A recent research team attached GPS trackers to a group of pet cats to track their whereabouts when their owners were not around or sleeping. The daily movements of the pet cats surprised many owners. Take a peek below.
We’ve spoken out of this blog multiple times about the dangers outdoor cats are exposed to when they roam. Here’s a gps tracking study that shows exactly how far from their ‘safe home base’ outdoor cats in Wales actually go in just one night.
“When you speak to a lot of cat owners they say: “Oh my cat just (…) doesn’t go anywhere.” (…) Some of the cats have “gone three kilometeres from home”.”
This cat went in such a straight line it can only have been following a major road for a long period.
This cat went more than a kilometer into the wilderness at night, potentially exposing itself to all sorts of urban and rural predators.
This cat traveled repeatedly through the yards of other houses as well as spending a good amount of time in the middle of the road.
Don’t think your cat travels? It does. Keep your cats indoors. Keep them safe.
The benefits can vary. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume you’re working with a morph that isn’t light sensitive. I use UVB with only one of my geckos and I’ve noticed a decrease in shedding issues and his colors are brighter. IDK how much of the shedding issues clearing up is due to the UVB because I also adjusted his vitamin A intake at roughly the same time.
I don’t see him bask much but, eh, it’s nice to give him the choice. Most people report their geckos are more active and have reported better skin health. The biggest benefit is a reduced MBD risk. Leopard geckos NEED vitamin D3; with UVB, they can manufacture their own D3 with no risk of overdose.
(full disclosure: I’ve heard wildly differing facts and opinions on D3 overdose. Since it’s a fat soluble molecule, it’s easily stored in fat and D3 overdose doesn’t happen unless the gecko is sick/starved, so it’s really hard to detect. Some people say it’s never been proven. But I hear from reptile vets that it can happen)
Risks are fairly minimal with a light tolerant morph and adequate cover. Light sensitive morphs can easily suffer eye damage. Light sensitive morphs include ALL albinos, enigmas, eclipses, and white and yellows. (Noir desirs are also light sensitive, but we won’t see those in the typical pet trade for a few more years probably)
The brand I prefer is Arcadia, especially the 2%. The 2% arcadia bulb was designed specifically for crepsecular reptiles like leopard geckos. I keep mine on for about four hours a day: two at dusk and two at dawn. This is just my schedule, though. Other people keep theirs on at a typical light schedule and they’re fine. Arcadia’s are a bit more expensive than reptisun, but they last longer. The thing that really needs to be stressed about UVB bulbs is that they don’t last forever. Reptisuns need to be replaced every 6 months. Arcadia brand lasts for about a year. While they still put out light, they don’t put out adequate UVB.
UVB bulbs only put out light and minimal heat, so you’ll still need your CHE for supplemental heat. If your UTH isn’t on a thermostat already, I highly suggest you look into it. This keeps your heat levels stable.
Gecko weight loss takes a long time, so be prepared for that. It took Echo 9 months to drop to a healthier weight!
Here’s what I did:
Feed fewer feeders! Instead of getting 5-7 feeders per feeding, she gets 2-3.
Feed smaller feeders!
Feed less frequently! Echo eats every 3-4 days, while my other geckos get fed every other day.
Encourage exercise! Setting up a little exploring area is a nice way to do this. Stack things for her to climb or things to dig under.
Instead of tweezer feeding, I’d have my gecko hunt for her food by setting up a little paper city and letting the feeders loose in it. She’d have to find them all.
For leos, I would go to @followthebluebell. I am unsure about leo behaviors 😦
Glass-surfing happens for lots of reasons, not just husbandry errors.
THAT SAID, husbandry errors are usually the main culprit, so double-check and make sure the heating mat (or whatever heating system you’re using) is working properly and the thermostat is at the correct temperature.
Another big reason I see glass-surfing is inadequate cover. Hides are great, but leos LOVE cover. Get some big fake plants and plop them in there. I really like the zoomed vines with suction cups to cover the walls—this makes the gecko feel extra secure. You can even get fake plants at the dollar store (or craft store), so long as they don’t have glitter or perfumes.
‘Cover’ doesn’t have to be just plants. Other forms of cover I use in my gecko enclosures include: paper towel or toilet paper tubes, grapewood branches, cool rocks I like, and corkbark. They really like corkbark and it’s fairly cheap.
Stereotypic behaviors are the biggest tip-offs to boredom or stress in most animals. In mammals, this presents as things like repetitive grooming, pacing, gnawing on bars, destructive behaviors towards furniture and clothing, etc… things like that.
