This is a specific care sheet for Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius), for more in this genus see Category:Eublepharis.

The Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is a nocturnal ground dwelling gecko commonly found in the desert areas of Pakistan, Northwestern India and Afghanistan. They traditionally have leopard like dark spots covering the whole of their body although there are many genetic mutations that are free from these spots. In captivity they can live up to 20 years and will reach adult size/sexual maturity at about 8-12 months old. Adult size can range from 8-11 inches; some giant geckos will grow a few inches longer. Average weight is between 50g and 110g.

You will probably find that in nearly every pet shop and article you read will tell you that leopard geckos are the best beginner lizard. Well, this is certainly true. They are calm, friendly, curious, quiet, clean and lots of fun. A disappointment is that they are nocturnal so you might not see your little gecko all day until the evening meal!

Preparing a home for a leopard gecko

Aim to have the vivarium set up and regulate temperatures before you get your gecko(s).

Gecko groups and housing size

Leopard geckos are generally solitary animals and prefer to be alone(although there are disputes about this); you should consider this if you are housing multiple geckos. The minimum space an adult leopard gecko should be kept in is 24x12x12inch, adding another square foot of floor space per additional occupant. Height is not as important as floor space as geckos are generally ground dwellers and lack the climbing abilities of other geckos. Ensure adult male geckos do not come in contact as they will more than likely fight and leave a bloody mess all over the vivarium. Size sorting is necessary, never put a small gecko in with a larger gecko or you will find one becomes a meal. Ensure good ventilation at all times.

Substrate

Loose substrates such as calci-sand and Corn Cob Granules can cause impaction and are used at the risk of letting you gecko starve to death. Slate, tile, carpet, kitchen roll are all good options and will not cause impaction if used properly. Other factors come into play when choosing a substrate. Suitability, hygiene, cost, aesthetics, and promotion of bacteria or mould growth. You should think about these factors and decide accordingly. Reptile carpet is probably the best choice, especially if you can convince your geckos to defecate on a piece of kitchen roll hidden away in a corner of the tank.

Temperature

A thermal ground gradient (temperature gradient) is essential because reptiles are unable to physiologically regulate their body temperature for adequate digestion. A gradient offers them the choice of a temperature they require and are comfortable with. The best temperature for the “hot” end is 88-92F while the “cool” end should be around 76F. An under-tank heating device such as a heat mat regulated with a thermostat is best to provide heat as a lighting device will tend to only heat the air and not the ground. Leopard geckos require warm substrates to aid in digestion.

Lighting

Leopard geckos have no special requirements apart from a 12 hour day and 12 hour night. Small amounts of UVB help Vitamin D3 production and can help a gecko recover from metabolic bone disease (MBD) but are not necessarily a requirement. Natural sunlight can provide UVB with only very short exposure times required.

Hiding places

Three hides per gecko should be in place. A humid hide and two normal hides at either end of the vivarium, if your vivarium is especially large then more should be placed appropriately. The humid hide should be at the warmer hide of the vivarium and simply contains a moist medium. Vermiculite can be used as can kitchen roll, sphagnum moss and cotton wool. Ideally the moist medium shouldn’t be vermiculite in case of digestion but does its job well and works well as a laying medium. The humid hide is to aid in shedding.

Other Requirements

Clean water should be provided at all times in a drinking bowl. Calcium carbonate can be provided in a dish where the geckos can help themselves. Calcium carbonate can be bought from many suppliers and for many different uses. Cuttle fish bone can be ground on the soft side and used as this contains high amounts.

Feeding

Mealworms (not morio) offer a good staple diet as do crickets, locust, cockroaches, butter worms, silkworms and cutworms. It is a good idea to feed a mixture of livefoods so that your gecko will consume a good variety of vitamins from each source. Waxworms are a larvae that contains high amounts of fat and phosphorus, this being the case they are generally a negative food source for you gecko. The phosphorus inhibits calcium absorption and can be potentially deadly in high doses to a growing gecko as they will develop a severe case of MBD. Leopard geckos have a tendency to become addicted to waxworms and may begin to refuse all other livefoods, in which case you are in trouble! Having scared you enough, a couple of waxworms per week will make a good treat for a healthy gecko and will not cause any problems.

