A Guide To Choosing A Healthy Leopard Gecko 

And no that isn't me in the thumbnail, thank god for stock images.

so I got my leo from a pet store, they took good care of all their animals and also in the leo tank they had all females ( I checked all of them) all of the reptiles and other animals looked healthy, so I decided to buy from there ( we were gonna get one from a local reptile shelter, but they didn't have any leos which is a good thing) anyways, I checked around the tank looking for anything that was wrong with any of the geckos ex: parasites MBD, ES etc, and I didn't find anything off putting, except for one thing, I saw a little gecko in the back corner who was smaller and skinnier then the rest, I'm guessing she was the runt of the group. anyways, I asked if I could hold her and she was so cold! The other leos might not have let her be on the heat mat because she was in the corner, so I decided to get her. the employees were asking me why I didn't want to get a different one and didn't really understand WHY I wanted that specific one. when I got home with her, I put her in her new tank all by herself, I had to guide her to the heat mat so she could know where it was, and when she found it and realized that it was all hers, I swear she just had the biggest smile on her face nothing made me happier then seeing her be happy and all warm in her own entire tank and not just in a corner, and in the first 3 weeks of having her she grew soo much, and now she is one healthy happy gecko!

That poor baby at 3:20, I literally gasped. 😔 So happy to hear it's doing much better.

I love the shirt. "humans are overrated" I agree 100%

i bought a BABY leo from a local pet shop which i thought would be better than a big chain store and one of the employees refused to sell me crickets because he said he had “already fed her today” and “she won’t need to be fed for at least three more days so if you buy some now the crickets will just die.” babies should eat EVERY DAY so i just went to a different store and got some. anyways, yeah, moral of the story is pet shop employees don’t always know what they’re doing and buy your reptiles from expos if you can.

10:10 that's my gecko!! Her name is Clementine and shes a tangerine carrot tail!! Thanks so much!!

THATS MY GECKO IN THE THUMBNAIL

We'll I'm totally working at Petco or PetSmart when I'm older, so that I can make sure that these reptiles are being taken care of right.

Needed this, getting a leopard gecko next month 😁

Yay! Thanks for putting my gecko in the video @ 10:11 ! Before I got her I watched all of your videos to prepare for her arrival. I owe you one so I thought the least I could do was send you a pic of her for a video 💕

This video makes me really appreciate my local petshop! It’s a small shop owned by a family and they really care about their animals😊

I'm so glad you've uploaded this today! I have been interested in getting a Leo for quite some time and after buying my terrarium I came across this channel while trying to do some research. I've seen most of your videos to do with leopard geckos at this point and I'm getting my first gecko later today! You're definitely the best resource for an aspiring reptile owner if you ask me and I'll recommend you to anyone looking to get into it themselves. I just wanted to thank you for putting out reliable and entertaining content

I got my leopard from a pet smart, and I picked one that had a dropped tail, and I wanted so badly to save her, and now she has a full fat tail, and freedom everyday. I just need to get her a bigger tank, she deserves an upgrade from her 10 gal.

thanks for making this video! i have been researching leopard geckos, and i plan on buying one this month. I want to make sure i buy a healthy one, so i dont have to deal with a vet!

And this is what they said.....(Honda ad comes on)

Your videos have been awesome for getting my first gecko. Thank you so much! Loving my little guy

I know Petsmart and the like get a lot of well-deserved hate, but there are actually some good individual stores of these chains out there. One near me, and the one I got my guys from, is one of them. The leos (and other animals) are housed correctly (enclosures a bit small, but that's to be expected since it's temporary), with clean reptile carpet, no left in feeders, fresh clean water, adequate hides, etc... The workers are also very knowledgeable, and even walked me through everything I would need, going so far as to say what was offered in their store that was best avoided, and suggesting more affordable or better solutions that could be found or made elsewhere. On two separate pre-purchase visits, they spoke to me for over an HOUR each time, explaining what I would need to know, and testing my knowledge and setup to make sure it was adequate. I fully believe they would not have sold me my leos if I had not been ready for them. There is actually another chain store that is closer to me, but I choose to visit this one, because I know they are actually doing it right. There CAN be good examples of chain shops. Support the ones that are doing it well, and complain up the chain of corporate command (and publicity) about the ones that are not. If we as pet owners hold them accountable, and support the good examples, it will only encourage more of the good ones to grow. As a side note: I always see people suggest local owned pet stores over chains, but to be honest, every single non-chain pet store I've ever visited has been atrocious. Smelly, dirty, and full of far too many ill-kept and sick animals. Doubtless there are some GREAT ones out there, but chains are not always the worst evil. Each store should be examined and evaluated on its own management and merits, not simple chosen because it is small or large.