It’s a lot harder to spot in reptiles since we’re really only just now noticing, “hey, these animals are probably a lot smarter than we think…” which is forcing us to reconsider what’s ‘normal’ behavior for a reptile and what isn’t. I bring this up to admit that these are my own observations and opinions that aren’t fully backed by scientific papers since there really… aren’t very many.
anyway, here’s my opinion on what counts as a stereotypic behavior in a leopard gecko:
Excessive glass-surfing (that’s when a reptile acts like they’re trying to climb glass but keeps sliding around)
Excessive rubbing on cage furniture (when not shedding). In some animals this can become an almost OCD-like issue. I typically saw this in neurologically damaged animals, so it’s hard to say how much of it is stereotypic vs neurological issues.
Excessive pacing
It’s… pretty generalized and may not be accurate to every reptile. I know of at least one very well-kept leo who still glass surfs a lot.
Novel experiences can reduce boredom, so I re-arrange my enclosures every few weeks. Introducing new hides and new cage decor keeps my lizards interested and active. This should be done cautiously, since some lizards are very sensitive and may go off feed. New types of food typically interests geckos too. If you usually feed crickets, try some superworms.
Consider what leopard geckos do in the wild: they likely spend a lot of time hunting, so you can help recreate that by making little ‘hunting grounds’ for them. You can get creative with it too! Put some fake plants in a small bin and make a tiny jungle. I like making tiny paper cities. Add bugs and you’ve got a tiny kaiju film in the making.
Leopard geckos also spend a fair amount of time digging in the wild, so I encourage the use of digboxes. They don’t have to be complex; mine are simply little plastic containers of moss and dirt. They double as humid hides and layboxes, tbh. They just need to be deep enough for the gecko to dig down and get comfy.
Don’t be afraid to get really creative with enclosure designs too! Leopard geckos enjoy climbing vines and sticks and really benefit from decor cluttering up their space. Good luck!
Climbing things – fake plants, little ramps (turtle ramps are SUPER COOL), heck even just lego blocks stacked in interesting fashions.
New Feeders – give your gecko a new nom. Not only is it a different flavor, it’s also an entirely different hunting technique! I love watching my leos watch crickets and try to figure out how to eat them.
Hunting Grounds – I also like building tiny paper cities, putting the feeders in them, and then letting the lizard hunt them down. Don’t judge. Every gecko deserves to feel like a kaiju at least once.
Digging! – set up a little box of dirt for the gecko. Let them dig and be a gecko. The dirt should be fertilizer free and as organic as possible.
Different textures – just give them stuff to check out. Different kinds of fabric tend to fascinate (probably not the right word) geckos. They just really seem interested in checking out new things.
That’s the accepted minimum standard, so I highly encourage you to get bigger if you can. Your gecko is going to spend pretty much its entire life in this enclosure; make it the best you can. c:
One of the things I hear a lot is, “oh, that’s too big/a big tank will stress a gecko out”. This is NOT accurate. Geckos get stressed out by a lot of blank space in their enclosures because they feel insecure and open to attack. This is easily mitigated by putting in more hides, plants, corkbark, decor… just anything to fill the space.
If you can’t get a bigger tank, don’t worry; you can still give your gecko a good home by making use of vertical space. Using turtle ramps can give your gecko more room to roam.
Oh thank you for the answer! I just got pretty worried because I had heard you’re supposed to use a bigger tank, and I really can’t afford one at the moment (once I get a decent job I’m going to try to get a bigger one!)
I’m going to do my best to make the enclosure the most natural looking I can with my current budget, and I might have to add stuff after a while since I don’t have a job at the moment, but hearing that the tank is big enough really made my anxiety about this better, so again thank you!
You’re welcome! Here are some extra ways to save on tank decor that your gecko will love:
Shop for fake plants at dollar stores. So long as the plants aren’t covered in glitter or perfume, they’re safe. Plastic ones are really easy to disinfect using a 10% bleach solution. Just let them soak overnight and wash them off in the morning really well. Fabric ones should be washed in hot water and soap. Watch out for dye running! If the dye runs, it’s not safe for geckos.
Toilet paper or paper towel tubes are excellent hides. honestly one of my gecko loves these more than any proper hide I get for her.
Kleenex boxes and even small cereal boxes are great.
find a cool rock outside? n i c e. Put it in the freezer for 24-36 hours to disinfect and it can be used as decor (once it’s no longer freezing, i mean). i’ve even used bricks in the past and it was fine.
Grapewood and corkbark are both cheap as HECK and very nice in gecko homes. You can freeze them for 24-36 hours to disinfect, if you want.
