Quarantine Setup Sheet

Quarantine is the most under-practiced and most important biosecurity habit in reptile keeping. A single new gecko, introduced directly to an existing collection, can pass cryptosporidium, coccidia, respiratory pathogens, or mites to every animal in the room within days. The Quarantine Setup Sheet sets up a quarantine the right way, the first time.

Two scenarios trigger quarantine. Any new gecko entering the collection, even one from a trusted breeder. Any existing gecko showing potentially-contagious symptoms. Both get the same setup. The sheet covers it.

What the document does:

It walks the where (separate room, absolute minimum, strip the enclosure), the setup (tub or simple enclosure, paper towel, two hides, water dish, heat, minimal disturbance), the hygiene (hand washing, separate tools, main collection first then quarantine last, waste disposal, disinfection), the duration (30, 60, 90 days), the monitoring (eight items to track daily), and the ending-quarantine criteria.

What is included:

• Where to quarantine (separate room ideal, opposite-end-of-room minimum)
• Enclosure setup checklist (tub, paper towel, two hides, water dish, heat verified)
• Hygiene protocol (hand washing, separate tools, order of operations, waste disposal, chlorhexidine or 10 percent bleach disinfection)
• Duration guidance (30 days minimum, 60 to 90 days for unknown sources, post-treatment extension)
• Eight-item daily monitor list (weight, stool, appetite, shed, skin, breathing, behavior, triage flowchart symptoms)
• Fillable quarantine record (animal name, species, source, dates, fecal screens, clearance)
• Common pathogens reference (cryptosporidium, coccidia, mites, RI, stomatitis)
• Four-condition end-of-quarantine criteria

Format and how it works:

Word version (.docx) for editing and a PDF version for printing. The keeper or breeder fills the quarantine record once per animal and files the completed copy with that animal's records.

Why this version is different:

Most quarantine advice for reptiles is one paragraph saying "quarantine for 30 days." This sheet covers the actual protocol with hygiene order, fecal-screen cadence, and the four-condition gate for ending quarantine. The cryptosporidium 60 to 90 day window is the rarely-mentioned piece that determines whether the standard 30-day quarantine is sufficient (often it is not).

Who this is for:

For gecko keepers acquiring a new animal and for breeders standardizing intake biosecurity across the program. Pairs with the Respiratory Infection Playbook (which is the most common quarantine-detected illness) and the Symptom Triage Flowchart (which the keeper runs during the quarantine period).

Get the sheet on its own, or open the bundle for the full kit at volume pricing.