couple small slices of carrot for moister and added a couple days worth ofmealworms.

I have also read that you can add non-fat dried milk powder, baby cereal, dried alfalfa, brewers yeast. The idea is to have a variety grains, nuts veggies to increase the nutrition of the the gut load.

If you don’t have all these ingredients, you can mix some dried grains and cereals you have around your kitchen. Just avoid the high sugar cereals.

A quick trip to the pet supply store and I came home with an Exo-Terra® desert medium heater. It is 10×10 and sticks to the underside of the glass aquarium/terrarium. I mounted it at one end of the 20 gallon tank. We were using the terrarium carpet that came with out Zilla® set and I found that the temperature above the UTH was reading about 100 degrees F. The geckos moved to the other hide at the cool end of the tank.

So now we had another problem. How do we cool the heater down? It didn’t come with a thermostat or any way to adjust the temperature. I looked online to see what I could use. I read about adding a dimmer switch, the kind that you install on the cord of a table lamp. I found one at the hardware store for about $15. It was pretty easy to install. you just cut the cord with a pair of sicissors and insert the cord into each end, then press down on the tabs. After playing with it a bit I got the temperature to stay at about 90 F.

So what did I learn? Well I didn’t really need the lights as they don’t really work to get the proper temp and leopard geckos are nocturnal and don’t really need a bright light on the tank as long as there is light from a window they will know when it is night and time to get up.

The other thing I learned was that the UTH can keep the tank too warm if all you have for a substrate is a terrarium carpet. I hear that a piece of tile might be better. Alternatively I might have been better off with the smaller heater, but I’m not sure that wouldn’t have just made the ‘too hot’ area smaller.

Actually having the geckos and trying to maintain their environment is an interesting process. I see why it is recommended that you have the habitat ready and get the conditions right BEFORE you bring the gecko(s) home.

Leopard geckos do not require an elaborate setup. A simple plastic storage bin with a screen cover will do, but you will probably want to observe your Leo so a glass aquarium/terrarium may be a better choice. A 10 gallon aquarium is a good size for one leopard gecko. If you are getting 2 geckos, a 20 gallon aquarium is best.

An appropriate substrate for the bottom of your gecko’s new home can be as simple as newspaper or paper towels. Other appropriate substrates are tile, slate, or a terrarium liner. Most gecko breeders do NOT recommend using a loose substrate like sand, gravel, bark, etc. Your gecko can ingest some of the substrate accidentally when feeding, or deliberately for unknown reasons. This can lead to impaction, a condition where the digestive system is blocked.

Your leopard gecko will need to be kept at an appropriate temperature and have both a warm and cold zone. In an aquarium this can be achieved by putting a low watt lamp above one end of the tank. The warm end should be kept between 85-90 degrees F. The cool end can be the ambient room temperature, usually in the low-mid 70′s. This temperature gradient allows the gecko a way to regulate her body temperature. Remember, geckos, like all reptiles, is cold blooded and does not have the ability to generate heat.

If you use a lamp for heat, you will need a dark bulb for night time. An alternative is an under tank heater (UTH). This is either heat tape, or a pad that sticks to the glass underneath the tank. It is best to set up your gecko’s new home and adjust the temperature for several days before putting the gecko in.

A heat rock is NOT recommended as it can get hot enough to burn your gecko. So do not waste any money on one of these.

Finally, you will need to clean your gecko’s home regularly. You will need to remove the droppings daily, and thoroughly clean the cage every 4-6 weeks, including all the hides etc too. Use a strong disinfectant to kill all bacteria and mold, etc. Be sure to rinse everything thoroughly before putting your gecko back in the cage.

Ultraviolet Light Requirement?

Leopard geckos are nocturnal and do not require a source of ultraviolet-B (UVB) light like some liazards do. SO there is no need to purchase one, although some pet stores will actually try to sell you one.

Multiple Hides

Leopard geckos are nocturnal and terrestrial. That means they are active at night and prefer to stay on the ground (not in tress, etc). In nature leopard geckos hide in holes and under rocks. To make them feel at home you will need to provide hides. A small box, or specially designed hide can be used. It is best to put one in the warm end and another in the cool end. This gives them a choice. In addition, a humid hide will help your gecko molt (shed his/her skin). I use a disposable plastic container, like those made by Glad® or Ziplock®, with a hole I cut in the side and a wet paper towel inside.

Food and Water

You need to provide your gecko with a shallow bowl of fresh water. This should be changed daily to prevent bacteria growing in stagnant water. Leopard geckos eat live insects, usually crickets or mealworms. Leopard geckos need to see the food move in order to eat it. Mealworms can be placed in a shallow bowl and crickets can be released on the cage floor. Feeder insects should not be larger that the distance between your gecko’s eyes to prevent choking and digestion issues. Insects should be ‘gut-loaded’ for 24 hours prior to feeding to your gecko. Gut loading means they should have access to a good food source. A pet store will carry cricket food and drink. Meal worms come in a bedding that is their food source. I remove enough mealworms for the next day, to a small container with some bedding or wheat bran and a small piece of carrot for a water source.