Special Offers

We are having a bit of a clear out to make way for new stock again. We have several great special offers on various items to clear space.

This Moderna hooded cat litter tray with carbon filter is £8 off RRP. It is missing the litter scoop. We have one with the litter scoop which is still £4 off RRP.

This Savic Bristol hamster cage. It has one bar joint broken (bottom left of door) but is still secure. £10 off RRP.

This Critters Choice glasss animal enclosure. Would suit mice or dwarf hamsters. This item is undamaged but this line has been discontinued by the manufacturer. This is the last one we have.A massive £30 off RRP.

This Viv Exotic AAL vivarium, It has a small chip off the edge of one of the glass doors. RRP £104.99, offer price £74.99, a saving of £25.

These Komoda Ecology 4′ x 2′ vivariums. These high quality wooden vivariums are suitable for arid species of lizard such as leopard geckos, bearded dragons etc. or snakes such as corn snakes, milk snakes etc. This was a manufacturers offer that we have passed on to our customers. RRP £225.99, offer price £179.99, saving £46. We have three of these available.

This Habistat glass vivarium 60x45x45 cm. RRP was £162.99, offer price £139.99, saving £23. If you compare it to our more popular Exo Terra range it is a saving of £77 for the equivalent item. Also with the Exo Terra you have to buy the lock separately, with the Habistat is is built in. This item is undamaged but is taking up shelf space wanted for other items. Great chance to start a bio active vivarium.

Finally this Monkfield snake starter set up, complete with heating, substrate, hide etc. RRP £161.99, offer price £139.99. This one is basically just in the way.

From experience, when we do offers like these they do not hang around for long so if you are interested please pop in and see us ASAP. Free local delivery is available on all these items subject to our delivery schedule..

The Angell Pets Team

Animals now available for sale

Throughout the lock down we have had an embargo on the sale of animals from our store as non-essential items. No one should have been leaving home for any reason that was not essential. Food for your pet is essential, as are a number of other items, bedding, hygiene products, medicines, toys (essential for the well being of your pet) etc. A new pet was not essential, so unless it was to replace a deceased partner of a social species, or you were in the store buying your normal supplies anyway we had stopped selling animals. We knew this embargo was coming in advance so we stopped restocking with animals before the lock down happened so for the most part we didn’t have any in stock anyway.

pet shop gloucester

The government has now moved to a new phase. The emphasis is moving away from “stay at home” although you should still do this if at all possible, and focusing more on responsible social distancing whilst trying to gradually return society back to normal, over time and with very strict monitoring of the results of any changes. We feel that in line with this change we are now in a position to start offering our livestock for sale again.

gloucester pet shop

This is not a case of everything returning to normal. We already have a social distancing policy in place at our Gloucester pet shop. Only one customer group in the shop at any time, queuing kept to a minimum outside the shop with customers keeping at least 2m apart. Staff maintaining 2m from customers at all times. Click and collect ordering available by telephone and on line in our web store and FREE local delivery for telephone orders. We will be keeping all these procedures in place and this will have an impact on the returning sale of animals.

reptile shop

In normal times we actively encourage prospective owners to interact with their new pet (hold where appropriate), prior to purchase. Under the corona virus restrictions we cannot return to this at present as it would break the social distancing rules. You may ask to look at an animal in its enclosure and where possible staff will try to place the animal in a carrier for you to look at, both of these can be done whilst maintaining 2m between staff and customers but I’m afraid that is the limit of interaction before purchase. You will not be able to hold or inspect the animal further. Our staff will do all the normal pre-sale inspections and of course our livestock policy (the most generous we have found) remains in place to offer you protection.

gerbil

This is the only way we feel we can return to selling animals whilst maintaining protection for our staff and customers. Please note that this service is available to customers only. We still have a policy of no browsing the animals. We have wide variety of livestock and it attracts a lot of casual visitors. During normal times this is not an issue (unless the “free zoo” visitors get in the way of genuine customers or, as happens from time to time, are disruptive – in which case they are asked to leave). However during the pandemic they represent an unnecessary risk to staff and customers and would also be preventing genuine customers from entering the premises. So for now the “Free Zoo” remains closed. We have had a couple of instances where members of the public have become abusive and/or aggressive with staff when asked to leave if they are not making a purchase and just want to “look at the animals”. Fortunately the number of these instances have been very few but they should not have happened at all. We have a zero tolerance policy toward abuse of staff and will remove from the shop anyone who decides that the middle of the worst crisis to hit the country since the war is a good time to start trying to throw their weight around. As I say it’s rare and we appreciate the rest of our community who understand the need for these restrictive practices at this time.

reptiles

We update our livestock list on this website daily (or when it changes) and our web store also has all our livestock displayed with prices. All animal sales remain in store only. We do not sell animals to anyone we have not met and chatted to, about the care and welfare of the animal, first.

african grey parrot

Finally, customers often have to have a think before making the decision whether to buy that particular animal. Quite right too, you should never rush into purchasing a particular pet. We would ask however that whilst making the decision you leave the store if it is going to take a few minutes as we cannot allow anyone else in at the same time as you so there could be a queue outside.

