Halley's Comet: Science & Life: September 2012

Most websites can agree that dirt, bark or regular outdoor sand is not appropriate for Leopard Geckos . When Leopard Geckos hunt crickets they could possibly swallow this substance and harm themselves. That is why fake turf, or Calcium sand is recommended. I have used both. And can maybe help you make a decision.
I first started with calcium sand shortly after we got our lizards. We had white sand for a long time and had no problem with it other than it would get very dirty with cricket parts and in her "restroom corner". My boyfriend decided to switch our female to the light blue colored sand. This was a stunning substrate, I loved the way it brought colors out in my Leopard Gecko. I did have one problem with the Calcium sand, which is why I no longer use it. The color rubbed off on my lizard. She developed a blue stain on her legs and belly from the sand. At first I just thought she had sand on her, but now I realize that she actually had the dye from the blue color soaking into her skin. I do not think it is that toxic but I switched the substrate to the fake turf immediately. She does not like it as much, but it is much safer and the blue has faded and been shed off over time. It is not as pretty. I recommended using reptile moss to spruce it up a little bit. There are two colors. You can see the options in my article here.

http://halleyscometscienceandlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-perfect-pet-for-kids.html

The Perfect Pet for Any Young Scientist

Maybe you have a young child, even as young as 6. As most children do, they want their own pet. As a former pet wanting child I can relate to this.

When I was the age of 3, my parents decided it was time to get two outside farm cats and a yellow lab puppy. I will not say this is a mistake, because I did form bonds with all three animals growing up. My dad used to call it, “The lifestyle of the yellow dog”. There were many difficulties however, many young lab owners can attest to the hardships of training a lab puppy. She ate tools, drywall, even a whole rose bush as a puppy, and eventually mellowed out around the age of 2. My cats were wary of me as a toddler. Wanting to pet them I would grab at their tales, squeeze them, and try picking them up. Any cat person can tell you most cats and toddlers do not mix very well as cats do not take being poked and pulled. Here is the picture that sums this up:

So back to the story. Most parents do not believe their child when they say they will take care of it, I do not blame them. Dog and cat food is expensive, and children do not work. Simply children can not take care of a dog or cat. That does not mean all animals are off the list however, plenty of pets are somewhat inexpensive. The point should not be lost that children can learn to take care of animals themselves at a very young age. So what animal do I recommend? The Leopard Gecko.

A persons first thought to this might be, expensive set up, or reptiles are skittish. This may be true with some species. Chameleons are humidity sensitive and need a proper humidifier. Anoles can be skittish and jump and run when you reach in to pick them up. Leopard Geckos are mellow as far as reptiles go. Sure there are other mellow reptiles, tortoises and turtles, but they can be ornery, and they literally live 50 plus years. Leopard Geckos have an average life span of 15-20 years. They can move fast, but for the most part move slowly. Most Leopard geckos I have come in contact with like to be held. Your body is warm, and they like to sit on you stomach, chest, arm, shoulder, or even head while you read or watch TV. I had one Leopard Gecko when I was young that I would walk around with it on my head, I thought it was the neatest thing as a 7 year old. Your 7 year old will too.

So now you have the reasons why to pick a Leopard Gecko but you still might have some thoughts. For example, how much will it cost me? How should I set up my terrarium? What do they eat? How do I maintain them? Most importantly how do I make sure my child learns something for the experience?

How to make sure your child learns from the experience. Children as young as 7 can be responsible for a Leopard Gecko. At this age it is a great opportunity to teach about financial and physical responsibilities. One idea I have to suggest to parents on how to do this is to have their children or child agree to do chores in exchange for a certain amount of money to be saved until they have the amount they need to purchase everything for the Leopard Gecko. Children as young as 7 can learn to pull weeds in the garden, wash dishes, vacuum, or do laundry. Offer them $2-$3 per chore. This can add up fast. Dishes every night for a week can mean up to $21, so be careful what you set your prices at. This teaches kids to be responsible and self sustainable. It also teaches them about savings and money spending. The total approximate price of the set up and lizard is $100. Make sure to have $100 saved up, this might take 4-6 months worht of time to do, but patients is a virtue, something many children are not taught.

So what do you get for $100? I recommend a 20 gallon long tank, substrate of calcium sand or fake turf for reptiles, lighting, heating, and a basking spot. Do not go into the store and try to purchase all these things separately or brand new. This will cost much more than $100. I Give you some ideas of products I recommend, but the best way to get your lizard is to hit up yard sales or tanks, or Craig list and just get the whole set up and lizard together plus left over food, for one low price. This is actually what I recommend doing, Here are some Craigslist posts for Leopard Gecko set up and terrariums that I found, and will be what you will want to start looking for when your child is nearing having saved up $100.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/for/3226520659.html
http://spokane.craigslist.org/for/3242623729.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/for/3238620961.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/3186029232.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/3186300819.html

