Leopard Gecko Care Sheet
Backgroud Information
The Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis Macularius) is a crepuscular lizard found in the deserts of Asia
and throughout Pakistan to the northwestern parts of India.
Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids and they lack setae which means 'bristle' in Latin which enable them to cling to almost any surface.
The leopard gecko has become a well-established and
popular pet in captivity.
The Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis Macularius) is a crepuscular lizard found in the deserts of Asia
and throughout Pakistan to the northwestern parts of India.
Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids and they lack setae which means 'bristle' in Latin which enable them to cling to almost any surface.
The leopard gecko has become a well-established and
popular pet in captivity.
Housing
My personal opinion is that leopard geckos should not be kept in anything smaller than a 24x15x15 inch wooden vivarium or glass/plastic tank. Wooden tanks are more preferable as they retain heat better plus the occupants will feel more secure than glass or plastic. You could also use a rack system to keep leopard geckos in, minimum RUB (really useful box) size should be 24L for young and or sub adult geckos and 30-50L ones for adults.
Substrate
Substrate is a very debateable and controversial topic. You'll hear loads of different opinions on various ones available.
For me, i would stay away from any substrate that contains small/loose particles such as sand, wood chips, calcium sand etc.
I keep mine on different substrates depending on whether or not their hatchlings or adults. My hatchlings are kept on kitchen roll or lino/tile, and my adults are kept on a type of repti carpet which i've found helps them shed.
A lot of people will use various types of sand, in my opinion, sand regardless of wether it's childrens play sand or calci sand is dangerous. If injested, it can impact your geckos and cause serious problems and can kill your gecko, so it's better to stay safe and not use sand of any kind :)
For me, i would stay away from any substrate that contains small/loose particles such as sand, wood chips, calcium sand etc.
I keep mine on different substrates depending on whether or not their hatchlings or adults. My hatchlings are kept on kitchen roll or lino/tile, and my adults are kept on a type of repti carpet which i've found helps them shed.
A lot of people will use various types of sand, in my opinion, sand regardless of wether it's childrens play sand or calci sand is dangerous. If injested, it can impact your geckos and cause serious problems and can kill your gecko, so it's better to stay safe and not use sand of any kind :)
Heating
Leopard geckos are crepuscular lizards and come out at dawn or dusk to soak up heat
from rocks. Belly heat in the form of a heat mat is the best way to
provide heat. Place it under your tank if it's glass or plastic and inside your tank but underneath the substrate if the tank is wooden, it should cover1/2 of the tank to create the correct temperature gradient.
A thermostat is a very
important piece of equipment, it controls the temperatures inside your tank via a probe. The thermostat prevents the tank from exceeding the max temperature you have set, thus reducing the risk of burns. I use dimmer thermostats in my tanks.
Light bulbs (basking spots) are not needed for leopard geckos but you can use a night glo bulb or an infrared bulb for night time viewing, again make sure these are attached to a stat.
Make sure you are monitering temps using a thermometer at all times. There are a variety available but i prefer digital ones with probes for a more accurate reading. The probe should be placed at the hot end of the tank.
Hot end temperatures should be between 88-90F during the day and 70-75F during the night.
from rocks. Belly heat in the form of a heat mat is the best way to
provide heat. Place it under your tank if it's glass or plastic and inside your tank but underneath the substrate if the tank is wooden, it should cover1/2 of the tank to create the correct temperature gradient.
A thermostat is a very
important piece of equipment, it controls the temperatures inside your tank via a probe. The thermostat prevents the tank from exceeding the max temperature you have set, thus reducing the risk of burns. I use dimmer thermostats in my tanks.
Light bulbs (basking spots) are not needed for leopard geckos but you can use a night glo bulb or an infrared bulb for night time viewing, again make sure these are attached to a stat.
Make sure you are monitering temps using a thermometer at all times. There are a variety available but i prefer digital ones with probes for a more accurate reading. The probe should be placed at the hot end of the tank.
Hot end temperatures should be between 88-90F during the day and 70-75F during the night.
Tank essentials
You can accessorize your tank with various bits of decor such as fake plants, rocks, wood etc (make sure they've been thouroughly cleaned first). But i'm going to mention the essentials that you must have. You need at least 3 hides, 1 on the hot end, 1 on the cool end and a moist hide to help with shedding. For the shedding medium, i use live sphagnum moss. You'll also need at least 2 bowls, 1 for calcium which needs to be in there 24/7 and 1 for water. You can use an additional bowl for mealworms/waxworms if you wish.
Feeding
A varied diet is best, with mine getting a mix of
mealworms/crickets/locust/roaches as staple diet. As treats, mine get wax worms
and calci worms. Be careful with wax worms, they are highly addictive and full of fat so give sparingly.
It is very important that you gut load all live food at least 24-48 hours before you feed them to your gecko, this means that all nutrious food that the bugs eat will be transfered to your gecko when they eat them. I gut load my insects on bits of carrott, potato, apple and various salad leaves.
All live food should be dusted with calcium and multi vitamin powder prior to feeding to ensure strong healthy bones. I use Rephasy calcium plus for all of my geckos.
mealworms/crickets/locust/roaches as staple diet. As treats, mine get wax worms
and calci worms. Be careful with wax worms, they are highly addictive and full of fat so give sparingly.
It is very important that you gut load all live food at least 24-48 hours before you feed them to your gecko, this means that all nutrious food that the bugs eat will be transfered to your gecko when they eat them. I gut load my insects on bits of carrott, potato, apple and various salad leaves.
All live food should be dusted with calcium and multi vitamin powder prior to feeding to ensure strong healthy bones. I use Rephasy calcium plus for all of my geckos.
Keeping Geckos together
Leopard geckos are solitary animals by nature and they do not require companionship, however some people do keep small groups of females together with no problems but you would need to keep a close eye on them for any territorial/dominance issues that may arise. Males need to be kept on their own unless pairing with a female for breeding. Males kept with other males can and will fight sometimes to the death. I also don't recommend keeping males and females in together permanently, this can cause enourmous stress to the female as the male only thinks about one thing 24/7. Keeping them together constantly can also lead to fighting.
Cleaning
Cleaning is a simple task with leopard geckos as long as you keep on top of it. Geckos will often use the same 'toilet' spot in their tanks. You should do a spot clean every day to remove their faeces. Water/food bowls should also be cleaned every day with clean water being provided. Then at least once every 2-3 weeks, i recommend a full clean out. Everything gets soaked and scrubbed with reptile safe disinfectant. On warmer, sunnier days, you can leave your tank accessories out in the sun to dry, this will help kill off any bacteria that may be present.
To summarize
There are a lot of various care sheets and books available on leopard geckos out there, so there are loads of different bits of advice and information. Most of these care sheets i've come across have been accurate and well written.
One piece of additional information though is about the use of UV lighting for leopard geckos. I do not believe they require this and it's up for great debate. I have personally tested UV on some of my geckos using a 2% UV bulb and found that over the space of 3 months, not one single gecko basked. They all hid away from the light and their feeding pattern changed. They fed less. However, i'm sure that this is not always the case with all keepers. I'm sure that some keepers/breeders have found UV to be beneficial.
One piece of additional information though is about the use of UV lighting for leopard geckos. I do not believe they require this and it's up for great debate. I have personally tested UV on some of my geckos using a 2% UV bulb and found that over the space of 3 months, not one single gecko basked. They all hid away from the light and their feeding pattern changed. They fed less. However, i'm sure that this is not always the case with all keepers. I'm sure that some keepers/breeders have found UV to be beneficial.