Key Takeaway:
- A perfect habitat should have a substrate, heat mat, heat lamp, lights, hides, background, water dish, food dish, and plants.
- Having the necessary accessories and décor in the tank guarantees your leopard gecko a comfortable life.
- Ensure the tank has a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels and two digital thermometers to monitor temperatures on the cool and warm sides.
- Accessories and décor are readily available at pet stores, online retailers, and reptile specialty stores. Alternatively, you can make some accessories at home.
A leopard gecko’s habitat can determine how well and long your pet will live. Therefore, you must put a lot of effort into creating a suitable habitat for your leopard gecko. If you provide the gecko with a comfortable place to live, it will grow to be healthy.
Apart from ensuring the gecko is comfortable, it makes sense to have a beautiful-looking enclosure. That’s why you must invest in the right tank accessories and decor. In this article, we’ll look at the most important accessories a tank should have.
What Accessories Do You Need For A Leopard Gecko?
Before you bring a pet leopard gecko home, you must equip its enclosure with the necessary supplies. These supplies will determine the gecko’s quality of life by offering the needed mental stimulation.
A leopard gecko tank should look natural if you use the right supplies. Here is a quick breakdown of the accessories you should consider having in the leopard gecko tank.
Decorations
A leopard gecko tank shouldn’t look plain at any point. You see, a plain enclosure isn’t appealing to the eye.
Besides, leopard geckos may feel insecure and stressed when housed in a plain enclosure.
Decorations offer the needed environmental enrichment to leopard geckos. They not only serve an aesthetic function but also improve the gecko’s quality of life.
Hides
Leopard geckos don’t spend all their life in the open space. Sometimes, they’ll want to hide in crevices when it gets too hot or when they feel insecure. Besides, leopard geckos like to remain hidden when shedding.
That said, you must offer several spots for the gecko to retreat to when they want to hide, shed, sleep, or rest. You can have multiple sheds in the enclosure, but you must ensure that one of the sheds is humid.
You can make a moist hide using a small box filled with damp paper towels, sphagnum moss, or eco earth. Ideally, the moist hide should be placed midway between the cool and warm ends of the enclosure. This way, the hide will have the right moisture and temperature levels.
The best tank setup should have hides distributed between the cool and warm sides. This way, the gecko can thermoregulate without difficulties.
Hides can come in different sizes, shapes, and materials. However, your preference will determine the kind of hides you buy. You can decide to go with a plastic hide, coconut hide, or hide rocks.
Background
A glass enclosure might not look good without a background. That said, you need to add a backdrop on the back side of the glass. You can use a normal background or a 3D background.
Both types look good but a 3D background makes the tank look realistic. The leopard gecko should feel secure in a tank with a background.
Try and look for a background that resembles a desert or semi-arid environment. Your leopard gecko tank should look realistic if you install the right 3D background.
Food and Water Dish
It would be unsafe to allow your leopard gecko to feed on the floor. Doing so might put your leopard gecko at the risk of impaction especially if they ingest loose substrate.
Adding a food dish in the enclosure will protect your leopard gecko from impaction. The dish should be large and deep enough to hold enough insects.
Apart from a food dish, you also need a water dish in the enclosure. This will be the gecko’s water drinking spot. The ideal water dish should be shallow to protect your gecko from drowning.
Plants
Plants are a great way to enhance the looks of your leopard gecko’s enclosure. They provide a natural setting that other décor items can’t offer.
However, you must choose your plants wisely. Some plants can increase the humidity of the tank to unsafe levels. You also want to avoid plants that can be toxic to your gecko.
Also, most plants won’t thrive in a leopard gecko enclosure due to the warmth coming from the heat mats and low humidity requirements. The best plants to use in a leopard gecko enclosure are succulents with a low watering requirement.
Low-maintenance, hardy plants work pretty well in a leopard gecko tank setup. Such plants may include:
- Elephant bush
- Aloe Vera
- Christmas cactus
- Echeveria
- Living stones
- Air plants
Thermometer
Leopard geckos thrive in a specific range of temperatures. Therefore, you must keep monitoring the tank temperatures so that you can make the necessary adjustments. Any deviations in temperatures should be corrected to avoid stressing the gecko.
To monitor the temperatures accurately, you need two digital thermometers. One thermometer should be fixed on the warm side while the other one should be fixed on the cool side of the tank. You might also need an infrared thermometer to measure the temperatures of the different objects in the tank.
Hygrometer
Leopard geckos should live in areas with 30% to 40% humidity. Therefore, you should keep track of the moisture content in the tank by installing a hygrometer.
The hygrometer will let you know when to decrease or increase the tank’s humidity. At least you’ll never have to worry about the humidity levels going overboard.
Lights
Light is crucial in establishing and maintaining the circadian rhythm of a leopard gecko. That’s why leopard geckos should have access to light during the day. But since your leopard gecko enclosure will be located indoors, you should install an artificial light to illuminate the tank during the day.
You can use an incandescent lamp, LED light, or UVB light; just ensure to turn off these lights in the evening or during nightfall.
Keep in mind that leopard geckos don’t need bright lights as they can hurt or damage their eyes. Use low-wattage bulbs to keep your leopard gecko safe.
Mister/Fogger
Leopard geckos rarely need automatic foggers in their enclosures. Their low humidity requirements eliminate the need to mist the tank often. However, you can still install a fogger as you might need to increase the tank’s humidity once in a while.
Where To Buy These Accessories and Decor?
Now that you know the accessories and décor your leopard gecko’s tank needs, where can you source them? Well, here is a list of the places you can purchase these items:
Pet Stores
Most pet stores stock up on leopard gecko accessories. So, if you visit Petco, Petsmart, or your local pet store, you should find hide boxes, heat lamps, terrariums, substrate, heat mats, foggers, artificial plants, and food dishes.
DIY
You don’t have to buy everything from pet stores and online retailers. Sometimes, you must use the available materials to make some accessories such as hides, food dishes, and backdrops.
Online Retailers
You also have the option of purchasing accessories and décor from online retailers such as eBay and Amazon. Most online stores will ship the products to you directly.
Reptile Specialty Stores
If you need accessories and décor that are designed specifically for reptiles, you should order from reptile specialty stores. These stores mainly stock up on reptile products, meaning you’ll always find unique supplies for your leopard gecko.
Summary
It feels nice to have your leopard gecko’s enclosure ready before your pet comes home. You should have all the accessories and décor setup before placing the gecko in the tank. While at it, ensure the tank looks as natural and realistic as possible. Doing so guarantees your leopard gecko a long and happy life.
