Most common questions used to investigate
Have you had geckos before as pets?
Are you ready for a long-term commitment?
Are you ready to spend some extra money?
Do you like bugs?
Can you set aside about one hour each day to care for your gecko?
Do you or anyone in your family have a compromised immunity system?
Common conclusions
If this is your first time, welcome to a great experience. Geckos are the reptile equivalent of hamsters, so they are easy to care for. They also have a reputation for being friendly and this makes geckos a great pet for first-timers. That said, some specific aspects are unique to a gecko, so make sure you take a few minutes to understand more about them before you bring them home.
Geckos tend to live for about 15 to 20 years which means your child may grow up and leave home during this period. So, you should be ready to take care of the gecko, long after the primary caregiver leaves the house. If you're not ready for a 20-year commitment, there is no point in bringing a gecko home.
Geckos need a certain environment to thrive. While this is not expensive, it can still cost you some money and you should be ready to spend it. For example, geckos are cold-blooded and can't maintain their body temperature. So, they need a heating source and possibly a thermometer that will ensure that the ideal temperature is maintained inside it. Likewise, geckos are nocturnal, so you'll have to provide a UVB light source to keep them healthy and active. Even the initial set up may cost money, as you'll have to send on tanks and some furniture or boxes that would serve as its hiding place.
If you don't like bugs, geckos are not the right choice for you. That's because geckos love a platter of bugs such as cockroaches, crickets, locusts, and wax worms. You'll have to keep the bugs in a bag of juicy fruits and vegetables and make it healthy before you feed the same to a gecko. This is because you have to gut-load the geckos to ensure that they stay healthy. So, if you're one of those people who hates bugs, geckos may not be the right pet for you.
Though geckos are fairly easy to raise, you should still spend some time and effort to ensure that their temperature and surroundings are right. You may have to clean its skin when it sheds and clean the tank once a month to prevent any infections to your gecko. You'll also have to plan for its food and all this may take a little bit of your time.
In that case, you shouldn't keep geckos or other reptiles at home as they can be possible carriers of salmonella. The other option is to ensure that they never handle this pet.
Still, it helps to wash your hands after you handle a gecko and never place it anywhere near a place where food is prepared.
References
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