Hi, I'm Jake! Welcome to my channel: Leopardopedia! I plan on posting videos about my experience in keeping Leopard Geckos and other Reptiles (in the future) as well as possibly some videos on Bettas and other fish. I fell in love with fishkeeping in early 2021 and started looking into keeping reptiles a few months later. I've made many mistakes with fish, and that led me to start to research absolutely everything I could to give the animals I own the best lives I can. I got my first reptile, my Leo, Autumn, in November 2021, and she's been doing GREAT since. I use the knowledge I have gathered from experience, research, and other reptile channels like Leopard Gecko, Wickens Wicked Reptiles, Snake Discovery, etc. I just want to share my experiences as a beginner with others like me and build a community that helps each other grow as hobbyists and people!
I upload on Fridays at 12PM EST, but sometimes I get busy and don't post for a while!
@@SupergiantgeckosLLC This is also a good idea! Variety always helps, but some people aren't able to keep a variety of insects for feeding, like myself at the moment. And as long as your gecko is eating and getting the right nutrients, you should be fine
@@leopardopediaanother thing is they can feel vulnerable when eating out in the open, unless youve❤bonded w the tong. But sometime they don’t want it from the tong. Catch or place your Leo in one of its hides then try tong feeding by the entrance , if that doesn’t work let one loose into the hide.
@@SCMI7Y As long as they are getting the nutrients they need and are at a healthy weight, that should be fine. Crickets are one of the best foods nutritionally, but gut loading is still very important!
Yes, a 40 gallon tank is the perfect size tank to house a Leo for it's entire life! It allows it to not only *just* survive, but also thrive! However, if you can provide any reputable material stating otherwise, I'd be more than happy to pin your comment.
For an adult, a 40 is the minimum size to thrive. 20 long is enough to survive, but think about it as if it were yourself. Would you rather thrive or just survive? Best of luck!
I have a reptile hammock that my leopard gecko actually climbs up to quite often. Probably every night. I've put a layer of coconut shavings and reptisoil on it so his little hands have an easier time staying on the net without falling through.
@@leopardopedia holy shit. I didn't know so many hardcore chuds were into reptiles. I can't imagine their husbandry standards are very good. Those people are famous for their lack of empathy. Actually, I get the q anon peoples' interest in reptiles lol
0:38 holy shit that small beauty looks like one of mine, Mathilde. she isnt this big now only about a year old, but looks like i can "see" what she is gonna probably look like when shes full grown a very beautiful gecko you got there <3
@@leopardopedia she has the same colour and pattern, atleast on her cute little face, the shades might vary from Autumn but its atleast in the 90% close range haha
Hi there! Thank you for posting this video, I learned so much! I am in the process of adopting a leo within the next couple of months and I just have some questions for you. With the "Enigma" leos, are they born with the disease or is it a progressive sort of illness? Also! Are Banana Blizzard leos a happy/healthy choice in terms of the tier list. Thank you!
Hi! Tysm so much for watching and I'm genuinely glad you learned something from my ramblings haha To answer your questions, Enigma Leo's are indeed very prone (if not completely guaranteed) to some of the horrible symptoms I mentioned and it's really not worth supporting the morph! Now the banana blizzard morph isn't something I'm familiar with, so I did some research. The closest thing I found was "Banana Blazing Blizzard" but apparently no one has been able to produce one. May I ask where you plan to get your Leo?
@@leopardopedia I "assumed" she was a banana blizzard only because of her colours, and I could absolutely be DEAD WRONG. I found a lady whose husband (who was a leo fanatic) passed away and is now stuck with 20 geckos and has no idea what to do lol. Shes based in Gatineau, QC, CANADA, but theres no papers to determine what the morph is....just me guessing with absolutely no education lol
@Mariggane16469 Ah, yeah, colors can help to determine the morph, but most of the time don't help as a lot of coloration can be shared between morphs or inconsistent. As long as you have a good setup and are prepared to take care of it, you should be fine! Don't overthink it, I'm sure you'll do great!