My gecko instead of eating bugs thinks of them as freinds so I have to disguise the bugs xD

I watched this for information and ended up feeling bad for all the leopard gecko images. Keep up the good work and thank you for helping me on my journey of caring for one of these amazing animals

Can you make this same thing for crested geckos?

You have helped me so much since I got my leopard gecko a couple weeks ago so I watch all your ads fully so you get paid more idk if that’s how it works but I think it is.

See this is why I buy from breeders, but if I see one in need I'm always buying. I always have extra setups and plenty of food on hand. Makes me upset when pet stores think your nagging at them. Its very important to be educated, people need to know what to do and not to do. I support smaller scale breeders for my own breeding projects. I like getting to know the person and how they are taking care of their animals. I like to know the condition they are in. If a breeder can't answer my questions they arent in it for the animals so I move on. My heart does go out to you for trying your best to get through to others

This is all so true when I got my first gecko the shop didnt take care of her shed on her toes and she lost almost all of her claws but because of your videos I was able to help save most of her toes so now she has cute little stubs but it doesnt get her down. Thank you for all your help.

I got my first leopard gecko today he is 4 years old and so docile, I hope to get him home on Saturday ...I’m so exited and have spent the past 9 hours watching every RU-vid video about leopard geckos I could fined. Your videos are so helpful and I’d just like to say thank you for sharing your experiences and helping me on this journey so far😅❤️

Thanks! I now have a leopard gecko named Jade, and my brother has one named Amethyst. THEY ARE SO CUTE AND SUPER HEALTHY THANKS TO YOU

I’ve received a leopard gecko as a gift so I had to do a lot of research on the go, and I’m chuffed that I found your channel. I have a lot of experience with Ball Pythons, Boas and wild colubrids that can be found in Poland but this can only slightly prepare you for the marvel that a lizard is. Your channel is a wonderful addition/expansion of the knowledge that anyone can obtain from books! I wish the best of luck to you and your little dinosaurs.

I know I’m incredibly late but I thought I would comment on this video. I just recently went to a Petsmart that had only five leopard geckos in a tank really little ones and two hides and I bought my leopard gecko from because they are the only pet shops around where I live. There was one with stuck shed on his head but the rest looked fine The person who took care of them was very honest about them and told us which one had been eating which was the one that I got and, the one that hasn’t been eating. Overall I’m super impressed with that Petsmart and that’s where we buy my geckos food.

I loved when you showed a pic of your sleeping leapard gecko

Thank you for this. I rescued my little leopard gecko Wafer about 3 mnths ago and I am so happy I did. She is so healthy now and is my beautiful girl

You are the reason why I got 3 Leopard Geckos and thanks to your advice, they're beautiful and I'm ready to make them bigger homes with more hides and things to keep them busy and happy. Not a big fan of glass especially for Winter.

At 7:22 that gecko was so dull I thought its head WAS the log

Hey! I just wanted to let you know that I just got the Arcadia shade dweller UVB light for my leopard gecko. It’s only been the 2nd day of having it and I witnessed her basking in it this evening like they would in the wild. I just want to thank you for your insight on this product and I hope these become more readily available for gecko keepers!

Most likely getting my Leo today or tomorrow 😆😆😆😆😆 I have been benging all your videos!!!!!

I found a shop on the internet that helps at an expo. I wanted to visit that shop in a few days but i didn't know what i had to look for. This video helped me by giving the facts i needed. Thank you very much^^

Thank you for making this video! It is very helpful. I'm getting my first leopard gecko in a few weeks. I was referred to someone who actually turned out to own a petshop, so I went to check it out today. I took note of how they house their animals (all of them, because I tend to get angry as well about the way petshops keep their pets) and the reptiles and parrots alike seemed very pleased and healthy. Parrots had nice bright feathers with no stress marks on them or beak issues and the reptiles looked very healthy and comfortable in their homes - bright colours and no weird eyes or skin conditions! I'm so excited to get one and thanks once again for posting this video.