Oh thank you for the tips! Those will come in very handy! If you don’t mind me asking, do you know if having a lightbulb hanging inside the tank is safe? I have a hole in the top of the tank (the top is made out of a metal net) that is there so a bulb can hang inside it, and I just want to make sure it won’t hurt the gecko!
That carries a heavy risk of hurting the geck, unfortunately. It’d be really hard for the gecko to get away from the light, so there’s a risk of overheating and getting burned, as well as possible eye injuries.
I really recommend checking out this care sheet. It’s very informative.
Okay, thank you for that info. I’m going to switch out the lid of the tank to get rid of the hole and get stuff so I can keep it on top of it instead. Thank you so much for all your help with this, I am very new to reptiles but love them a lot, so your help is really good for me, again thank you for all the info and I hope you have an amazing day! (Or night!)
You’re very welcome! If you have any problems, feel free to contact me through asks or messages. I’ll do my best to help out.
I highly recommend you contact tser or lizardbeans. They both make gecko-safe items from clay.
Hi! “Clay” is kind of vague, so it depends on what you mean by that.
Ceramic (made of clay in the geology sense) is safe for geckos! You can use any kind of ceramic clay for geckos for hides. Earthenware and terra cotta are low-fire clays, which means they’re fragile and porous and harder to clean, but they’re safe. High fire clay, stoneware or porcelain, is also safe. For hides you may choose not to use glazes, to keep the surface from being slick (so the gecko can crawl around on it easier). Any glazes you do use should be food safe. You don’t need to seal it with anything special for leopard geckos. Here’s some information about how I make my dishes and hides, and about the glazes I use.
Polymer clay (Fimo, Sculpey, etc. – actually a kind of plastic) is of questionable safety, however, and not recommended for use inside tanks. It is a mix of PVC and
phthalate plasticizers.
This is because of several reasons. It’s not food safe due to porosity and should never under any circumstances be used for food or water dishes.
However, another reason is that it releases fumes (VOCs) when subjected to heat (such as a basking light or UTH) that irritate mucous membranes and respiratory systems.
Unfortunately you can’t fix this issue by sealing it.
This is the same reason you should avoid tile with backing in your tank, and most people recommend avoiding vinyl or linoleum tile.
Since reptiles have more primitive systems than mammals, they are more susceptible to issues than us, especially in enclosed spaces like their tanks.
There are other things called “clay” but these are the main ones people mean when they want to make something for their lizards!
is this the same for snakes? i have some decor i made from polymer clay that i havent put in yet but im assuming i should not put it in at all
Yes. Snakes respiratory systems are extremely sensitive—–it could be argued that they’re more sensitive than lizards since snakes essentially only have one functioning lung.
ok, so PURELY HYPOTHETICALLY, it’s possible. However, it’s pretty damn hard. I’ve seen ONE VERIFIED CASE of hypercalcemia in like… 25 years in this hobby and it was the result of gutloading calciworms on a high calcium diet AND not removing the calcium dish. Overall, the risk of MBD is much higher than the risk of hypercalcemia.
I have an example of this.
My workplace used to have a beardie called Rusty. He was force-fed liquid calcium every single day for YEARS and this poor guy was stiff as a plank. Ribs and spine fused. Passed a couple of weeks ago.
But the key phrase is “force fed every day” so thats why it happened. We have many, many more with MBD.
You can leave calcium without D3 in the tank.
there u go. You have to REALLY WORK AT IT, whereas MBD happens when u do nothing at all.
Heya! c: Good for you for checking out diets first.
Leopard geckos MUST eat live insects, but they don’t have to be crickets. Personally, I’m in the same boat as you. I’m a very light sleeper and their chirping would get on my nerves. Plus, they’re escape artists and there’s always at least on that gets out. AND they smell like rancid peanut butter. I really don’t like crickets.
The good news is that there are alternatives. Dubia roaches are very popular as feeders right now. Don’t let the name spook you! Yeah, they’re roaches, but they’re not bad. They don’t stink, they’re easy to keep contained, they live a long time, they’re easy to feed, AND they don’t make noise. They’re illegal in some areas though, so check out local laws.
Many MANY breeders keep their geckos in perfect health on mealworms alone. I don’t like this route because I like variety in feeders, but it’s perfectly doable. They’re quiet, can be kept in the fridge, and are just… really easy keepers. There’s a reason why a lot of breeders like them.
Superworms are another popular choice and my personal favorite of the bunch. I like being able to just dump them in a container and not really worry about it.
There are other bugs that can be fed, but these are the typical staples.
ifesbob 