Difficult times call for difficult measures and we know none of this is exactly an ideal “customer experience” so we thank you all in advance for your understanding as we try to remain in business whilst protecting ourselves and our families as well as you and yours.

The Angell Pets Team

Current livestock list growing

Following on from our move to Hucclecote we are now growing our list of livestock in store and available to order. Every now and then I post the current list. I don’t do it too often as it changes almost daily but a quick post of what we currently have is often welcomed by our customers.

We do not have birds or fish at present. We can’t stock birds until we have finished painting because of the fumes and the area where the fish are going has only just been re-plastered ready for the tanks to go in. Obviously the tanks have to be matured before we can put fish in them.

Please note this list is only what we have in store and does not include the much larger range available to order.

So here is the current list as it stands today, it will be changing tomorrow.

Mammals

gerbil

Reptiles and Amphibians

Cave gecko

Spiders

tarantula

Other invertebrates

mantis

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

New Year – New Stock

The New Year is well underway and we have a lot of new livestock in store and even more available to order. Every now and then I post what we have in our shop so now would be a good time for an update.

Birds

red canary

African grey (Timneh)

Cockatiels (coloured)

Budgies (rainbow)

Canary (green)

Canary (red)

Java sparrows (silver)

Zebra finches

Chinese painted quail female (white)

 

Mammals

rabbit

Rabbits (mini lop)

Guinea pigs

Rats (dumbo and top eared)

Mice

Gerbils

Syrian hamsters

Reptiles

cave gecko

Cornsnake (amelanistic)

Cornsnake (ghost)

Milksnakes

Common boas

Kenyan sand boa

Carpet python

Royal python (pastel)

Bearded dragon

Leopard gecko

Flame crested gecko

Chinese cave gecko

Kotschys gecko

Madagascan giant day gecko

Yemen chameleon

Marginated tortoise

Red Eared Slider Turtle

Yellow Belly Turtle

Musk Turtle

 

Amphibian

phantasmal dart frog

Phantasmal Arrow Frog

Whites Tree Frog

 

Spiders

brazilian black

Brazilian black (juvenile)

Brazilian red rump (sub adult)

Costa Rican big bstd (sub adult)

Curly hair (spiderling)

Giant white knee (juvenile)

Haitian brown (spiderling – large)

Hati Hati purple (spiderlings – large)

Mexican red rump (spiderling)

Mexican red leg (spiderling, sub adult)

Mexican pink (sub adult)

Mexican rose grey (spiderling)

Socotra Island blue baboon (juvenile)

Thai zebra (adult female)

Togo starburst (spiderling – large)

Trinidad chevron (spiderling – large)

 

Insects

mantis

Deaths head cockroach

Fruit beetle

Giant spiny stick insect

Indian stick insect

Cameroon Mantis

Griffin Mantis

Other Invertebrates

Yellow rabbit snail

Red onion snail

Fish – Coldwater

Assorted Goldfish

Zebra Danio

Leopard Danio

Pearl Danio

Glowlight Danio

Butterfly Plec

Fish – Tropical

Bronze Corydora

Endler Guppy

Splendid Rasbora

Galaxy Rasbora

Albino Halfbeak

Lampeye

Cherry Barb

Glowlight tetra

Blonde Guppy Female

Clown Loach

Black Lyre Tail Molly

Orange Lyre Tail Molly

Mixed Lyre Tail Molly

We will be getting more fish stock soon.

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

 

 

 

Up to date livestock list

Our extensive list of livestock changes daily so I don’t usually have time to post up to date lists. However once in a while I do post what we currently have in stock by way of a marker. Here is our current list. However by tomorrow this could well have changed. See our website for some of what we stock and contact me to find out if we have what you are looking for. Please note we have access to far more than we have on our website or on this current list and that ALL our animals are captive bred – no wild caught.

