It’s a pretty common occurrence for people who never saw themselves as reptile owners to encounter leopard geckos and have a swift change of heart. If this has happened to you and you’re now thinking of looking after a leopard gecko (can you really ever ‘own’ a pet?), you might be wondering what it’s going to cost you. That’s what this article is all about.
Of course there are ongoing costs with owning any pet, but here we’ll focus on the up-front necessities you’re going to need to get a hold of before you rush off to a pet store or reptile show and purchase a leo. Here are the things you’ll need, along with estimated costs (as at 2010): 1. A tank First and foremost, your leo is going to need a place to live. A lone leopard gecko will need about 20 gallons worth of space to run around in (the dimensions of a 30 gallon tank are about 30 x 12 x 12” or 24 x 12 x 16”), and an acrylic tank this big is around $100. 2. Substrate This is the floor of your pet’s home. There are several options here, including paper towel, play sand, reptile carpet, and slate tile. The price will vary depending on which you want, but none of them will cost more than $20-30. 3. Hide boxes It’s easy enough to make your own hide boxes out of plastic containers, or there are plenty of ‘natural-look’ options. $5-15ea (don’t forget you’ll need at least two). 4. Water, food and calcium powder bowls As for hide boxes, home-made bowls are fine, but don’t look as good as the commercially-available options. $0-15ea. 5. A heat pad Heat pads stick on under your tank and radiate heat upwards. They plug into a wall socket and their output must be controlled. $20-25. 6. A herpstat A herpstat is a device which controls the output of a heating pad so that it produces the level of heat necessary to achieve the temperature that you choose. While not absolutely essential, they take all the work of providing the right level of heating for your leo. $109. 7. A lamp dimmer switch. This is the much more basic alternative to a herpstat. $14. 8. An infrared temperature gun These non-contact thermometers are ideal for measuring substrate surface temperatures so that you can ensure your leo has perfect temperature conditions. $20-25. 9. A reflector lamp with a timer switch and bulb This will simulate daytime for your leopard gecko when it’s on. The timer switch is important so that it gets a regular and predictable daily ‘photoperiod.’ $23. So adding all that up, looking after a leopard gecko on the high end is going to be around the $340-$350 low side $240-$250 – that’s for the basic necessities.