One Year ago I got two Leo's called Nala and Diego, and they were kept in the stereotypical Leopard Gecko store inclosure. Nala has Enigma syndrome and had Necrosis on her tail, she is cured for her Necrosis and that took a few months. The Enigma isn't something I can cure sadly. Diego (also Nala) was very skinny and not really healthy looking, they were in a incloser wich was in bright lights all day and (the demon) Calcium sand... It makes me sick how people can do this to animals, I'm glad that I got them and make them healthy and happy. Yet everyday more and more animals are getting in these kinds of situations.

Im getting a leo in 2 weeks your videos are really helpful and have made me love them more 😃👊🏻

I got my leopard gecko from a shop when he was only about 2 months old, I picked him because he had the brightest colors and biggest tail. I could tell he was healthy afterwards because when the employee picked him up to put him in the travel container he tried to bite her. He is now 1.5 years old and I am looking into getting a second leopard gecko because of your videos.

This is a really helpful video! I got my Leo from my local reptile shop, and they had a few surrendered adult Leos and a few babies, and I decided to go with one of the surrendered adults. I've had her a few weeks now, and I love her!

In my area, there is a store called Wet Pets. They have an amazing set up for all their reptiles and fish! They have people trained on the specific animals they carry to ensure that you’re getting the best information. Their leopard geckos look like they’re living the dream!

400 likes 0 dislikes this is how it should be for you

At 5:35 Her "and this is the reply I got" Add"hair commercial" Me wow that's an interesting reply 😂. Sorry Leopard Gecko, we love you.

The shop I bought my Leo is amazing! All their animals are super healthy and have tons of time to have fun! It’s called the animal connection. I now have a healthy 11 month Leo! ❤️❤️❤️

I’m getting my leopard gecko June 6 i’m so excited😁

Getting a leopard gecko in jun-jul and this is super helpful!!!

10:13 Thank you for adding in my Iris!!! (The orange one on the left)

thank you so much for choosing my gecko’s baby pic @1:01 ! That was when he/she just arrived at 2 months old weighing 7 grams! He/she just hit 34 grams ! 💪🏻❤️ Also, does that mean my hand and gecko are youtube famous now? Lol

OMG!!! Thank you so much. This is so helpful! Because I'm going to get a leopard gecko for my birthday!!!😍😘😋😀😊 there's not enough emojie to describe it! From your biggest fan

No joke my local petco does a pretty good job accept they house 2 hatchlings together. I was shocked! Dusted worms, 2 hides, on reptile carpet, and although they used heating lights it was the right temperature and humidity. I was very impressed.

Great tips. And something to learn from.

I have a best friend from petsmart and I’m ten years old and she is so kind and understands everything. I tell her all about the leopard geckos and how other pet shops put sand in there tanks . When I told her that she had a worried face. So yah

Thank you for all this information I’ve been watching your channel for about a couple of months and I’m actually getting a leopard gecko a little bit for for my birthday and I’m super excited thank you so much for all the tips and tricks and stuff and I wish your channel lots of good luck thank you so much even though I know you’re probably not gonna read this :)

I’m getting a leopard gecko in a couple of days and I was like, “ how do I know which one is heathly???” Thanks so much for this video!

While Im completely a Gargoyle gecko fanatic and won’t be getting Leos, I still love these vids. Cute lil guys.

I’M GOING TO GET A NEW LEOPARD GECKO FOR CHRISTMAS AND I’M NAMING IT PUMPKIN AND I’M SO EXCITEDDDDD OH ALSO do you breed super worms or mealworms? I’ve started breeding super worms and I was wondering if you did that and if you do can you please do a video about that? Thanks 😊

Getting one after my birthday :) Excited! And this really helped.

Hi, I love your channel and it’s really helped me care correctly for my Leo and crested gecko xx

I’m getting mine today! I’ve done a year of research! Getting him from a pet shop who breed their geckos themselves.

I’m getting my first Leo and your helping me out keep going

Thank you so much soon I am getting a leopard gecko and you help me so much

I got my leopard gecko he was a little dull. I don’t know how they treated him! But I’m a couple days his color was way better and he shed four days later which made him even brighter he is now very healthy and happy!