Birds

  • Cockatiels (coloured and grey)
  • Rainbow Budgies (coming Thursday)
  • Zebra Finch
  • Java Sparrow
  • Blue Canary
  • Yellow Canary
  • Red Canary (coming Thursday)
  • Chinese Painted Quail
  • Conure

Small Mammals

  • Syrian Hamster
  • Fancy Mice (female – coming Thursday)
  • Dumbo Rats
  • Rabbits
  • Guinea Pigs
  • Ferret (last one this year)

Amphibians

  • Axolotl
  • Gold Tree Frog
  • Horned Frog

Reptiles

  • Crevice Spiny Lizard
  • Emerald Swift
  • Bosc Monitor
  • Red Iguana
  • Uromastyx
  • Crested Gecko
  • Flame Crested Gecko
  • Leopard Gecko
  • Chinese Cave Gecko
  • Tokay Gecko
  • Bearded Dragon
  • Panther Chameleon
  • Hermanns Tortoise
  • Common Musk Turtle
  • Corn Snake (hypo masque, anery, amel, ghost, sunglow)
  • Milksnake
  • Common Boa
  • Kenyan Sand Boa
  • Spotted Python
  • Royal Pythons
  • Carpet Python
  • Hog Nosed Snake

Invertebrates

  • Assassin Bug
  • Ghost Mantis
  • Miomantis
  • Hercules Beetle Larvae
  • Carpenter Ant Queen
  • Deaths Head Cockroach
  • Madagascan Giant Hissing Cockroach
  • Indian Stick Insect
  • Giant Spiny Stick Insect
  • Giant Prickly Stick Insect
  • Wood Nymph
  • Asian Jungle Scorpion
  • Flat Rock Scorpion
  • Brazilian Red Rump Tarantula juvenile
  • Brazilian Black Tarantula juvenile
  • Giant White Knee Tarantula spiderling (large)
  • Mexican Red Leg Tarantula spiderling
  • Mexican Red Knee Tarantula spiderling
  • Giant Orange Knee Tarantula spiderling (large)
  • Curly Haired spiderling and juvenile
  • Metallic Pink Toe Tarantula spiderling
  • Costa Rican Tiger Rump Taratula adult (M&F)
  • Santa Catalina Big B… Tarantula juvenile
  • Chang Mai Earth Tiger spiderling
  • Malaysian Earth Tiger juvenile
  • Chile Rose Tarantula spiderling, juvenile, sub adult and adult (M)
  • Northern Gold Tarantula sub adult
  • Indian Violet Earth Tiger spiderling (large)
  • Vietnamese Blue Earth Tiger spiderling (large)
  • Sulewesi Black Earth Tiger spiderling (large)
  • Hati Hati Purple Earth Tiger juvenile
  • Red Slate Ornamental juvenile
  • Indian Ornamental adult (F)
  • Venezuelan Suntiger spiderling
  • Bahia Scarlet Birdeater spiderling
  • Columbian Giant Birdeater juvenile
  • Togo Starburst Baboon Spider juvenile
  • Usumbara Red Baboon Spider juvenile
  • Stout Legged Baboon Spider spiderling (large)
  • King Baboon Spider spiderling
  • Feather Legged Baboon Spider spiderling
  • Blue Footed Baboon Spider spiderling (large)

Fish

  • Calico Oranda
  • American Flag Fish
  • Paradise Fish
  • Albino Paradise Fish
  • Leopard Danio
  • Clown Loach
  • Platy
  • Molly
  • Siamese Fighting Fish
  • Guppy (F)
  • Corydoras
  • Flame Tetra
  • Lemon Tetra
  • Cherry Spot Rasbora
  • Norman Lamp Eye
  • Golden Panchax
  • Black Widow Tetra
  • Blind Cave Fish
  • Columbian Tetra
  • Dwarf Blue Coral Gourami

Molluscs

  • Red Onion Snail (aquatic)
  • Yellow Rabbit Snail (aquatic)
  • Giant African Land Snail (terrestrial)

 The Angell Pets Team

Angell Pet care sheets page

Angell Pet give advice on all aspects of the animals we sell and on others we don’t. In addidtion tyo the advice given to prospective pet owners we have a page devoted to care sheets on this site which is constantly being up dated and expanded.

angell pet care sheet page

Just click on the Angell Pet Caresheet tab for a page of sheets and articles on mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, fish and additional sheets on hygiene, handling and treatments.

The care information for each animal will also be added to the description on our Angell Pet webstore over the next few months.

We also have additional advice on our Angell Pet You Tube channel.

The Angell Pet Team

Our pet shop livestock list prior to the launch of the live site.

We will be soon launching our new pet shop webstore. Whilst you will not be able to buy livestock directly from this site (we believe you should always want to see livestock before buying and will not send our livestock by courier) the list of livestock available in store will be on there and it will be a live list. In the mean time here is a list of the livestock currently available at Angell Pets. We will continue to give updates of new stock in through our email subscriber list and on our Facebook page.