Diet

Gut loading and dusting improve the nutrients passed up the food chain to your reptile. It is necessary to do both to ensure your leopard gecko leads a long healthy life. Dusting should be done immediately prior to feeding but gut loading can be done within 24 hours of feeding. A good gut loader can be homemade or you can obtain commercially available gut-load diets. A good homemade gut loading diet should consist of ground grains (barley, oatmeal, wheat germ and other similar products) and high quality flaked fish food. This gut loader should be fed to the feeder insects prior to feeding to your leopard gecko. Calcium and vitamin dusting is another way to increase the vitamins your gecko absorbs. For baby geckos I would suggest calcium dusting at least twice a week and for adults at least once per week. D3 dusting should be done once per week or per fortnight and a few minutes of UVB can be beneficial from time to time. D3 is a vitamin that promotes absorption of calcium but in high doses can be fatal whereas excess calcium will just pass through the system. I find it is a good idea to have a dish of mealworms heavily dusted in calcium available in the vivarium at all times.

Depending on the age of the gecko and the size of the food items, he or she will eat daily or every other day with younger geckos eating more often. Any food item bigger than the space between the geckos eyes is too big and will probably be spat out or not fully digested. Do not leave livefoods in a vivarium overnight, especially crickets unless they are in an escape proof dish because they will nibble at your gecko and they can do some serious damage. Aim to only give them what they need so they don’t get over run with livefood and end up being scared of their meals.

Shedding

Leopard geckos shed their skin every week to every month, depending on age and environment. In pre-shed the gecko will look very dull like it is covered in dust and needs cleaning. While they are shedding the gecko will retreat to the humid hide for a while to soften up the skin and they rub against walls or furnishing to remove the dead skin. Sometimes the vivarium will look like it has been ransacked if your gecko has had a particular difficult time removing the skin. After a shed the gecko usually eats its dead skin but occasionally they leave it, I don’t think this is much cause for concern unless it becomes a habit. If a piece of skin falls off then the gecko is unlikely to eat it. It is believed that they eat their skin to increase calcium intake and to prevent attracting unwanted predators. If your gecko has dead skin on its body, especially the toes, you should try to remove it with a wet cotton bud. A good soak in luke-warm water may help. The trouble with skin around the toes is it can be ignored by the gecko and will build up over several sheds, ending up like an elastic band cutting off the blood circulation.

Handling and taming

A leopard gecko will quickly tame to its owner. Some quicker than others, it may take weeks or it may take months to earn the trust of your gecko. Firstly try not to grab your gecko unless you have to, especially not the tail or else that will be the only thing you have hold of as the gecko crawls away in severe pain. Grabbing your gecko will give it the impression it’s going to be eaten or similar. Leopard geckos are curious by nature, so if you find that he/she is afraid of your hand you should initially hold it somewhere insight of the gecko to allow him/her to get curious and come to investigate. This may take a few attempts but I think is a vital step to earning trust and letting them understand you are not there to hurt them. Remember to be gentle but keep control, any sudden movements to a skittish gecko will send him/her flying – literally. They have this frustrating tendency to take a running jump from your hand without analysing the drop and can be quite serious.

Sexing a Leopard Gecko

Sexing a leopard gecko is easy once you know what to look for.

There are three distinguishing features:

1. Line of prefemoral pores – this is the easiest one to distinguish. It is a “V” shaped row of pores that is darker in males and at a glance can seem to not exist in females.

2. A distinguishable bulge – this is where the hemipenes are stored in males and because females don’t carry hemipenes, they don’t have a pronounced bulge.

3. Bulkiness of neck area – this seems to be more of a genetic variation much like the shoulders of a man in comparison to the shoulders or a woman. In general males have a bulkier neck compared to females.

Male

File:Male Leopard Gecko.jpg Row of prefemoral pores in a male Leopard Gecko The bulge where the hemipenes are stored is well pronounced. Males have a row of prefemoral pores that is much darker to the females. The neck area is bulkier.

Female

File:Female Leopard Gecko.jpg Row of prefemoral pores in a female Leopard Gecko Females do not to have a bulge as pronounced as that of the male; however some do have a slight one. The female row of prefemoral pores is much lightly coloured in comparison to that of a male. The neck area is slimmer.

Gallery of Leopard Geckos

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  Firewater Leopard Gecko

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  Leopard Geckos

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  Leopard Geckos

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  Leopard gecko shedding

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  Leopard geckos feeding

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  Handling a leopard gecko