There are two main ways that  geckos are housed: display tanks, usually made from glass or plastic, and racks — plastic tubs set in a shelf or drawer frame.

rack-vs-tank

Those who prefer to use racks give the following reasons:

  • It permits large numbers of  geckos to be kept in a space-efficient, homogeneous manner.

  • Most geckos are solitary creatures, likely to be hiding in foliage or crevices in the wild and generally feel safer in the confines of a tub in a rack

    Keepers who prefer to keep their geckos in display enclosures give these reasons:

    • The geckos are more stimulated and will have a higher quality of life if they can see what’s going on around them
    • The keepers want to be able to see their geckos which they own and breed for their appearance and the observation of their activities
    • They don’t want their geckos housed in drawers like commodities

    As you can see, the factors that come into play include aesthetics, benefit to the animals and convenience for the keeper.  Yet, the same factors result in reptile keepers making different decisions about how to house their collections. 

    Please let us know your thoughts and opinions by filling out the Response Box below.  Feel free to address the following questions or to bring up other issues not yet raised:

    • How do you keep your geckos
    • Do you prefer racks or glass and why?
    • Is either system of a particular benefit or detriment to the geckos?
    • Is the method of housing species dependent?
    • How should the values of convenience for the keeper and ideal conditions for the gecko be weighted relative to each other?

    We will publish all responses on Tuesday, April 9.

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    AlizaVisit Website

    Aliza is a home care speech therapist living in the Boston area. She has been breeding leopard geckos since 2005 and has recently been successful in breeding Coleonyx geckos as well. Other interests which she pursues in her copious free time include work in ceramics, practicing aikido and surfing the internet.

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