[Brighttalon27]

Hi! I was wondering about good places/web sites to find free leopard geckos, maybe even rescues? and ones that you can go pick up. are there places like craigs list that have ads?
If I must I will buy one at the store for no problem but free stuff is always nice.

I'm new to the forum so sorry If I broke a rule or anything

[Riverside Reptiles]

You can try your local craigslist. And yes, look in your area for local herp societies as they might have info on rescues. The truth of the matter is that any "free" leopard gecko that you get is likely to be sick and cost you more in time and money than just paying $15 or $20 for an inexpensive healthy baby.

[Saskia]

That´s right, they are not expensive pets, the most expensive is not the gecko per se, but the other things you need to keep it properly (tank, substrate, heating device, food, calcium, vitamins, decor, etc), keep that in mind before getting a free gecko that would need things anyways

[Brighttalon27]

ok thanks! and I'm probably going to go get one this weekend with the black friday sale. I know a petco with really healthy leopard geckos. I already have a tank. is halogen bad for leopard geckos? I have a halogen 60 watt. and at petco all the leopard geckos were nice and lively and clean but one was darker in color. does that mean it's sick? sorry for the questions.

[Riverside Reptiles]

It sounds like you need to do a lot of research before you make your animal purchase. You need to get a firm understanding of all of the basics and have everything set up prior to getting the animal. There's a sticky thread here in the leopard geckos section with much of the information that you need. There's also tons of information to be found by digging through the posts that already exist. Please do some research and then, once you have gotten your basics down, ask specific questions.

[Brighttalon27]

I have a lot of stuff down, like substrate (will not use sand or other loose materials because of swallowing and impaction. I'll use paper towels then go to tiles. Reptile carpet kinda scared me because I have seen geckos get their teeth and claws stuck on it and I don't want to risk it) and what not but I can't seem to find anything about the halogen. the lady at the petco did not answer me when I asked her about the darker one. I heard somewhere that some geckos that aren't taken care of as well get darker in color. He looked just like the others just more of a dark gray color. like murky water.

I will look around the forum. thanks so much for the help. I will keep researching

[chelseagrin]

petco had leos for sale for 15 bucks a couple weeks ago. really even 30 dollars is not much at all to spend on one keeping in mind how much the setup will be.

adults leos will be around 60-70 dollars.

[Riverside Reptiles]

This will answer many of your questions:Leopard Gecko Frequently Asked Questions: Caresheet Info Plus!

As for lighting, leopard geckos are nocturnal and thus don't require any special lighting. Heat should be provided via an under the tank heater.

[Brighttalon27]

Thank you I read through and it was very helpful. I'll be getting an under tank heater instead