Fun Things To Do With Your Leo?

Discussion in 'Leopard Geckos' started by jazee, Aug 19, 2008.

  1. jazee

    jazee Embryo

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    Well we've had out Leo 2 months now. He's a year old. He is very active in fact one night my son left the top off the cage and he climbed up the tree and out of the cage! Took a while to find him hiding in the room. I read somewhere Leo's are little escape artist. This Leo is living in a space 3-4 times larger than he was at the breeder. He's spoiled. Lovely tile floors, 3 hides (warm, cold, moist). We were careful not to handle him the first two weeks and now only handle him once every 2 or 3 days for brief periods. He seems to love being handled. He really seem eager to go explore when you take him out!

    I read in one thread their Leo was getting to fat so they let him run around the house for 30 min a day or something. I imagine it is in a safe enclosed area of their house!??? I can see my kids having a blast building some tunnels and little forts/houses for him in our family room. We could surround it with some boxes or something to keep him in although if you keep an eye on him, when he gets close to something he can hide under where you can't get him, we just pick him up and move him. He seems to also really enjoy crawling on your arms, shoulders, back.

    Is there any general consensus on how often a Leo should be taken out and some good things to do with them when they are out? I know number one is never hold him buy the tail and be careful when holding him way off the ground, especially while walking over hard floors as opposed to padded carpet.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. DaKing25

    DaKing25 New Member

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    That seems like a good idea. Also every 2-3 days is fine for handling.
    My gecko is an escape artist too, At feeding times he will climb up on top of his hide which is about a few inches from the top of my enclosure. Then because the top is screen he will hold on to that and dangle from the top. The thing he doesn't realize is that he believes doing this will get him crickets but in reality he is just keeping me from dropping them in. Sorry for he long explanation but my Leo is camera shy. I wish I could get a good picture because it looks really funny.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. DaKing25

    DaKing25 New Member

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    Also check the post where we were talking about toys for a leo. There are some good ideas.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Fiche

    Fiche GOTM Winner

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    I'm not sure if there is a general consensus, but I think that they should be handled as often as they seem comfortable being handled. I agree that your children would probably have a blast building tunnels and forts and things for the gecko. This seems like a great idea so long as you have a way to secure the room. You've already found how tricky they can be. :(
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Bogus

    Bogus New Member

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    That was me. =D I let my GiGi run around in a... play pen?? You know those things they have for guinea pigs? I bought about 10 of them, connected them, and lined them around the living room. We put all kinds of things in there for her to climb through. As long as the sides are slick, and they're unable to climb it. Even if they can climb it, if your kids keep an eye on them I'm sure they won't escape.

    I have a VERY unique gecko. She's like a little person. She's escaped from her play pen and gotten under the TV stand. All we did was look under and found her. Then she'd play "peek-a-boo" behind on of the legs. Like "you see me! now you don't!" haha. She's adorable.

    I honestly think handling would depend on your individual gecko. When I get home, she's on her hammock climbing on the wall waiting for me. I put my hand in there and WOOSHHH up my arm and on my shoulder she goes.

    ***AND A RULE OF THUMB!-feel their bellies every now and then! when they don't feel warm, because they're cold blooded, pick them up and put them back into their cage. They need to keep warm. We have no AC so our house is always around 85. I'm used to it. But it's good for us to not have to worry about her temperature. If your house is below 80. Then try to find some way to keep them warm.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. jazee

    jazee Embryo

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    This is good advice. Our house is about 70-71 during the winter and about 74-75 in the summer (we have nice cool summers with temps in high 70's to low 80's in Seattle). Last time when I cleaned his tank I let the kids watch him run around. He was out for about 20 min. When I put him back in, he was fairly cool and immediately moved to the warmest area of the warm hide.

    The rule of thumb for their cool side of the tank is that it should be no lower than 70 degrees from what I've read. So I figure as long as the house temp is at least that, he's okay running around the house for 15 min or so. He was REALLY cold the time he escaped one night when my kids forgot to put the top on the cage for several hours! Lucklily the room was like 75 degrees (it would have been 67-68 in the winter!) but he was still noticeably very cold when we finally found him the next morning. They really are little explorers and he really seems to enjoy being taken out of his cage to roam around on your arms and shoulders.
     
  12. Bogus

    Bogus New Member

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    My terrarium is 92 on the warm side, and varying from 78-80 on the cool side. There needs to be at least a 10 degree temperature change. I believe it going down to 70 is too drastic. They can still cool down when one side is 80 without risking it getting them too cool, under the hides it's sure cooler by a good 3-6 degrees. I've had leos for years, since I was 8. I had nearly 20 at one point. But I gave them away to breeders when I moved. I'm 17 now, and I only have my one GiGi because my fiance gave her to me for our 2 1/2 year anniversary and we live in an apartment. Too small to house enough geckos to fill my heart.

    What I would suggest doing is taking a heater blanket, or a heat pad. And plugging it in the living room. So when you feel him start to cool down, lay him on it for a few minutes. It'll warm him up and he'll be re-energized and ready to run around some more.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    And this has nothing to do with it... Do you have a hammock in his terrarium?? I never thought about them until I got GiGi. And I got her 3. They're put in different heights. So she can climb from one to the other. She absolutely loves it. If you don't, then I'd suggest buying one. You don't want to let your gecko get bored. If he's laying around his terrarium all day, then he's bored. We have vines and trees and logs and those hammocks for her. haha.
     
  13. Ohhaimonster

    Ohhaimonster New Member

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    When I'm handling my Leo I set him on my stomach to warm him up. He enjoys it a bunch. He gets completely flat, stays there for a little bit and he gets up and roams around. He's like a battery needing a charge.
     

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