Smooth background?

[Oompa Loompa]

Ahh okay, I actually had no idea those had claws, I'm not too familiar with all the different species. So if they don't have the sticky toe pads and have claws then I think you would probably be okay to do a foam BG with Pond Armor over it then.

Sounds like what I'll do - thanks for the idea!

I would make one out of foam and coated in pond armor after painting desired look.

To keep them from climbing high enough to hurt themselves, the first 5-10 inched would b an outcropping where the wall is parallel to the floor. PA is fairly slick and hard enough I don’t believe a leopard geckos limited climbing ability would allow them to climb inverted like that. Unless you have some mission impossible geckos.

Yeah, they're not the best climbers but dang they try! I don't think they'll get to it though. Thanks for the help!

Cut up an old screen door and staple it to a wooden frame to make a lid, and it won't matter if they can climb it. That's what I did when I kept land snails.

I'm not worried about them escaping, I am worried about them climbing and falling. They're decent at climbing up, pretty bad at getting down safely though. This will be a wooden cage, so only the front side will open at all - top is sealed.

 

[elting44]

I think Steve and Leebtattoos are right on, if you make the BG with an outcropping about 6" high that would make the gecko go past vertical, between that and the smoothness of pond armor they will be unable to climb, and they are pretty resilient critters to begin with.

along with having claws instead of toe-pads another fun fact about them is they are one of a small handful of gecko species that have eyelids.

another solution would be teflon. Even geckos with toe-pads have a very hard time clinging to dry teflon.

 

[Steve_C]

How about a picture of the little guys I've always thought geckos were cute lil' critters.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

I think Steve and Leebtattoos are right on, if you make the BG with an outcropping about 6" high that would make the gecko go past vertical, between that and the smoothness of pond armor they will be unable to climb, and they are pretty resilient critters to begin with.

along with having claws instead of toe-pads another fun fact about them is they are one of a small handful of gecko species that have eyelids.

another solution would be teflon. Even geckos with toe-pads have a very hard time clinging to dry teflon.

I like the teflon idea, is clear teflon spray/liquid a thing? I'll probably make about 8-10" of vertical background that they can't climb up.
Only thing I'm worried about is they're old - nearly 12 years old - so I just want to be really careful with them.

How about a picture of the little guys I've always thought geckos were cute lil' critters.

I'll get some when I get home tonight
They're a big guy and gal, I think they're in the 8-10" range. I'll get the tape measure too.