I'm glad you made this video people need to be educated in what they are getting themselves into and the difference in a healthy and a unhealthy gecko and thank you for posting Prince ❤

i got my leopard gecko when she was 3 months and she was a nice size and was really beautiful i have had her for 2 weeks she eats very good and is cute

Thanks I really needed this, getting a gecko tomorrow

Speaking about expos, are there any reptile expos held where you live? It would be awesome to see you attend one, your observations, etc.

I’m glad that the pet stores where I live really keep there pets healthy and in good shape we bought to happy and healthy Guinea pigs from the pet store we go to :)

Oh my god! thank you for telling me about reptile rescues.... i had no clue what that was until now! i was going to buy a leo from magoos (store near me) but now if i can find a leo im going to rescue it :)

My brother’s leopard gecko just passed away. He believe his gecko had a parasite. It was a tangerine color and was named storm. She was beautiful. I’ve had my leopard gecko for about a year now and I love him. Just got my crested gecko roughly 2 weeks ago. I love reptiles they’re so beautiful.

Thank u for this I’m getting my leopard gecko tomorrow

Thank you SOO much your channel has really helped me because I am getting a lepord gecko in July-the first of august!!✨🤍

at 3:53 that is exactly what happened to my geckos patterns. Honestly couldn’t be more happy 😍

Another awesome video absolutely on the money pet shops annoy me to and I got my leopard gecko from a breeder, but my daughters came from a pet store and the only fault I would have with them was that they were only feeding him every other day and he’s between 4 and 5 months xxx

Here in swizerland we have super pet shops like Qualipet. And they take super super good care of animals... so yea!

still the best channel x :) you are just sooooooooooooo helpful and full of facts that are true ! :)

If I owned a pet shop, I'd definitely have the display for the animals as actuate as they would to what an owner would do, include all information about care and the animals themselves, as well as fulky educate my employees about how each animal is different. What can I say? I love animals and don't want to see them like... in a Petco To be honest, I did purchase my first leopard gecko from Petco, but with extreme research on my side. I'm so glad I chose the right Gecko... Toaki is doing great and is getting a small upgrade to her tank today.

all geckos deserve an opportunity despite of their conditions. we can give them love and help them grow healthy and loved.

I got mine from an amazing pet store they had to hand feed my leo because of his age and I've now trained him to eat on his own now

Thank u so much I have been wanting to get a leopard gecko for a long time and I am pretty close to getting one btw I watched every single on of your videos and thank u so much u are very helpful

i have a reptile breeder that breeds reptiles and i got a betta fish from her and ive hade him for 3 years and he is doing vary good

I’m getting a gecko next week I know exactly which one I’m getting and even if she’s ill I don’t mind I will look after her till then end ❤️

I just went to petsmart and I met the friendliest leopard gecko ever. He was pretty chill for never being owned before. I wish I could have adopted him, but I don't have much knowledge on them. He seemed healthy though and they were just being fed... and the workers were actually counting out the food and stuff. I held him and he was super soft and friendly.

If your experienced with Leopard Geckos, you should buy the sick & injured & bring them back to health. Feel so bad the sick ones get neglected, they are the ones who need a good home the best. Great info! Thanks for sharing! Jesus loves you! ❤

I bought a leopard gecko a few months ago her name is oreo she is a mac snow and she was perfect they fed her properly had 3 hides and the right heat i was so happy

im going to buy my first leopard gecko and i love your videos

This vlog is very helpful for me and the other newbies in leopard gecko world 👍

thank you so much for making these vids you have helped me get all of the information i need to get a leopard gecko and i also watch other vids for example i watched goherping jessicas animal friends and more...

Thanks for putting Gucci in the video

When I got my Gargoyle gecko last week, she had some stuck shed. I noticed she is missing a front toe too. She had a little shed on her toes/eye. Thankfully since I brought her home, she had a PERFECT shed - My guess they weren't keeping her moist enough :(

I got a Leo and he’s very healthy and vibrant, he’s a few months old and his tail is plump, but I expect him to get bigger over the months, mines a Bandit morph