Mammals

pet shop gloucester ferret

  • Dwarf lop rabbit
  • Guinea pig
  • Chinchilla
  • African pygmy hedgehog
  • Gerbil
  • Syrian hamster
  • Fancy mouse
  • Blue rat
  • naked rat

Birds

pet shop gloucester birds

  • Grey cockatiel
  • White faced cockatiel
  • Rainbow budgie
  • Fife canary (crossed red factor)
  • Yellow bishop
  • Zebra finch
  • Java sparrow (white and pied)

Lizards

pet shop gloucester chameleons

 

  • Balkan green lizard
  • Crested gecko
  • Leopard gecko
  • Tokay gecko
  • Pink tongued skink
  • Yemen chameleon
  • Bearded dragon

Snakespet shop gloucester snakes

 

  • Corn snake (Carolina, amelanistic, snow)
  • Brookes kingsnake
  • Pueblan milksnake
  • African house snake
  • Western hognosed snake
  • Royal python (normal)
  • Royal python (spider)
  • Blood python
  • Jampea dwarf reticulated python
  • Carpet python (100% het granite)
  • Colombian rainbow boa
  • Common boa

Chelonia

pet shop gloucester tortoise

 

  • Horsefields tortoise
  • Common musk turtle

Amphibians

pet shop gloucester livestock fire bellied toad

 

  • Axolotl
  • Ornate horned frog

Spiders

pet shop gloucester spider tarantula

 

  • Chile rose
  • Curly hair
  • mexican red leg
  • Mexican flame knee
  • Chaco golden knee
  • Giant white knee
  • Pink zebra beauty
  • Brazilian pink toe
  • Martinique pink toe
  • Costa rican tiger rump
  • Chile bumble bee
  • Brazilian blonde
  • Brazilian red rump birdeater
  • Salmon pink birdeater
  • Venezuelan sun tiger
  • Indian ornamental
  • Gooty ornamental
  • Malaysian thick foot
  • Malaysian earth tiger
  • Green bottle blue
  • New Guinea rust rump
  • Togo starburst
  • Vietnam blue earth tiger
  • Usumbara red baboon
  • Blue foot baboon
  • Socotra island baboon

Scorpions

 

 

  • European scorpion
  • Asian jungle scorpion

Other Invertebrates

pet shop gloucester assasin bug

 

  • Giant chocolate millipede
  • Giant spiny stick insect
  • Indian stick insect
  • Jungle nymph
  • Indian mantis
  • Dead leaf mantis
  • Red spotted assasin bug
  • Fruit beetle
  • Giant hissing cockroach
  • Giant African landsnail

Coldwater fish

 

 

  • Black Moor
  • Calico Fantail
  • Red and Black Fantail
  • Calico Fantail

Tropical fish

pet shop gloucester tropical fish

 

  • leopard angelfish
  • Veiled angelfish
  • Cherry barb
  • Golden barb
  • Odessa barb
  • Tiger barb
  • Tinfoil barb
  • Leopard danio
  • Pearl danio
  • Gold zebra danio
  • Zebra danio
  • Giant danio
  • Gold sucking loach
  • Clown loach
  • Albino bristlenose plec
  • Gibbiceps plec
  • Neon tetra
  • Black widow tetra
  • Red phantom tetra
  • Serpae tetra
  • Firemouth cichlid
  • Gold severum
  • Lab caeruleas (electric yellow cichlid)
  • Gold thick lipped gourami
  • Sky blue dwarf gourami
  • Dwarf pencil fish
  • Red coral platy
  • Calico sunburst platy
  • Assorted molly
  • Black lyre tailed molly
  • Green swordtail
  • Blue mix guppy
  • Red dragon tail guppy
  • Green snakesking guppy
  • Female blue guppy
  • Brochis spendens (emeral catfish)
  • Albino corydora
  • Bronze corydora
  • Albino rainbow shark
  • Golden wonder panchax

Aquatic invertebrates

  • Yellow rabbit snail
  • Mountain shrimp
  • Blue lobster

 

 

This list, whilst extensive is only what we currently have in the shop. We also have a network of breeders and suppliers from whom we can get a wide range of animals and colour morphs to order. Please remember ALL of our animals are captive bred, most in the UK.

 

 

Pet shop Gloucester advice series – good hygiene

Pet shop Gloucester advice on avoiding infection from animals through good hygiene.

All animals have the potential to carry organisms (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, multicellular parasites) that can cause disease in humans. The most obvious and common is E.coli bacteria. We carry this ourselves, that’s why you should wash your hands after going to the toilet. Another common one is salmonella, potentially carried by a host of animals including reptiles and birds.

The commonest way of spreading these disease causing organisms is through faecal material (poop), urine, saliva and breath (in the water droplets). So on the face of it owning an animal seems to be a bad thing to do if you want to avoid being ill.

