Leopard Gecko Care
Shopping List
-Glass Tank/aquarium/tub
-Screen Top Lid/Tub Lid
-Heat Pad and/or Heat Lamp
-(For Heat Lamps) Heat Lamp Bulb
-Thermometer (2)
-Water Dish
-Food Dish/Calcium Dish
-Hides (2-3)
-Substrate
-Calcium, Vitamin Powders
-Live Foods
-(Optional) Plastic Plants
-(Optional) Vivarium Decor
-Other Items:
-Leopard Gecko(s)
Setup
Housing
-A single leopard gecko can be house in a 10 gallon aquarium (minimum). Babies can be housed in a smaller plastic tub. Two or more leos should be kept in 15-30 gallon aquarium.
-An aquarium must have a screen lid on the top to prevent other pets from harming your leopard gecko. (Lid locks may be used)
Heating & Lighting
-Place heat pad on one side of the aquarium, most heat pads should be placed on the underside of the aquarium. Do not turn it on yet; do it when your finished with the aquarium. For heat lamp users, screw on heat bulb (50-75 watt red bulbs work well). Place heat lamp on top of the screen lid, on the same side as the heat pad. **
The best heat source for leopard geckos is the heat pad (it should be big enough to cover 1/3 of the aquarium) Heat lamps are used if the heat pad does not provide enough heat, or for night time.** Remember not to use bulbs that produce white light, it can harm your gecko's eyesight and prevent it from coming out of its hiding place. Temperatures on the side of the heating source at day time should be around 89F (32C) The opposite side should be around 76F (25C) At night time, the whole tank can be room temperature (low 70's) Place a thermometer on either side of the aquarium, this helps you keep the temps right.
Leopard geckos do not need any UV lighting because they are nocturnal.
Substrate
-Reptile carpet, tile, paper towels, and newspaper can be used as substrate. I prefer not to use any loose substrate, including sand and calcium sand.
Hiding Spots
-Leopard geckos will need at least one hiding spot in its home (two or three is better) They will rest in it, and hide in it when they feel threatened. Without a hiding spot, they feel exposed and vulnerable, which can lead to great stress. There are many types of hiding spots available at pet stores, but you can always make one out of cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, and napkin boxes. Some people like to have a humid hide in their geckos' home, it will help them shed better. Just place some moist paper towels in one of the hides on the cooler side.
Water,Food/Calcium Dishes
-Your leopard gecko will drink out of a dish you provide them. Place it on the opposite side of the heat sources, to prevent evaporation. They can also get food out of food dishes if you don't have time to feed them. If you plan to make your gecko eat from a food dish, dump in some mealworms and your gecko will eat them when he wants to. They can also get their calcium from licking the calcium powder you bought in dishes. (We will talk more about feeding and calcium later on)
Decorations
-This is not necessary, but decorations can make your geckos home more nice and comfortable . You can get smooth stones, bark, and branches from your backyard, just make sure you clean it very well before using it. Plants can be used, too. Personally, I think artificial plants work better than real plants. If you use real plants you must make sure that it is not harmful to you gecko, you also have to water it, and give it UV lighting.
Food and Water
Types of Food
-Live Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms are the most common food source for pet leos. Waxworms are very fattening, so you shouldn't feed them to your gecko very frequently.
How to Feed
-Crickets should be "gut loaded" 24 hrs before you feed them to your leo. Basically, you have to feed them nutritious foods like carrots, orange, apples, and special cricket food, bought at pet stores.
