Leopard geckos

[reptigirl04]

I may be getting an unexpected addition to the family!
I have a friend who recently purchased a leopard gecko from petco. As far as i know, it is a baby, and i was told it wasnt eating well. Anyways, my friend decided he is more interested in snakes (he already has a corn, milk, and a bearded dragon) and that he isnt really interested in caring for this gecko. I told him flat out that i'd take it. He's still deciding if he wants the responsibility or not. I would hate to see the gecko suffer due to lack of interest of the owner, and i'd gladly take on the responsibility.
I have read the caresheet here, and many more online, in case i do get this little guy. I have a few questions though.

How often should i feed him/her? if it is very young, should it be fed every day? At what ages can they be fed at different intervals, if any?

Is a humidity box absolutely necessary? Would sphagnum moss work for a humidity box?

How can I tell, (having no experience w/ geckos), if something is wrong with it?

Thanks in advance!

[Gecko-Guy]

leopard geckos are fairly hardy and wont ge sick easy unless there was something funky in the food or something. Depending on its size, i would feed it crickets every 3 days. Since this is a baby, id proabaly feed it 3 crickets every 2 days. She won't need a humidity box, in fact, i dont even think you need to mist the cage. Just provide freshwater in a bowl.

[reptigirl04]

Cool, great...thanks for the info!!
one more question. i know leos arent much for climbing around, but how well can they get into a water dish, how shallow should the dish be?

[Constrictor_BO]

A dish no taller than the gecko is best, that way your gecko can step up on it to drink easily and if it gets in the dish the water wont be over it's head.

[wehttaM]

A baby needs to be fed every day and a humid hide is good for a growing gecko. I have 17+ and say its a must .. moss will work for it. And if you do get it then just get a fecal done on it and an overall check up. PetCo geckos are usually sick .. well its rare for them not to be

good luck

[blackTip]

lets not forget these geckos live in deserts

[Kagome100]

But still wehttaM is right.... They will need a moist hide plus other hides in the tank. They will need heat, water, hides, food. Pet store leo's or any gecko are some times sick when you get them. The best gecko to get is from a breeder......

[Shuba]

Usualy petco animals dont do that well. The petco over here has really bad setups and there temps are waayyy to low. I wouldn't be suprised if most of the animals from petco came home with parasites,RI, or some type of infection. Stores with such big inventory shouldn't keep exotic pets. Alot of time and work needs to be put in to keep the animal healthy. I just think petco should stick to dogfood, birds , and anything but herps.