Hey I have a quick question. I have just setup a bioactive terrarium for a leopard gecko. I made the background and everything with spray foam and styrofoam. I ended up just painting the background with acrylic paints. Is this going to be harmful to the gecko. Also is it going to affect the bioactivity of the terrarium. Thank you for your help.
If the paint bottles say non-toxic you should be fine! Just make sure it's fully dry before introducing your leopard gecko. If you can find a non-toxic acrylic sealer too, that'd help.
I wouldn’t use Herptivite for leopard geckos. They use beta carotene instead of vitamin A retinol or acetate. Some better supplements to use are Repashy Calciun Plus, ZooMed Reptivite, Fluker’s Reptile Multivitamin, and Nekton Multi-Rep. From Winter Park Veterinary Hospital “Some reptile multivitamins will have beta carotene instead of vitamin A as a substitute; however, many of the reptiles predisposed to hypovitaminosis A cannot convert beta carotene to vitamin A, thus these products lack any usable vitamin A” From Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital “ Insectivores, such as leopard geckos, chameleons, toads, and some frogs need preformed vitamin A because they are not able to convert beta-carotene precursors into vitamin A”
It depends on what you're putting in it, I guess. If you plan on using a DHP and a CHE in each slot and the wattage is appropriate than you should be fine as long as you have the proper thermostat. If you plan on using a UVB bulb, I would say no. I'd use a tube bulb that's about 2/3 the length of your tank, preferably T5 as they are way more efficient than T8 bulbs!
@michaelvega824 I'm assuming you're talking about your bulb being 50W? If so, that should be fine, depending on the height, and the type of bulb. Like I said, DHP are one of the best bulbs for them, and as long as you have a good thermostat for it, you can go with higher wattage and it'll stay regulated at a healthy temp. Also, make sure you look into upgrading your tank to something bigger as your Leo grows! A 20 gallon (long) is barely big enough for anything besides a baby or small juvenile!
When there young give them lots of food with moisture or they will parish i feed mine repashy grub pie and repashy super greens its much better than putting fruit bc fruit flies i have mine with eggcrates it keeps the busy so they dont eat the young ones
As a baby Leo owner I can say it’s not that different from a adult the only thing I’d say was a con compared to the adults is they are fragile and feisty so baby Leo’s are a good beginner pet they just take up more of your time also because you need to feed them more often
Great job on your video man I’ve been looking for some kind of new insects to feed my new leopard gecko I just got her about a month ago and have been really researching a lot about geckos and honestly this is probably one of the best videos for beginners I’ve seen in a while it’s very straight forward and explains why each insect is good and why each is bad most videos just say try to feed a variety of insects but never say which ones are good or not great video it helped alot 🎉
@user-tg4nr2sw3b As long as nothing is blocking the light from the tank (besides the screen top) you should be fine! Just make sure the height corresponds properly with the strength of the bulb! Ferguson Zones: www.aquariumsystems.eu/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=2128070 Leopard Geckos are a level 1
Nice video. Just bought a leo. We have a 36x18x21 enclosure. What uvb fixture would you suggest and the length and wattage? The arcadia shadedweller only comes in 12 inch
Thats a common misconception! *Technically*, they can survive without it, but their quality of life will he lower. UVB allows them to process vitamin D3, which then allows them to use the calcium they consume. Without calcium youll see issues like MBD. There are calcium supplements with D3 in them, but most people would rather give their geckos a more natural, and healthy intake as UVB has more benefits than just D3. Please use a UVB bulb! You wouldn't want to just *survive*, right? You'd want to thrive! Do the same for your gecko! Edit: spelling
You got this! Leave a comment with any questions you have or anything you'd like me to make a video on! I'm having trouble coming up with some useful content and don't want to keep putting out random stuff, haha!
Yeah, no problem! This is the site I got mine from! It's the cheapest option I could find that supports both a day and night heat source. It has a dimming feature that is necessary for a Deep Heat Projector: www.snakemuseum.com/reptile-thermostats-timers/2371-thermostat-600w-exo-terra.html