You can give your gecko mealworms by putting 5-8 of them in a shallow dish. But you can't do the same with crickets, or anything that can get out of the dish. You can use tongs to feed insects to your gecko. Leopard geckos need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. You must buy a vitamin powder and a calcium powder. To give these powders to your gecko, you can provide it a small dish of calcium. You also have to "dust" the crickets before you feed them to your leo. To do so, dump some powders into a small, plastic bag and put some crickets in it. Close the opening and SHAKE!! Shake the bag until the crickets are covered with powder. Your gecko must eat the crickets within 15 minutes or the powder will fall off. For adults, dust the crickets with vitamin twice a week and calcium three times a week. For juveniles and gravid females, you should dust the insects more often. I don't mix the powder, I do it separately. I feed my juveniles everyday with 3 insects, the adults eat every other day to 4 times a week, with 5-8 insects.
Water
-Leopard geckos will need fresh water everyday. You can use bottled water or tap water with one or two drops of dechlorinator.
Cleaning
1. Take your gecko out of her tank, put her in a small container.
2. Unplug all the heat sources, take off the heat lamp. Some heat pads have to be stuck to the bottom so don't take those off.
3. Take the water, food, calcium dishes and wash them with water, dry them and put in fresh water, food, and calcium.
4. Take all furnishings out and wash them well with a diluted bleach solution, and rinse it very well with water. Dry all furnishings. Don't wash anything that is made out of wood; they can be hard to dry...just give them a good shake outside.
5. Dump out old substrate. Reptile carpets can be used again. Just wash it with water and dry it.
(I usually keep two reptile carpets for one tank. You can replace the old one with a new one while the old one is getting washed)
6. When there is nothing in the aquarium, wash it using soap or a diluted bleach solution, scrub it well, and then rinse the aquarium with lots of water.
7. Dry the aquarium with paper towels.
8. Add in all the materials when the aquarium is dry, including the new substrate.
9. Put your leopard gecko back in her home.
10. Turn on the heat source and close the lid.
-Take out your leopard gecko's poop every time you see it. And do a complete clean every month or two, depending on how dirty the enclosure gets.
Breeding
Leopard geckos are fairly easy to breed. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't be careful, though.
The proper breeding age of a leopard gecko is usually 18 months or older. The gecko should be at least 40 grams in weight. 50 grams or heavier is always better. Now, to breed, you need a male, and one or more females. To tell if a gecko is a male or female, males have large, V shaped pre-anal pores between the tail and the two legs. Females have either very small pores or none at all. It is difficult to tell the sex of leopard geckos when they are young. Once you got a male & a female you are almost ready to breed them. Feed the female prey items with lots of fat (maxworms, pinkies, e.g.) Also give her more calcium supplements. Before breeding, it is effective to shorten the photoperiod by turning off the lights earlier. And possibly turning down the heat. When it's time to mate, turn up the heat again. Put both geckos in a new environment, so neither one would be aggressive. Mating might happen right away, but sometimes they wait until dark. If mating doesn't happen right away, you can leave the male with the female for a few days. After mating, put the geckos back to their original enclosure. You will need a laying box for the female to lay her eggs in. (Usually she will lay 2 eggs at a time, with 4-10 eggs in total. Though, it is not uncommon to have beginner females to lay one egg the first time.) Get a large enough deli cup and fill it 2/3 of the way with vermiculite (that is what I recommend; you can use other materials that holds moisture well, too.) Spray it with a spray bottle until is moist (not wet.) Cut a large hole in the box so the female can go in. After about a month from mating, the female will lay her first clutch of eggs. You will notice bulges from her abdomen when she is gravid. Once the eggs are laid, you will need ANOTHER container to incubate the eggs. Some incubation mediums are vermiculite and perlite. Moisten the medium with water, it shouldn't be too wet. When you notice the medium is drying up later, spray it again. Once you found the eggs, take them out carefully. DO NOT ROTATE THEM!!! If you do, the developing embryo will drown. I like to mark the top with a sharpie so I know which side is up. Make a thump print hole in the medium and put the eggs in. Close the lid, poke some holes in it, and put it in the incubator. (It seems that the bova bator incubator is very popular. But do not get the turbo fan.) The temperature you incubate the eggs will effect the baby's sex: At 79 degrees F, most baby's will be females, 86 degrees F, there will be a mix of females & males, and at 90 degrees F, most will be males. When babies hatch, you can put them in a new enclosure, and you must house them separately. The caring for baby leopard geckos is the same as adults, except they eat TINY insects!
