Adult Leopard Gecko

ADULT LEOPARD GECKO CARE

Leopard geckos are terrestrial (ground dwelling), therefore, they cannot climb on smooth, vertical surfaces.  Keep this in mind when designing your gecko’s enclosure.  A 10-20 gallon cage (long) is suitable for one adult leopard gecko.  For multiple gecko housing, the rule of thumb is to house one leopard gecko per every ten gallons.  You should never house two or more mature males together, they are extremely territorial and will fight to the death.

Substrates and Decorations

We use (and have been using for several years) Zoo Med's Eco Earth in our pet leopard geckos' enclosures due to its natural look.  For our breeders' cages, we use paper towels because they are very easy to clean/replace.  We recommend Eco Earth for a more natural looking setup and paper towels as an inexpensive and easy to clean option for your leopard gecko.  Do not use calcium sand for your leopard gecko's substrate as your gecko could become impacted after accidentally ingesting this substrate.  Impaction caused by indigestible calcium sand clogs the gecko's intestines and can even result in death. 

Our leopard gecko's terrarium decorations consist of a variety of caves/hides, food and water dishes, and some optional decorations (e.g fake leaves).  An essential item to provide is a humid hide.  A humid hide is a container that holds coco fiber (or a moist paper towel) and when misted provides a comfortable and humid place for your gecko to shed.  Humidity helps loosen the gecko's old skin and as a result allows your gecko to shed with ease.  This hide should have a hole cut into the lid so that your gecko can crawl in and out with ease.  Mist the humid hide 1-2 times per week (depending on the humidity level in your area).  Read this article for instructions on how to make a humid hide.

Temperature 

We recommend keeping around 1/4 to 1/3 of your leopard gecko’s cage at around 90F.  A reliable source of "belly heat" (e.g a heat pad) for your leopard gecko will help with its digestion, feeding metabolism, and as a result, growth.  A thermometer (preferably digital) will help you monitor the temperatures in your leopard gecko’s enclosure.  To heat your leopard gecko’s enclosure, you can use one of Zoo med's under tank heaters or heat tape.  Whatever heating method you use, make sure that the heating device is safe (for both you and your pet) and plugged into a thermostat controlled to a constant temperature of 90F.

Feeding

At Reptile Rack, we feed our leopard geckos mealworms.  We typically keep a dish full of vitamin/calcium dusted mealworms in our leopard geckos' enclosure so that the geckos can eat however many mealworms they want whenever.  We also occasionally hand-feed our geckos with tweezers.  Prior to feeding, all feeder insects are gut loaded with Repashy Bug Burger, greens, or veggies.  When offered to our leopard geckos, insects are dusted with Repashy Calcium Plus.  Among many other essential vitamins, minerals, and calcium, Repashy Calcium Plus contains vitamin D3.  Vitamin D3 is an important vitamin that helps leopard geckos absorb calcium.  However, do not use a supplement with vitamin D3 if you are going to provide a UVB light!  This can give your leopard gecko a calcium overdose which can kill your gecko!  

Providing Water

To prevent dehydration, we recommended providing a water dish in your leopard gecko’s cage.  When choosing a water dish, eliminate any risks of drowning and make sure that it is easy to clean.  The water dish should be shallow but not too small that it evaporates overnight.  Also keep in mind that heavier geckos can knock over small or light water dishes and make a mess all over their cage.  For these particularly large geckos, a heavier water dish would be a wiser option.  Pour fresh water into the water dish every two to three days.  Disinfect/replace water bowls frequently.  If not cleaned often, water bowls can become breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.

Handling

Handling an adult leopard gecko is easy.  The best way to handle leopard geckos is through a method called hand walking.  Hand walking is simply allowing your leopard gecko to walk from hand to hand.  Skittish/fast leopard geckos may leap and injure themselves if they are held too high from the ground, so make sure you hold these geckos near the ground or on top of a table.  Some leopard geckos, however, are content with just sitting on your hand.

Sexing 

Sexing adult leopard geckos is very simple and easy.  Males have two hemipenal bulges underneath the base of their tail, while females do not.  Males also have a pronounced chevron-shaped line of preanal pores above the vent, whereas females do not have a significant line of these pores.

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