Well you actually stand more chance of being infected by disease from another human than you do from an animal, wild or a pet. How many people do you know who don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet or before preparing food, after blowing their nose, who sneeze, pick their nose, cough and splutter all over the place when they have a cold or worse and every one knows the story about the research into how many individual samples of human urine can be found on bar snacks! I even gave myself food poisoning recently, most likely from blue cheese, although I can’t be sure.

pet shop Gloucester

Humans eh! Dirty, horrible things.

With regard to animals, especially pet animals, the risk can be greatly reduced by ALWAYS following a basic set of rules. It is common sense really when you think about it but it does no harm to reiterate the rules here. You wouldn’t lick a rat’s bottom (I would hope not anyway!) but that is exactly what you are doing if, after handling your pet rat, you bite that little bit of hang nail off or wipe your mouth with the back of your hand.

  • Do not do anything that involves putting your hands near your face whilst handling any pet animal. This includes eating, drinking, smoking, sucking your thumb!
  • Keep your pet’s enclosure clean and dry generally. Remove soiled bedding and use a disinfectant appropriate to the species (household disinfectants can be toxic to animals).
  • Wash you hands IMMEDIATELY after handling you pet or cleaning its enclosure. Also after handling anything your pet touches such as toys, dog beds, scratch posts etc.
  • Do not kiss your pet or hold it close to your face, that’s what humans are for.
  • Cover any cuts, abrasions, sores or scratches with a water proof dressing before handling or cleaning. Also if you pick up any new ones in the process clean these and apply  a suitable dressing.
  • Don’t keep animals in rooms used to prepare food. Never let them walk on food surfaces and don’t wash animal items in sinks used for human food utensils. If you have no choice, always thoroughly disinfect the sink and surrounding work surfaces afterwards and don’t use the same cloths for both.
  • Don’t let animals onto your bed and especially not your pillow.

Follow these rules and you shouldn’t end up as one of the many people with an undiagnosed gastrointestinal infection (24 hour bout of diarrhoea) or one of the very rare cases of rat hantavirus (the only two cases of this flu like disease I know of in the UK were breeders who were in constant contact with rats but clearly didn’t have sufficient infection control).

If you are sensible pets have been shown to reduce disease in humans but if you lick a rat’s bum (figuritively speaking), expect the worst!

Keep visiting for more pet shop Gloucester advice.

The Angell Pets Team

Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

Pet Shop Gloucester advice series – Leopard Gecko care sheet

The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is one of the most popular lizards around (along with the bearded dragon). There are reasons for this. Mainly it is because they are very easy to look after, are generally quite hardy, are easy to get hold of, don’t require too big of an enclosure or too much equipment (it was believed) and now come in a vast array of colour morphs. This basic care sheet will tell you all you need to know to keep a leopard gecko healthy and active for its entire life. It will cover breeding in general but not the genetics of the various morphs available. That subject is quite complex and unless you are really into the subject (i.e. a bit of a geek) it’s a little too boring for this type of publication.

It is important to know something of an animals natural environment if you are to know how to care for it properly. If you were to try caring for a chile rose tarantula in the same way that you care for a goliath birdeater it would not last very long as they come from very different habitats to which they are adapted.

Leopard geckos originally come from arid regions of Afganistan and Pakistan. Whilst all the specimens you are likely to come across in the UK are captive bred and so a bit more tolerant of varied conditions, you still want to mimic nature as much as possible. So a dry vivarium with a suitable, mainly dry substrate is obviously best. However there are times when this will need to be varied and we will cover this later.

They are nocturnal lizards, reaching a length of between 6.5cm (hatchling) to 27.5cm (large adult). Originally they were spotted lizards (hence the name) but now come in a range of colours and patterns. Unlike a lot of other geckos, leopard geckos do not have lamellae pads on their toes so cannot climb smooth, vertical surfaces but do have small claws that enable them to grip; so they can climb some not so steep rough surfaces (rocks, wood, polystyrene backgrounds). They have a thin, translucent but very tough skin covered in lots of small bumps. The tail of a healthy leopard gecko is very thick at the base tapering gradually to a point. This is where the gecko stores its fat reserves. The tail can be shed as a defence response (the tail stays wiggling on the floor, distracting the predator – or owner – whilst the gecko runs off) and will regrow but as the animal has just shed its reserves it’s only done as a last resort; so they are not so ready do do this as some other species of gecko (like the crested gecko for instance). Like other reptiles leopards geckos shed their outer layer of skin periodically (depending on how fast they are growing). They usually eat the skin. Two theories exist as to why and probably both are true. One is that they do it to hide their presence from predators (no scent or visual signs of their presence) and the other is to recycle precious minerals. As said, both have merit, all that is important is that it is normal for them to do it. Like nearly all modern reptiles, leopard geckos are ectothermic. They rely entirely on their environment to regulate their body temperature; they are essentially the same temperature as their surroundings, moving from one area to another to warm up or cool down. It is essential they are able to replicate this natural behaviour in captivity to remain healthy.

