A vivarium is the 'cage' that your leopard gecko will live in throughout its life time, so it has to be nice and have the
right set-up so that it can live happily in its surroundings. The vivarium should be roomy, so that the leopard gecko can
walk around, not be crowded with decorations.to stop it bumping into things and always having to climb all the time. A 10
gallon aquarium is
cheap and effective but you can buy a special reptile cage from petshops.
SUBSTRATE
The first thing we need is substrate, this is the flooring. You can put paper down at the bottom but if you want it to look
smart then you can either use the finest sand that you can get from a pet shop, Not from garden centres (not suitable for
babies
as they can swallow it.) You can use woodchippings again from local petshops or specialist reptile suppliers. I advise to
put paper down first then add the substrate as this makes it easier to clean out the vivarium. Graham says 'Do not use cedar
chippings or pine as a substrate as this is toxic.' Geckos can stand up to 80% toxins. Thanks for your contribution Graham.
DECORATIONS
This is to make your leopard gecko feel more at home. The more hiding places you employ the better it is for them, as they
like to hide as it makes them feel safer. You can buy special caves/hideboxes that makes it look like their natural environment
or you can get a cardboard box small enough to fit the vivarium with a hole cut in, so that your leopard gecko can get in
it.
You can also buy aquarium plants (fake) and logs with holes cut into them.
HEAT
You vivarium needs to be between 80-85F or 28-31C. This helps them digest their food because the heat makes them want to eat
and their stomach
work. Place a hidebox away from the heat (unless you have more than 1 hidebox then put one near the heat area
and 1 away from it) because if they get too hot then they can escape into the cooler area and it gives them a choice between
hot or cold, again only heat up one side of the cage as for the stated reason above. |
