REPTILE | PET GAZETTE | 21
that are doing so in a much smaller but still
effective way.
As we saw in the previous issue, the
Leopard Gecko is indeed highly developed;
it lives within a multitude of ecosystems from
dry/arid rocky terrain right through to quite
lush and humid emergent scrub forests. They
have adapted to thrive within the sections
of the day that present as having a lower
predator risk, this being within times of lower
levels of daylight. This is a species that has
adapted to use full-spectrum terrestrial
daylight in order to power its body, an
ectothermic species that has developed a
thin skin, able to be impacted by the full-
spectrum of our atmosphere fi ltered sun,
even at low levels of illumination. Like all
species has developed well in order to
continually increase wild numbers, in doing
so it is this wild terrain that has set the level of
need and become the supplier.
I have been happy to see a marked
move in the hobby towards providing larger
enclosures. Yes, it did used to be common
to use very small vivariums, even draws for
this species, however it is clear that not only
will Leopard Geckos use space, but that this
increase in area is indeed needed to be able
to correctly build a naturalistic environment in
which they can live. I would like to see a time
when the typical cage size for a single animal
would be at least 30” long, 18” deep and 24”
high. In this way a keeper will have the space
needed to place and maintain a good depth
of natural substrate (3”+), and they will also
be able to use natural slate and suitable rocks
and indeed branches to create the tunnels
and rock networks that will inevitably be used.
Substrate choice and depth is key here, the
Leopard Gecko, like most reptiles does not
live on prime sand. Rather, they live within
an area that has a rocky mineral rich soil.
This will be ‘sand like’ at the surface with all
kinds and grades of weathered rock dust and
shale, but it will be more earthy underneath.
If we provide a natural base substrate that is
proven to be safe and effective, being wild-
like, we greatly reduce the risk of avoidable
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impaction. In doing so however, we greatly
increase the animal’s ability to dig and burrow
and of course to fi nd higher levels of humidity
under the ground within the burrow. To action
this safely, we must have a substrate that
can be ingested safely, either purposefully by
natural geophagy or by incidental ingestion
while hunting. This substrate should not
easily collapse and should be given at a
depth that will maintain a level of humidity
below its surface. In our case of course, we
have to factor in a level of hand misting to
help maintain the soil and cave humidity. Our
enclosures are not subject to the action of the
nightly cooling that draws water up from the
ground, nor is it subject to the early morning
mists that are the apex provider of water in
arid and semi-arid lands, as such, as the
carer, we must step in.
In terms of rock provision, a range of
natural stones can now be bought to be sold
in-store, variety is of course helpful as it will
allow keepers to create interesting and usable
rock stacks. Dark coloured natural slate is
especially useful as it is, by its nature able to
absorb, retain and re-admit heat back into
the enclosure via convection. Being rather
fl at, it can also be stacked and bonded with
aquarium sealant to become stable and
reduce the risk of rockfall. It is also quite easy
to create voids within the stack in which the
animal can rest during the day. In this way
a further level of natural behaviour can be
catered for, and that is partial basking. Some
of these voids can also be lined and fi lled with
substrate, live plants can then be grown within
the enclosure should the keeper wish to do
so. There are now groups of keepers that will
research the native fl ora and seek to use these
species within the enclosure, I think that this is
yet another welcome move towards creating
naturalistic systems. Rocks can also be drilled,
and posts used to add a further layer of stability.
We must ensure that both the animal and the
keeper is protected from possible harm.
It is the rock stack that will form the ‘basking
platform’ or ‘basking zone’. We use the word
‘basking’ even for species such as Crepuscular
Geckos that may not actively openly bask in
high levels of heat and light. But it is from this
zone that we will create our energy provision.
It is here that we ensure the optimum
conditions in terms of heat from infrared and
terrestrial UV. Using a heat source, we can
create a heated section of rock. This rock/slate
will become the epicentre of basking. It is also
March 2019