Leopard Gecko As One of the Favorite Pets
Have you ever heard about a leopard gecko? Well, this lizard
has gain popularity in a short period of time which made them sought as one of
the favorite pets. This reptile comes from the dessert regions in South Central
Asia, imported to the states and breed as a wonderful captive animal. In fact
geckos are easy to breed which may produce amazing offspring.
Why are they admired that much? Here are 6 good reasons why
leopard geckos become one of the favorite pets in many households and families.
#1 - Gentle and tame. Geckos are known to be gentle and
tame. They are not the type of pets that will endanger its keeper. You can enjoy
playing with it without any fear for being hurt or bitten by this gentle
lizard.
Unlike other climbing lizard, geckos do not possess toe pads
that produce the ability to adhere to surfaces. As a consequence, geckos are
not good climbers and tend to stay on plain surfaces or horizontal barks.
This provides you with the opportunity to keep this lizard
safe in a glass enclosure where they are not able to climb on. Hence, lessen
the possibility to escape from its habitat.
#2 – Uniqueness. As mentioned before, geckos are easy to
breed while in captivity. Their offspring produces beautiful and unique
patterns plus their obvious appearances that are very interchangeable. Further
breeding among geckos will create new specimens with more unique patterns. Gecko
morphs are available in such great variability.
An extraordinary trait is the carrot tail of some geckos.
This tail which is named after a carrot has plenty amount of orange pigments,
hence called carrot tail. This thick carrot like tail is a deposit of fat that
will be depleted during times of food shortage.
Another trait that differentiate leopard to other geckos is
the presence of eyelids. Unlike other geckos that need to use their tongue to
clean their eyes, a leopard just simply need to blink for eye cleaning.
#3 - Cleanliness. Geckos are really clean animals. They do
not litter much and tend to litter in a specific area of their cage. This made
them easy to place and displayed at any spot of your house. Placing them in a
decorative cage will create some exclusive and neat scenery to be proud of.
What you need to do is to place a paper towel or the same
sort of material on spots where they choose to litter. You then can replace the
paper towel periodically to keep the cage clean and neat.
#4 - Easy to care for. Geckos need minimal care requirement.
This made them perfect for beginners. All you need to do in the beginning is to
set up a proper habitat for your gecko to live healthy and happy.
It is best if you could provide the gecko with a natural
environment. This includes putting rocks and logs where your gecko can hide or
climb. Plants, live or artificial, can be used to create more hiding places.
In short, basic supplies of a good habitat should meet the
requirement for proper feeding, hiding, climbing, and shedding with the
appropriate setting of temperature, lighting, humidity and scheduled cleaning
#5 - Easy to feed. Geckos are basically insectivores that
prefer life insects such as crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, butter-worms,
wax-worms and pinkie mice once in a while.
The ease of feeding them is in the continuous availability
of food in pet stores as well as the behavior of the gecko to actively go after
its live prey.
To add more nutrition value to the insects, it is best if
you gut-load the insect 24 hours before feeding your gecko. Dusting the prey
with calcium or vitamin D powder will be sufficient.
#6 - Long lifespan. Last but not least is the long lifespan
of a gecko that can reach an average of 20 years. This means that you can enjoy
your gecko for quite a long time.
All you need to do is keep them healthy, clean and happy.
Keep your gecko environment clean and safe as well, away from possible hazards
and other animals that could possibly endanger and hurt your wonderful
lizard.
With such 6 good reasons, I wonder whether you still
hesitate to keep one and enjoy your gecko at the fullest. Happy gecko caring!
