Leopard Gecko

Image Credit: @daintydinosaurs

Name: Leopard Gecko

Nicknames: Leo

Scientific name: Eublepharis macularius

Overall: The leopard gecko is a commonly bred small lizard that has been kept as a pet for decades. Leopard geckos come in a variety of colors and patterns, and they are inquisitive explorers that don't mind people watching them wander around their terrarium. Leopard geckos are docile by nature, but you should still respect their safety and comfort.

Feeding: You need to feed your leopard gecko live insects. Dubia roaches are a great staple. Hornworms make healthy treats and the two healthiest worms that can be fed often are silkworms and black soldier fly larvae. They should be fed daily when they are younger than six months, every other day when they are 6-12 months old, and every 3-4 days when they are over a year.

Do not feed your leopard gecko pinky mice.

To ensure that your gecko is eating nutritious food, the bugs should be "gut loaded" with chick/hog mash or other appropriate food before they are offered. All you have to do is put the bugs in a tub of gut-load diet. A piece of potato can be used as a water source, which was a tip from a viewer. Fruits and veggies are good for gutloading, such as carrots, apples, and greens. Avoid citrus and tomato.

Dusting the insects is one way to deliver important minerals and vitamins to your gecko. Insects and the dusting powder can be placed in a plastic bag and shaken gently to coat the insects. A good supplement schedule is calcium every other feeding and vitamins every three feedings (one supplement needs d3 unless you use UVB). Or Repashy Calcium Plus every feeding over six months. No supplements should be left in the enclosure.

You should offer two insects for every inch of your gecko's length. An easy rule of thumb for telling if a bug is too big is if it is bigger than the space between the gecko's eyes. Leopard geckos eat their shed skin, and this is totally normal so don't worry. You should keep a stable and decently shallow water dish in your gecko's terrarium at all times.

Husbandry/Housing: A 20 gallon long tank is the minimum size for a leopard gecko, and they should never be housed together no matter how much space there is. Tanks that are too empty are intimidating, so make sure to add lots of sticks and hides so that your gecko feels secure . Plastic storage tubs/bins are cheaper and work well but reduce visibility. Make sure whatever your gecko is living in, it's at least a foot tall. A secure screen top should be used. It should be able to stop cats if you have any and support the lighting. You will need a "humid/moist hide" filled with moss or vermiculite to have a humid place that your gecko can use to shed properly. Geckos do not care what their terrarium decor and enrichment looks like, but if you make sure they're not made of anything that could hurt them, then go ahead!

The easiest and most reliable way to heat your leopard gecko's terrarium is by using a heating pad or tape, which are placed underneath the tank. You only put the pad/tape on one end, which creates a temperature gradient that your leopard gecko will need. Lizards are cold-blooded, so they change their temperature by moving to a warmer or cooler area. Heat rocks should be avoided because they reach temperatures that are too high for leopard geckos and can lead to stress or burns. If you want to see your leopard gecko better, you can place a low-wattage light on top of the cage (which is why your screen top needs to be able to support some weight). You should leave it on about twelve hours a day (you can buy a light timer if you wish) to simulate day and night for your gecko. Leopard geckos do not need special UVB lighting because they are nocturnal (active at night) creatures. Any heat source must be connected to a thermostat.

The cooler side of the terrarium should be 74-80°F and the warmer side should be 87-90°F. 94-95°F and above is too high for a leopard gecko and is dangerous, so always keep an eye on the temperature. Thermometers can be purchased and used on each side of the terrarium, but a heat gun is your best bet because it will be far more accurate and versatile.

Leopard geckos are desert animals, so they need a fairly dry humidity. 25%-55% is what you should keep it between, and 40% is a nice medium to aim for. It’s best to avoid analogs and only use digital thermometers/hygrometers, because those are far more accurate and getting something wrong is dangerous for your animal.

Paper substrate is best for young geckos and sick geckos and nothing else should be used until the leopard gecko is at least 4-5 months old. Newspaper, flat stones, non-adhesive shelf liner, or textured tiles cut to the size of your terrarium are all safe options for healthy adult geckos. Sand as a substrate is controversial because of its risks, so to play it safe you should avoid it. However, there are some loose substrates you can use such as: ReptiSoil™, organic top soil, and bio-active mixes. Do not use substrate that has fertilizers or harmful chemicals.

Cleaning: Geckos usually pick one corner to use the restroom in, and all waste should be spot cleaned daily. You should remove and sterilize everything at least about every two months. Depending on the substrate you choose, you may have to replace it more often then you sterilize everything. For example, paper towels and newspaper need to be replaced when soiled.

Warnings/tips: Sand, while easy to clean, has a risk of causing impaction and should be avoided. Visit our page on quarantining reptiles, because you should always quarantine new animals.

Size: Hatchlings, or babies, measure about 3-4 inches long. Adult females are typically 7 to 8 inches, and males are around 8 to 10 inches.

Lifespan: You should expect your leopard gecko to live 15-20 years, but it's certainly not unheard of for some leopard geckos to live from more than 20 years.

Price: Leopard geckos are available at almost every pet store and reptile convention. Big chain pet stores don't always source their animals from the best places, so it's better to purchase your gecko (or any animal that you can't get from a rescue) from a reputable breeder. Leopard geckos have a very wide price range, from as low as $20 all the way up to hundreds or sometimes even thousands for fancy morphs. If you're just looking for an average leopard gecko, expect to pay about $20-$40. Just remember that cheaper is not always better and that you should be mindful of where your lizard came from.

Name ideas: (credit to Lizards101)

  • Bumpy
  • Dash
  • Dotty, or Dots
  • Gecky
  • Indigo
  • Java (leopards from an island called Java)
  • Jumpy
  • Kiwi
  • Lizzie
  • Loki
  • Mocha
  • Nico
  • Nugget
  • Panther or Panthera (genus that contains leopard species)
  • Pineapple
  • Pumapard (a hybrid between a puma and a leopard!)
  • Reese
  • Skylar
  • Speckles
  • Spooky
  • Spotty, or Spots
  • Sprinkle, or Sprinkly
  • Twilight
  • Twix
  • ZipZip