The Enclosure.

It is often recommended that young (hatchling) geckos should be housed in small enclosures so they don’t feel stressed, can easily find food and feel safe and secure. As far as I know no scientific work has ever been done to support this assertion. It is certainly true, as a breeder that young geckos CAN safely be housed in this way but I don’t think it is necessary. As long as the gecko has somewhere to hide, it will feel secure. I don’t know if you have ever been to the area of Afganistan that leopard geckos come from but it’s pretty big and it’s not divided up into small convenient boxes. It is perfectly acceptable to house your young gecko in the enclosure you intend for it as an adult, as long as you provide plenty of places for it to hide away in different areas of the vivarium. We have been keeping and breeding leopard geckos for years and we have never lost a single hatchling or noticed any abnormal behaviour from young lizards kept in larger enclosures (not that any of ours are that large). Also, in the wild, leopard geckos are relatively communal (communal, not social) and can be found together in small groups. In captivity this is also true. So in a larger enclosure you can house several young geckos together until sexual maturity is reached and then a small group of females with the possible addition of one male (only one, add two and you will have one dead gecko) will also be OK. An 18″ x 15″ enclosure is big enough for an adult leopard gecko or a pair. However a larger enclosure will allow for a more interesting habitat and allow the addition of further individuals. I like a 30″x18″ for a pair or small group. Too small an enclosure and it will be difficult to generate the temperature gradient necessary to ensure adequate temperature regulation.

Glass or wood? The choice really is yours. Both work well but both also have their advantages and disadvantages. Glass enables you to make a fantastic display tank that can be seen from multiple angles. However it also loses heat more easily so may require larger wattage heating equipment to maintain temperature and be more susceptible to external temperature change (drafts etc.). Wood is a good insulator so will require relatively smaller wattage equipment. However you will want a thermostat to prevent overheating and they tend to be less well ventilated than mesh topped glass vivs. We have used both with equal success and actually don’t have a preference. If your house is cold I would go for wood though. There are plastic vivs available as well, I just don’t think they are very attractive myself.

Heating

You need to heat the viv. By far the easiest way is to install a heat mat. Some of the ones we sell conveniently come with double sided adhesive sheet already fitted so are easy to stick to the side or bottom of the viv. Either is OK but if you do stick it to the floor be careful not to put anything heavy or sharp on top, you may damage the heat mat and cause a hot spot that could burn the viv. or anything else in there. You don’t actually need a basking spot lamp but you may wish to put something in to light up the interior. If you do put one in make sure it is at the same end as the heat mat. You are trying to produce a hot end and a cold end to allow the gecko to thermoregulate by moving from one end to the other. The temperature you are trying to achieve is 29 to 31 C during the day (light on) to 22 to 25 C at night (light off) at the hot end with a decent drop across to the cold end. You should really have a thermostat to ensure the viv. does not overheat. I would use a mat stat and only have a small power basking lamp to achieve this. You could have a lower wattage mat and a stronger bulb and use a dimming thermostat on the bulb. it would give a finer level of control but dimming stats are twice the price of mat stats (on/off stats), so you pays your money and you takes your choice. I use a mat stat but then I’m notoriously tight and don’t have a basking spot anyway. Do use a thermometer at either end of the enclosure to check you are maintaining the correct temperature gradient (31C at the hot end 22C at the cold end during the day). Thermostat settings are a guide. The thermometers will tell you what the temperature actually is. Adjust the thermostat accordingly. If you can stretch to it, invest in a surface reading infra red thermometer. Just point at a surface in the enclosure and it will tell you what the temperature is right there. Much more accurate and removes the need to have intrusive dials or probes in your naturalistic viv. I think they are great but then I have a lot of vivs (and fish tanks) to check the temperature of.

Lighting

It has long been thought that leopard geckos, being nocturnal, do not need UV light. Diurnal lizards need UV to produce vitamin D3 in their skin. Vitamin D3 is involved with calcium assimilation and without it the lizard cannot get enough calcium from its diet (most insects are low in calcium) and get bone disease. Actually leopard geckos do need UV as well but it has been discovered that they have evolved into very efficient UV gathering devices. In the wild when they are laid up during the day in a burrow, or under a rock they actually lay in an area that is exposed to very low levels of UV or sometimes come out for just a few minutes. Their skin however is exceptionally good at absorbing this UV (11 times more efficient than a bearded dragon). They only have to come out for a few brief minutes to get enough to survive. In captivity it is best to use a low level UV source (2%) or ensure your gecko is exposed to some UV daily. That said many breeders have never used UV lighting. It may be that the animals are getting enough exposure from extraneous sources. I wouldn’t take a chance, especially if breeding. We use an 8W 2% tube. Do be careful of over exposure, especially with albinos. DO NOT use high intensity UV lighting.