Hope you're doing better after your loss, sending good vives and love from Argentina. Now, regarding this specific video, I thought I might share something that happened a few weeks back to me regarding a local (apparently small) pair of associate breeders. They put small baby leopard geckos from different morphs (some times some adult ones) on their Instagram and wait for people to ask for them. First come, first served kind of thing. I was looking to get one more leopard gecko to my life, although I already have one, I got experience and all the supplies and things I might need (I'm 38 years old and I've worked with or for, even owned geckos mostly all my life, just as much as other reptiles like argentinean Tegus, for instance); So, I loose the chance to get one on their first wave this year. This are very small geckos, only a few weeks old, and some share the enigma gen, with all that this implies. Thing is, a week later this breeders promote a video of a 8 to 9 year old little girl who got an enigma 1 week old gecko as a "child's day present" from their rich parents (while it's ok to give a toy on this date, a living animal is not a toy). Neither of their parents knew anything about caring for a leopard gecko in general, and the breeders block me for calling them out. They say that the enigma gen doesn't have any difference to a normal (or even an albino) gecko, and when I told them that if they thought that they should Google it, they simply blocked me. Now, I know that there's a lot of other (more responsible) breeders in my area, even the one I got my current gecko (named CurryCurry), but it really made me feel all sort of really bad (BAD) emotions to see this people selling their geckos to people who feed them only one type of worms and don't even dust them. Not even asking the buyers if they had the right enclosure for it, and fighting with ME for calling them out on private because they told the parents to "put the gecko in a small fish tank" with some sand and a "heat resin rock" (very strong, they literally can burn or kill your adult geckos, imagine a baby!)... and only one shedding "humid" place. I could expect this from bigger stores or breeders, but when you see this sort of stuff happening between small breeders, it really breaks your heart, because, how can you breed something and see it hatch to them say "just give me the money" and give this precious creatures as if they were just toys that live over sand and eat a single thing with only fat and no supplements or even calcium?! I'm just so mad and sad... sorry for venting here, but I think you're the most likely to understand my frustration, since here in Argentina it's considered "normal" for people to do unethical things to pets and not only get away with it, but also they're the ones angry with you when you offer advice.

My petco is amazing all the workers have had a lot of animals like leopard geckos and they say the stuff that u say I’ve done a LOT of research. I think they are super cute but thanks for the info!!

Their was a pet shop near me that I HATED. All their animals where malnourished, sick, or had wounds all over from fighting. They had 2 iguanas with disgusting wounds. Thankfully they soon sold the shop and almost all the animals went to shelters. The new owners (mostly know about fish) get their animals from breeders and are renovating the enclosures. They dust the leopard geckos food (feed crickets and mealworms), and they have the animals on carpet (mostly).

I'm glad my Leo is healthy 😊 no mouth rot, no stuck shed, no problems, no nothing I've had him for a long time I love him so much Although I need to buy a heat pad that's really it 😊

Doncaster Reptile Show is a great place to go in the UK, there should be a show at the end of the month ♡

Thank you for this vid! i’m getting one later today and i’ve done so much research but i’m still nervous 🥺 i’m gonna be the best gecko mom i can though!

I got my gecko from a pet store and yeah they had some strict but not great rules on how to keep the geckos but thankfully the people who watched the geckos knew a lot about geckos and could point me in the right direction because they owned some themselves. They hated their suppliers because they were a mill with their geckos never handled and just kept them in shelves and shelves and shelves and more shelves to breed. Just a warehouse of breeding so they gave me a good idea on what to do to care for my gecko on where to get future geckos and what to do for breeding and how to PROPERLY care for them since they had guidelines they had to follow that weren't so correct. They pointed me to a subreddit that was so helpful and I raise my own cricket that gutload and dust and gecko I raised from a baby is such a chubby boy and I've had him for over 2 months and he has grown SO SO MUCH. He went from barely as long as my hand to being as long as my forearm 4 months old at least and so much growth. I think I may have accidentally found my favorite animal just from an impulse buy a PetSense. Shoutout to my local PetSense employees for trying their best to keep their customers informed despite stupid rules!

OMG my leopard gecko sometimes gets those bubbles by her nose, not rlly bubbles just looks like the tiniest bit of snot hanging from her nose. i’ll definitely watch for it now i know it can be a sign of respiratory infection

I love your videos! They're so informative. I have two questions which I hope you might be able to answer; 1. Do you know where I could find a good reptile vet? I live in the south of the UK, and don't really like the idea of going to a Pets At Home vet. 2. Do you have pet insurance for your geckos/ Is this something worth getting? Thanks!

Can you put dish of calcium in the tank with baby leopard geckos is it safe

COOL BEANZZZ and LIZARDZZZ!!!🐊🐸💚