We returned to the pet store a few days later and found 2 geckos. One was a normal gecko and the other an albino. The normal was a little bigger than the albino. The reptile ‘specialist’ at the store warned us about not keeping two males together for too long but since these were both pretty small I figured that we had some time before we might have to separate them. Next we purchased 25 small crickets (not enough) and 100 small mealworms, and a plastic desert plant decoration.
The geckos were placed in their new home and they wasted no time getting in the one hide that came with the habitat. We didn’t bother them until the next morning when we offered then some crickets. They had been fed crickets at he pet store and knew what to do. At this point we didn’t really know how many crickets and mealworms they would eat. For some reason I thought they might eat 2-3 crickets a day. But they would eat more than that. We kept mealworms in a dish but it seemed they preferred the crickets.
In the mean time, I started searching the Internet for some good gecko care sites. At first it was hard to distinguish the good info from the bad, and it seemed some of the advice was contradictory. Eventually I did get some good advice and realized I needed some calcium for the Leo babies. So back to the pet store for calcium and some more crickets. Found some Leopard Gecko Calcium Plus from Repashy Superfoods at Petco and started applying it to the crickets. I found it worked best to put some calcium powder in a baggie and then add some crickets, close the bag and shake. The crickets turned white/gray and were then placed in the tank with the geckos.
One problem we noticed was that the baby leopard geckos would strike at the crickets and get their teeth caught on the carpet (Zilla® brand brown terrerium liner). We removed the carpet and realized that one side was rough and one fuzzy. We had placed it in with the fuzzy side up. So we turned it over so that the rough side was up and now the geckos do not have a problem with their teeth getting stuck. Another problem with the carpet is that it is just a bit too long for the 20 gallon tank. The end curls up a bit and this provides a place for crickets to get under and hide. Next time I clean the cage I will trim a quarter inch off the end of the carpet.