Substrate

This is the “stuff” that goes on the floor of your vivarium. I have heard every horror story there is to hear about this subject. Most of what is talked about is actually just peoples’ opinions, not necessarily fact. “You should never use that” normally means “I don’t use that and I must be right because I am god’s gift, so you shouldn’t either”. We have used a variety of different substrates and have our favourites and others we wouldn’t use again (and some we have never used, either because we have had no need or personally didn’t want to take a chance). I’ll list some here, you can make your own informed decision.

Nothing at all. Who said you had to put anything down? Advantages – cheap, easy to clean (just wipe daily with viv. cleaner). Disadvantages – not natural, gecko can’t dig around, won’t be able to grip if in a glass viv. (could lead to lax muscles), not particularly attractive, nothing to soak up fluids. I’ve never tried as I like natural looking vivs.

Newspaper or paper towel. Same advantages as above except probably easier to keep clean (no need to wipe daily) but most of the disadvantages as well (except I think it’s even uglier). When I started keeping reptiles everyone used this and I can still remember the distinctive smell of the local reptile shop. Not my favourite but nothing to stop you.

Play sand. Advantages – cheap, easy to get hold of, can look attractive when new. Disadvantages – very fine so easy for the gecko to accidentally ingest. Sand is made of silica which is indigestible. Impaction (caused by eating indigestible material that then “impacts” in the lower gut) can occur and this is fatal. It can also get rather smelly if not changed regularly. I have never used it as I didn’t want to take a risk and do not recommend anyone else does either.

Calci sand. This is made from calcium not silica. Calcium does dissolve in the gut in small quantities. Advantages – comes in a range of colours, can be a calcium source. Disadvantages – leopard geckos will deliberately ingest calcium if they are not getting enough from their diet (your fault if they’re not, more on that later). If they ingest too much, it won’t all dissolve leading to impaction.

Beech chips. Advantages – cheapish, attractive in a utilitarian sort of way, well suited to an arid environment. Disadvantages – can be ingested and cause impaction (avoid this by using the largest grade), smaller crickets can hide among the pieces (they will eventually get the little monsters though), not natural (important to me but does not have to be important to you).

Orchid bark. Advantages – cheapish, attractive. Disadvantages – better suited to a more humid environment, would look natural for a crested gecko but not a leopard gecko, crickets can hide in the coarser grades.

Naturalistic substrates (normally clay based gritty, sterile dirt such as Lucky Reptile desert bedding). My favourite so I openly admit I am biased. Advantages – as natural looking as you can get, gecko can burrow if it is deep enough, can be used to construct hides (by adding water and moulding and allowing to dry into shape), I have never had a problem with impaction. Disadvantages – not as cheap as alternatives although it is not that expensive, can insulate the heat mat if too deep so you may want to mount this on the side of the viv. and like other “sand” it gets in the runners of the viv. doors and makes a nasty scratching sound, so keep the runners clear. Our geckos seem to like this the best. By that I mean they display more natural behaviour, especially during breeding. When on other substrates the female just laid her eggs in her hide or in a corner. On desert bedding she piled some into her water bowl to make is damp, dug into the pile, laid the eggs and covered them up. It makes no difference in the end, all eggs are removed and incubated but it was nice to see the behaviour. Our bearded dragons did the same. You can now also get bio active varieties of natural substrate that enable the growing of desert plants for the full “arid experience”. Create you own bit of the middle east in your living room!

Feeding

Leopard geckos are insectivores (although they will eat baby mice as well). In the wild leopard geckos get most of their minerals (for example calcium) from their food and/or particles of soil that stick to their food. However the insects themselves are generally low in calcium and high in phosphorus (it is the ratio of the difference that is important). Obviously when the gecko eats the insect it is also eating its contents (i.e. whatever is in its guts) and it is this that gives most of the minerals and vitamins. It is essential you replicate this. Fortunately it is easy to do. Just feed your live food (crickets, meal or morio worms, locusts, waxworms etc.) on a good proprietary bug grub and some fresh veg (carrot etc.) prior to feeding to your gecko. This “gut loads” the insect and significantly increases the calcium content (by up to 20 times) and the vitamins too. When young you should also “dust” the crickets with calcium dust at every feed, although you can reduce this when older (unless producing eggs). You should also dust once or twice a week with a vitamin powder. Don’t over do this, as too much of some vitamins has been shown to cause problems. Once a week is fine. Basically all you have to do is put the insects in a container with some powder and give them a shake up. This will coat them in the powder and then you can feed them to you gecko. DON’T over feed. Putting too many crickets (especially the quite carnivorous black crickets) into the viv. means that the excess that do not get eaten will run off and hide and come out when the gecko is asleep and have a little nibble. Also if the crickets are adults they will “sing” all night and you will get it in the neck from your partner – trust me.