Many of the pets I see on Craig list are animals whose owners do not have time for them any more. Many getting them for their children just to have them loose interest. While there is always a risk for this, adopting an animal that has already been through that can teach a lesson to your kids that it is not okay to make a commitment to take care of an animal and back out. It is a commitment for the entirety of the animals life and not for as long as you are interested in it.
Leopard Geckos are nocturnal. During the day they sleep, and sun bathe. You might see them moving from place to place in their set up. This is the Leopard Gecko thermo regulating it’s own temperature. My lizards I really only see active at night before bed and in the morning when I wake up sometimes they are trying to crawl up the glass, or on a piece of décor.
Leopard Geckos are insectivores. This means they eat various types of insects. One of the most common being crickets. You can purchase crickets from your local pet store, for usually about 10 cents a cricket. Be careful when you feed your lizard crickets. They will have to hunt them down and some lizards are better at this than others. My male Leopard Gecko ended up being underweight because I had him on a diet of mainly crickets. I had to switch him to wax and meal worm diet to gain weight. My female loves crickets and is a true hunter and has never had weight issues. In my personal belief a variety of these three insects would be the best diet. Plan on spending average $2 a week on food.
I feed my lizards about 3 times a week. The female gets all cricket diet because she likes them so much, and the male gets mostly meal worms, wax worms, and at least once a week crickets too. When my lizards were babies, they looked pretty frail, their arms and legs were stick like. Once they because young adults they got pretty muscular and now have very thick back legs and forearms. They arm really pretty strong muscular creatures and this is due to what they eat. It is important to feed them regularly or you could stress them, cause medical issues, or they will be stunted in growth and size. Getting some Leopard Gecko Calcium supplement is important if you do not have the calcium sand. It keeps their bones strong and prevents a variety of health issues. Because Leopard Geckos only typically eat certain insects they natural lack Calcium in their diet. This is why it is important to use. One bottle of the powder can last you a very long time and you only have to do it twice a week. I go in and buy crickets every Friday. Then sprinkle this stuff in the bag and put 3-4 in the tank, and the rest in a small cricket container. Could even be old Tupperware with tiny nail holes punched for air. You can search for several products that can help keep you crickets healthy and fat. They have these strange orange chunks. As well as using parts of egg containers. They love them. Any person at the pet store who handles and bags the crickets will be able to tell you just what you need to keep them healthy at home, as it is the same things they have to do at the store. The alternative to this is stopping by three times a week to buy about 75 cents worth of crickets each time. Meal worms and wax worms can be stored in the refrigerator. When meal worms get cold they hibernate.
You can learn about raising your own meal worms here.
You can learn more about the Leopard Gecko here.
If you are not satisfied with the Craig lists posts in your area search for a 20 gallon long used tank online. That is one item to always buy used, because they are really expensive new. Here is a checklist and product recommendations. These are not necessarily the cheapest products or the best line or the most politically correct company, these are just products I have used with my Leopard Geckos, Lizzie and Optimus, and what my experiences were with them and why you may or may not want to consider them.

Leopard Gecko Checklist: Before I get my Leopard Gecko I need these things:

Tank - recommended a 20 gallon long for enough space to grow and run around and thermo regulate properly. Most sites say 10 gallon is okay, I say the bigger the better, if you are getting it used anyway you do not want to end up with the freak lizard that grew to 12” and needs a new tank later on.
Substrate - Substrate is the flooring for your lizards enclosure. Leopard Geckos are used to dry, rocky and sandy lands. I recommend using Calcium sand, or fake turf made specially for lizards. You can see my opinion on this substrate debate in this article here.

Water and Food Dish - You can buy a cheap small ceramic food dish at Petco for $1, here is the one I have for my lizards. The Water dish needs to be bigger, I bought the plastic $1 that are about 2-3 times larger than the food dish. This way if my lizard needs to get in he can. Sometimes they wet themselves during shedding, or if they get too hot and need to cool down fast. One issue I constantly face is crickets dying in the water. The plastic dish with its high slanted sides helps a little bit, but I still have to pull a few out here and there.
Hideout - Here is a shot of my big expensive hide out:

Now here is how to make your own. Take a medium square 2” deep old Tupperware or plastic container you do not want any more, and cut a “doorway” from the edge of the Tupperware being the bottom. The “doorway” should be about 2 times the diameter of your lizard. Maybe 2-2.5 inches wide and tall. The Tupperware can be sharp. If it is too sharp tape the edges so your lizard does not get hurt. If you decorate your hideout make sure to use reptile safe décor, and just because it says non-toxic does not mean it is for lizards. Stuff it with reptile moss. Here is what I recommend, it holds moisture and helps the lizard shed. Plus it is cheap. You can even scatter it various places around the tank for your lizard to crawl on and hide in.
Heat - Because Leopard Geckos thermo regulate they need a hot and cold spot in their tanks. I use a light, paired with a heating pad or a heating rock. One of my set ups uses day and night lights with a heating pad, one with day and night lights and a heated rock. I got the heated rock at a garage sale. I try to put the light over one side of the other, so he can move away from it if he gets hot, or closer if he gets cold.

Lighting - Leopard Geckos need a days worth of light everyday. It is important to keep this consistant. I turn mine on the day light when I wake up, and then have a red heat lamp for night time. Bulbs frequently go out. I recommend you use a smaller watt bulb than the holder is made for. An example being use 75 watt bulbs in a 150 watt holder. They tend to not go out as fast. Sometimes my bulbs last a full year, other time my bulbs last a month. Keep receipts I have had to take multiple brands of bulbs back after they went out weeks after getting them.

Décor - Lizard safe décor. I combined my décor and my hideout in one. In my opinion lizards prefer rocks and things over fake plants. But there are a variety of decorating options at any local pet store that are lizard safe.

Sources:

http://spokane.craigslist.org/for/3226520659.html
http://spokane.craigslist.org/for/3242623729.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/for/3238620961.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/3186029232.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/3186300819.html
http://www.petco.com/N_75_105/Leopard-Gecko-Terrarium-Decor.aspx?CoreCat=LeopardGeckoHPDecor
http://www.mtsociety.com/forums/index.php?topic=1145.0
http://www.petco.com/

Halley's Comet: Science & Life

Pages

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Beautiful Birds Pictures: Northern Cardinal

Russ Thompson Hummingbird Photographs

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Beautiful Nature Photography

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Thesaurus of Emotions

Amazing Poetry: Lewis Carroll

90 Second History Lesson On the Middle East

The Substrate Debate

The Perfect Pet For Kids