Handling
Leopard Geckos are gentile and delicate. You can handle your gecko with care a few times a week for a few minutes. Children should be supervised while playing with the leopard gecko. Make sure not to tug or hold the gecko’s tail as it could fall off.
All info are self-written
-Glass Tank/aquarium/tub
-Screen Top Lid/Tub Lid
-Heat Pad and/or Heat Lamp
-(For Heat Lamps) Heat Lamp Bulb
-Thermometer (2)
-Water Dish
-Food Dish/Calcium Dish
-Hides (2-3)
-Substrate
-Calcium, Vitamin Powders
-Live Foods
-(Optional) Plastic Plants
-(Optional) Vivarium Decor
-Other Items:
-Leopard Gecko(s)
Setup
Housing
-A single leopard gecko can be house in a 10 gallon aquarium (minimum). Babies can be housed in a smaller plastic tub. Two or more leos should be kept in 15-30 gallon aquarium.
-An aquarium must have a screen lid on the top to prevent other pets from harming your leopard gecko. (Lid locks may be used)
Heating & Lighting
-Place heat pad on one side of the aquarium, most heat pads should be placed on the underside of the aquarium. Do not turn it on yet; do it when your finished with the aquarium. For heat lamp users, screw on heat bulb (50-75 watt red bulbs work well). Place heat lamp on top of the screen lid, on the same side as the heat pad. **
The best heat source for leopard geckos is the heat pad (it should be big enough to cover 1/3 of the aquarium) Heat lamps are used if the heat pad does not provide enough heat, or for night time.** Remember not to use bulbs that produce white light, it can harm your gecko's eyesight and prevent it from coming out of its hiding place. Temperatures on the side of the heating source at day time should be around 89F (32C) The opposite side should be around 76F (25C) At night time, the whole tank can be room temperature (low 70's) Place a thermometer on either side of the aquarium, this helps you keep the temps right.
Leopard geckos do not need any UV lighting because they are nocturnal.
Substrate
-Reptile carpet, tile, paper towels, and newspaper can be used as substrate. I prefer not to use any loose substrate, including sand and calcium sand.
Hiding Spots
-Leopard geckos will need at least one hiding spot in its home (two or three is better) They will rest in it, and hide in it when they feel threatened. Without a hiding spot, they feel exposed and vulnerable, which can lead to great stress. There are many types of hiding spots available at pet stores, but you can always make one out of cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, and napkin boxes. Some people like to have a humid hide in their geckos' home, it will help them shed better. Just place some moist paper towels in one of the hides on the cooler side.
Water,Food/Calcium Dishes
-Your leopard gecko will drink out of a dish you provide them. Place it on the opposite side of the heat sources, to prevent evaporation. They can also get food out of food dishes if you don't have time to feed them. If you plan to make your gecko eat from a food dish, dump in some mealworms and your gecko will eat them when he wants to. They can also get their calcium from licking the calcium powder you bought in dishes. (We will talk more about feeding and calcium later on)
Decorations
-This is not necessary, but decorations can make your geckos home more nice and comfortable . You can get smooth stones, bark, and branches from your backyard, just make sure you clean it very well before using it. Plants can be used, too. Personally, I think artificial plants work better than real plants. If you use real plants you must make sure that it is not harmful to you gecko, you also have to water it, and give it UV lighting.
Food and Water
Types of Food
-Live Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms are the most common food source for pet leos. Waxworms are very fattening, so you shouldn't feed them to your gecko very frequently.
How to Feed
-Crickets should be "gut loaded" 24 hrs before you feed them to your leo. Basically, you have to feed them nutritious foods like carrots, orange, apples, and special cricket food, bought at pet stores.
