Caring for Leopard Geckos

Leopard Geckos
(Complete Herp Care)

The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos

The Pet Owner's Guide to the Leopard Gecko
(Pet Owner's Guide S.)

The Guide to Owning a Leopard Gecko

Leopard geckos rarely bite and are tamed easily with regular handling. However, NEVER hold a gecko by its tail! Their tails break off rather easily as a defense mechanism. Although they will grow back, they never look as nice as the original. Baby leopard geckos are so small and, to them, you seem huge; handling young leopard geckos must be done carefully. If spooked, the baby may drop its tail, and as mentioned, it will not grow back as visually appealing. Overall, the leopard gecko is one of the most docile of the reptile species in the pet trade today, making them one of the Best Beginner Reptile.

With proper care, these geckos can live anywhere from 15-20 years. The early years of a leopard gecko's life are the most important. A young gecko must properly cared for to prevent it from having life long problems. Proper heating, vitamins and minerals, and diet, must be provided for a gecko to have a long and healthy life.

Usually leopard geckos will grow between 8-10 inches in length. Many times, breeders will breed geckos as to achieve specific lengths and sizes that are beyond the normal, average size.

Also, with the growing reptile market and selection of breeders to purchase from, you are now able to find tons of different Leopard Gecko Morphs for sale. So, when choosing a leopard gecko, it's more than just male or female. You now have to decide what color and pattern you like best. But, this is just one more reason that makes leopard geckos a great pet.

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A 10 gallon aquarium is the minimum size for one leopard gecko, and a 20-gallon, long aquarium will house up to three geckos. NEVER house more than one male together because they are very territorial and will fight! With adequate housing, several females can live with one male for life, but this is not recommended. Even when breeding leopard geckos, this is not recommended because the females need time to rest and gain weight after the breeding period..

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Leopard geckos should NEVER be housed on loose substrates, to include sand, Calci-sand, or wood shavings, as they can cause Impaction. There are several different things that can be used as substrate, to include paper towels, reptile carpet, and tile.

Zoo Med Cage Carpet 10x20in for 10 Gallon Tank Assorted Colors

See Substrates

When landscaping a leopard gecko enclosure, include shelters for the geckos to hide in. Remember, they are nocturnal animals. Put at least two shelters in the enclosure: one on the hot side and one on the cool side. You can use a reptile hammock under the heat source as to be used as a basking site; it also provides as extra roaming space.

Make sure to have plenty of room so the gecko can maneuver around the terrarium with ease; not having enough room to walk comfortably can cause stress on the gecko.

Zoo Med Cage Carpet 12x24in for 15 to 20 Gallon Tank Assorted Colors

A humid hide is also recommended to have in the tank; this creates higher humidity for easier shedding. You can use a shelter filled with moist vermiculite (found at hardware stores), peat moss, or paper towels (preferred for younger geckos). A small plastic Tupperware can also be used, fill the Tupperware with the moistened bedding. Other beddings can be used to fill the humid hide just as long as it retains the water to create the humidity.

Caring For Leopard Geckos gives great examples of leopard gecko enclosures and layouts.

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As leopard geckos are nocturnal, UV lightning is not necessary nor is a regular cage light. However, having a light helps create a 12 hour day and 12 hour night scenario, which will improve upon the health of your leopard gecko. Because leopard geckos are terrestrial, they get their heat through their bellies to aid in digestion. A light will only add heat to the air temperatures in the enclosure. It is completely up to you as to whether or not you decide to use a light for you enclosure, but you do NEED and undertank heater to provide

Zoo Med Small Repti-Therm UTH Under Tank Heater

belly heat.

Tip: If you decide to use a light for you enclosure, regular light bulbs from a grocery store can be used. They are cheaper than reptile bulbs, yet serve the same purpose.

Because they cannot produce body heat, leopard geckos need a warm spot and cooler spot from which to choose. Daytime temperature should range between 85F-90F, and night temperatures can go into the low 70's. Under Tank Heating Pads, which attach to the bottom of the tank, work well to provide the proper temperatures necessary. During the cooler months a nocturnal bulbs can serve as night time heat sources, but if you are a light sleeper, a dark bulb may hinder sleep; a heat pad should be used instead.