Feed young geckos every day, adults will be fine every other day. The tail is the give away. If the tail is too thin you are under feeding. Also the gecko will constantly be on the prowl. If you have a gecko with a very fat tail that is really lazy and doesn’t seem to do much and doesn’t seem to show any interest in food then you’ve probably stuffed it to the gunnels.

Breeding.

Pet shop gloucester

Albert’s baby

To breed leopard geckos (assuming you have the correct set up) you will obviously need a male and at least one female. You can only really tell what sex they are when they are over about 8 months old. It is possible to tell as hatchlings but it is very difficult and requires some extra equipment and a lot of patience and experience. I won’t sex them until sexual dimorphism becomes apparent to the naked eye, it is too easy to make a mistake. Male, adult leopard geckos tend to be bigger with a broader head but the tell tale sign is the pre anal pores near the vent. Both males and females have them but in the males they are much more apparent, appearing as a dark v shape just above the vent (sexually mature males excrete a waxy substance from here). You will also be able to see hemipenal bulges under the vent at the base of the tail in the male. Basically if it has the right appendages (hidden in a sheath) then its a boy! If you don’t know what appendage I am talking about, you should not be breeding geckos. Leopard geckos reach sexual maturity at 8 months but shouldn’t be bred until at least 12 months old due to increased risk of problems with egg production and laying.

If you introduce a male and female sexually mature pair of geckos for the first time they will most likely breed regardless of the time of year but not necessarily. When we first introduced our male to our female he certainly tried it on but she just picked him up by the scruff of the neck (if leopard geckos can be said to have a scruff) and threw him across the viv. They didn’t breed for 6 months. Most geckos will normally breed from January to September, you may need to lower the temperature for about 8 weeks prior to the season to start the process but we never have. You will be able to see when she is gravid. She will look fat and you will be able to see the eggs developing at the base of her abdomen. If using desert bedding as a substrate you will probably just have to look out for a mound of substrate, the eggs (usually two) will be in there. If not, you will need a hide or tub with some egg laying substrate in and a restricted entrance for her to crawl through to lay. A lot of people use vermiculite as an incubating medium. I don’t like it, I prefer moss. I have used both and have lost far fewer eggs with moss. If you have to move the eggs from one container to another (I use cricket tubs) for incubation make sure you do not turn them. Place them in the same orientation as you found them.

You may want to remove the male after you find the female is gravid to give her a break after she lays, otherwise he will just mate again and she may not have recovered enough to produce viable eggs.

Place the incubation tub in your incubator. I am not going to discuss incubators here, there are too many methods. Most I have seen work well. We have gone all up market with a digitally controlled expensive incubator. It does not produce better results, our old homemade  “on bricks above a water bath” version worked just as well. It is however a damn site easier! If you are using moss in cricket tubs with the lid on you have very little to do other than check the temperature and make sure the moss isn’t drying out (ours didn’t at all this time round).

Leopard geckos do display temperature dependent sexual determination. Basically the incubation range is 24.5 C to 32.5 C. the lower end of the range produces more females the higher end more males. This temperature variation will also produce a variation in incubation period. The lower end may take up to 70 days to hatch and the upper end only 45. This is not a hard and fast rule though. Out last two batches were incubated in the same incubator at the same time and the ones that were laid first hatched second; go figure. Make sure the temperature never goes above 34 C or the eggs will die.

Depending on what temperature you are incubating at, start checking the eggs a couple of times a day about a week before you expect them to hatch. Just before hatching the egg will collapse and you will see slits along the egg caused by the egg tooth of the hatchling gecko. It will probably take a few hours to emerge and will do so in stages. Most hatch fine but some still have the egg yolk attached. These need to be left to absorb the yolk sack in peace. When hatched, remove the gecko to their hatchling home.

They will shed, eat the skin and then not actually eat small crickets for about 4 or five days. Then they get more and more voracious. Start dusting the crickets straight away. They grow rapidly and like kids, need the calcium.

Phantom pregnancy

For a start, I know it’s not pregnant, it’s gravid but it doesn’t scan as well. Reptiles can spontaneously lay infertile eggs. Our corn snake started doing this after 9 years. Leopard geckos are no exception. If you are absolutely sure she hasn’t been mated and can see eggs developing then they will not be fertile. Give her what she needs to lay the eggs and then remove them for disposal. Make sure you give her extra food and calcium whilst she is gravid as the yolk, white and shell will still all develop and take it out of her. Once she has laid she should settle back down. Make sure she does lay as geckos can become egg bound.

For further advice on leopard gecko care call us, contact us on Facebook or drop by the shop.

Richard Angell