Leopard Gecko Care Sheet
The Leopard Gecko was the first to pique my reptilian interests. They continue to hold a place of special and ongoing interest. If you are new to reptiles or an advanced keeper, these fascinating animals can provide a wide array of creative challenges. The Leopard Gecko, (Eublepharis macularius), takes little space, is easy to feed, and comes in many designer colors and patterns. They are very hardy and are able to withstand even inexperienced keepers. They can become very personable adults, taking hand fed meal worms and even sitting on a warm shoulder. Adults reach a maximum size of 7-10".
Native Range:
The Leopard Geckos being captively bred today, were originally wild caught and imported from Pakistan and India. Today, many forms have emerged from breeding projects including striped, reverse striped, high yellow, jungle, patternless, albino, blizzard, hypo, tangerine and various combinations of recessive traits. In this sense, Leopard Geckos are very much the reptilian cousin to "koi."
Cage Setup:
Leopard Geckos can be kept in a variety of enclosures, depending on several factors. Breeders keeping large numbers of geckos usually prefer a simple, low maintenance setup. A large rubbermaid box, measuring approximately 16x22x6 inches can house up to five geckos. Newspaper is usually used as the substrate because it is inexpensive and easy to replace. A food dish, water bowl, and a hiding place are also placed in the cage with little or no other furnishings.
Most hobbyists keeping only a single, or perhaps several geckos, prefer to have a more naturalistic setup. Glass aquariums and other cages designed specifically for reptiles work well. The size of the enclosure depends on the number of geckos to be housed in it. Keep in mind that although females generally get along, no more than one male can be kept in each enclosure. A single gecko can be housed in a 10-gallon size aquarium. Three to five geckos can be kept in a 20-30 gallon aquarium. The best bedding to use with Leopard Geckos is a calcium-based sand specifically made for reptiles. This special sand is digestible if the gecko eats it. It is usually available in several colors. Also, it can be sifted with a clean cat litter scoop in order to remove any waste. There are a variety of other substrates that work well. Just be sure to use one that is designed for desert dwelling reptiles. Leopard Geckos also need a humid hiding place. Although they come from a dry, desert environment, they usually spend the hot daytime hours in rodent burrows and under rocks where the humidity is much higher. The best way to provide a humid hiding place is to use a small plastic box with a hole cut in the side about two inches from the bottom. Make the hole big enough for the gecko to easily climb in and out. Put between one and two inches of slightly damp peat moss in the container. This will keep the humidity high which helps with shedding and will also serve as an egg laying container for females. Add a little water once a week or so to keep the peat moss damp. Keep the box on the cooler side of the cage. Other decorations can include driftwood, cork bark, and rocks. Any items placed in the cage should be resting directly on the bottom of the cage, not on top of the substrate. Leopard Geckos like to dig and can easily collapse a rock or piece of wood on top of them.
Temperature:
Leopard Geckos like a fairly warm environment. During the day, they should have a "hot spot" of about 85-88 degrees. The night temperature can go as low as 64 F with no ill effects. Heat can be gained from commercially available reptile heat tapes, or a heat pad made for reptiles can be placed under no more than 1/3 of the cage to provide this warm area. Heat lamps can also be used, but keep in mind that these geckos are nocturnal and do not like bright light. A red or blue colored nocturnal bulb is a better choice than a daylight bulb. It is important that the entire cage is not kept hot. They need to be able to move away from the heat source if they feel the need to do so. At night, the warm side of the cage can drop down to the mid to upper 70s.
Food and Feeding:
Leopard Geckos will grow extremely fast under ideal temperature conditions and a good feeding schedule. A diet including mealworms and crickets is ideal. Keep a shallow bowl with several mealworms available at all times. Also, feed each gecko a few crickets several times a week. Be sure not to leave extra crickets roaming in the cage as these will cause the stress to the gecko. All food items should be dusted with calcium powder every other feeding. A multivitamin powder should also be used once or twice a week. Be sure to have both a calcium and multivitamin powder as these provide different vitamins and minerals to the animal. Rep Cal and Herptivite are excellent choices. In addition to supplementing the food, a shallow bowl of calcium powder can be left in the cage at all times. The geckos will actually eat the calcium right out of the bowl. Also, provide, a shallow bowl of clean water at all times.
Husbandry:
Never have more than one male gecko per cage. Adult males of all types of lizards will fight each other, and sometimes to the death, if they come into contact. A male will vibrate its tail rapidly when it sees another gecko. If the other gecko in turn vibrates its tail in the same fashion then each of them knows that contact has been made with another male and a fight will occur. If, however, a male signals his presence via the tail shaking and the other gecko does not respond in like fashion, then the male knows that the gecko near him is in fact a female. This behavior is one means of determining their sex.
Sexing your gecko is not very difficult. Male geckos are larger, heavier in the neck region, have a line of small pores on their belly between their hindlegs which are just in front of the anal opening or vent and they exhibit two swellings at their tail base and just past the vent. Females lack the large size, in general, and the pre-anal pores and post-anal swellings are missing. Sex can't be easily seen until your gecko reaches 5-6" in total length.
Leopard geckos are sexually mature at 10 months of age and usually lay their first pairs of eggs of the season from January to August. First-time females will sometimes only lay a single egg, but a sure sign that you have done a good job raising your female gecko is seen when two fertile eggs are laid in the box of moist soil you have been providing. From then on, a clutch will always consist of two eggs unless your female is old or sick. Older females may lay 10-16 eggs per season. A fertile egg feels like a stale marshmallow while an infertile egg looks and feels like a half-filled hot water bottle.
Eggs are easy to hatch. In fact, you get to have a powerful job, if you wish, since gecko eggs are temperature sex dependent. This means that the sex of the gecko is not determined at fertilization, but is set during the first two weeks in captivity by the high daytime temperature you expose the eggs to. A daytime high that does not exceed 82 F will give you all female offspring, but if you want to make that egg a "male" then you simply place the egg where it will experience 90-92 F as a daytime high during the first two weeks of incubation. Do not keep "male" eggs at a constant 90-92 F or you will have some embryos die from heat stress or they may become what we call "hot" or high temperature females, which never reproduce and often bully their cage mates.
Now that you have learned a bit of science you can place your new eggs in a plastic container of moist potting soil, Vermiculite or Perlite. Bury the eggs only 1/2" and place two or three push-pin size airholes in a tight fitting lid. You can get fancy and buy a commercial incubator if you are after a particular sex or you can just place the container of eggs on a high shelf in your reptile room or home where the temperature varies from 74-94 F. (Don't worry if you only have a single female as a pet. She may lay eggs and of course they will be infertile.) Young will emerge on their own in 60-70 days using this method of incubation.
Care of the young is the same as for the adults. They begin taking 1/4" crickets or one-inch mealworms at day 3 of their lives. Plastic shoeboxes are ideal homes for babies. A small hide box, vitamin-mineral powder and a short bowl or lid for mealworms and one for a water bowl. The young need to be fed live insects daily. Always keep the young with like size cage mates as there will be one or two that outgrow the others.
Longevity:
Under proper conditions, these geckos will reach maturity in less than one year. Leopard Geckos are very long lived, commonly reaching 10-15 years of age. There are even reports of Leopard Geckos over 20 years old!