ESU Reptile Digital Thermometer

During the cooler months, wild leopard geckos will adjust to the cooling temperatures and limited food by going into a hibernation, or brumation, period; during this period, geckos eat less and appear more lethargic. If the brumation period is not done correctly, it can be detrimental to your gecko, so it is NOT recommended that you attempt to lower the temperatures; if you do so, do it with great caution. If your gecko usually resides in the warmer side of the terrarium and moves to the cooler side on its own, during the cooler months, then you can lower the temperatures to a 10 hour

Fluker's Digital Thermometer / Hygrometer

day and a 14 hour night, but in NO other situation should you do so!!!

Use a digital thermometer to gauge the temperature. DO NOT estimate the temperature because temperatures that are too high or too low can harm your gecko. Providing the proper temperatures will aid in digestion, growth, healing, immune system functions, and reproduction.

Leopard geckos require a low humidity level that doesn't exceed 40%. When the humidity levels are too high, respiratory, bacterial, and fungal infections can occur.

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Leopard geckos are insectivores, meaning they eat Insects. The diet of a leopard gecko can be based mainly on crickets, but a varied diet will insure optimum health. Some people will feed their adult leopard gecko pinkie mice for added fattening,

Zoo Med Can O' Crickets Mini-Size

mostly in breeding females. No matter what is fed to your leopard gecko, it needs to be size appropriate; insects must be at least ½ the width of the gecko's head and no longer than the length of the gecko's head.

Do not get insects from your backyard because

Zoo Med Can O Crickets 1.2oz

insects travel and can carry pesticides and chemicals used by either you or your neighbors, which can be detrimental to the gecko's health.

Also remember to gut-load the insects at least 24 hours before feeding them to you gecko. By feeding the crickets, nutrients obtained by them will be passed on to the gecko. You must still coat the

Zoo Med Can O' Worms

insects for added minerals!

Water
Although leopard geckos do not drink very much, water should be provided at all times. Water can either be kept in a tupperware lid or a store bought reptile bowl. If space permits, a large reptile bowl can aid in the shedding process by allowing the gecko to sit in the bowl, as well as drink from it. When keeping a baby leopard gecko, do make sure that the bowl is not so large that the baby can drown. Sometimes, newborn geckos will need to be introduced to water, so by spraying them they can lick the water off their heads; gently guiding them to the water bowl will also help establish where to find water.

If Your Leopard Gecko Quits Eating you need to evaluate the temperatures, substrate, and humidity in the enclosure. These geckos are very hardy. You may need to visit a vet if you notice substantial weight loss from the geckos tail.

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Breeding leopard geckos is fairly simple if you have the proper equipment, knowledge, and info.

You want to make sure that you have:

Incubator: Hovabator incubators work great.

Thermostat: to help keep temperatures within the incubator from fluctuation. Very important, as fluctuating temperatures can have physical effects on the embryo (tail kinks and eye deformities) and can become fatal to the embryo while devoloping.

Lay box: Make sure to provide any and al breeding females with a lay box. This wil keepegss hydrated until you are able to place them into the incubator. A lay box can bil filled with moist vermiculite, perlite, or even a Bed-A-Beast type substrate. Do not use sand or any material that will dry the eggs out.

Incubation medium: make sure that you use a medium that will keep eggs moist during incubation. You may consider vermiculite, perlite, or Hatch-rite to put inside the deli cups or container or sort that will house the eggs until hatching.

Caging. Make sure that you have ample cages and enclosures to house hatchlings.

Food. Although, hatchlings do not eat until their first shed, you want to make sure that you have food to provide them, as soon as they shed.

Female leopard geckos will lay 2 eggs per clutch every 2 to 3 weeks. They can lay an average of 20 clutches a year, but that all depends on a few things.

Has she been bred before? If not, then she may have more infertile clutches than fertile. She may also lay fewer eggs.

Make sure that the female is properly fed and given her supplements, as calcium is the main basis for the egg composition, so lack of calcium and supplements in a garvid female, can cause higher risks of infertile eggs.

Remember that egg laying is very stressful on female geckos. You must give the female time to recooperate from a breeding season. During breeding season, females will actually loose body weight, so you want to give her enough time to gain the lost weight before rebreeding her.

Also, remember that leopard geckos can retain sperm. So, even if you choose not to breed the female the following season, she may stil lay a few eggs to rid her body of the last remaining sperm.

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