You can give your gecko mealworms by putting 5-8 of them in a shallow dish. But you can't do the same with crickets, or anything that can get out of the dish. You can use tongs to feed insects to your gecko. Leopard geckos need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. You must buy a vitamin powder and a calcium powder. To give these powders to your gecko, you can provide it a small dish of calcium. You also have to "dust" the crickets before you feed them to your leo. To do so, dump some powders into a small, plastic bag and put some crickets in it. Close the opening and SHAKE!! Shake the bag until the crickets are covered with powder. Your gecko must eat the crickets within 15 minutes or the powder will fall off. For adults, dust the crickets with vitamin twice a week and calcium three times a week. For juveniles and gravid females, you should dust the insects more often. I don't mix the powder, I do it separately. I feed my juveniles everyday with 3 insects, the adults eat every other day to 4 times a week, with 5-8 insects.
Water
-Leopard geckos will need fresh water everyday. You can use bottled water or tap water with one or two drops of dechlorinator.
Cleaning
1. Take your gecko out of her tank, put her in a small container.
2. Unplug all the heat sources, take off the heat lamp. Some heat pads have to be stuck to the bottom so don't take those off.
3. Take the water, food, calcium dishes and wash them with water, dry them and put in fresh water, food, and calcium.
4. Take all furnishings out and wash them well with a diluted bleach solution, and rinse it very well with water. Dry all furnishings. Don't wash anything that is made out of wood; they can be hard to dry...just give them a good shake outside.
5. Dump out old substrate. Reptile carpets can be used again. Just wash it with water and dry it.
(I usually keep two reptile carpets for one tank. You can replace the old one with a new one while the old one is getting washed)
6. When there is nothing in the aquarium, wash it using soap or a diluted bleach solution, scrub it well, and then rinse the aquarium with lots of water.
7. Dry the aquarium with paper towels.
8. Add in all the materials when the aquarium is dry, including the new substrate.
9. Put your leopard gecko back in her home.
10. Turn on the heat source and close the lid.
-Take out your leopard gecko's poop every time you see it. And do a complete clean every month or two, depending on how dirty the enclosure gets.
Breeding
Leopard geckos are fairly easy to breed. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't be careful, though.
The proper breeding age of a leopard gecko is usually 18 months or older. The gecko should be at least 40 grams in weight. 50 grams or heavier is always better. Now, to breed, you need a male, and one or more females. To tell if a gecko is a male or female, males have large, V shaped pre-anal pores between the tail and the two legs. Females have either very small pores or none at all. It is difficult to tell the sex of leopard geckos when they are young. Once you got a male & a female you are almost ready to breed them. Feed the female prey items with lots of fat (maxworms, pinkies, e.g.) Also give her more calcium supplements. Before breeding, it is effective to shorten the photoperiod by turning off the lights earlier. And possibly turning down the heat. When it's time to mate, turn up the heat again. Put both geckos in a new environment, so neither one would be aggressive. Mating might happen right away, but sometimes they wait until dark. If mating doesn't happen right away, you can leave the male with the female for a few days. After mating, put the geckos back to their original enclosure. You will need a laying box for the female to lay her eggs in. (Usually she will lay 2 eggs at a time, with 4-10 eggs in total. Though, it is not uncommon to have beginner females to lay one egg the first time.) Get a large enough deli cup and fill it 2/3 of the way with vermiculite (that is what I recommend; you can use other materials that holds moisture well, too.) Spray it with a spray bottle until is moist (not wet.) Cut a large hole in the box so the female can go in. After about a month from mating, the female will lay her first clutch of eggs. You will notice bulges from her abdomen when she is gravid. Once the eggs are laid, you will need ANOTHER container to incubate the eggs. Some incubation mediums are vermiculite and perlite. Moisten the medium with water, it shouldn't be too wet. When you notice the medium is drying up later, spray it again. Once you found the eggs, take them out carefully. DO NOT ROTATE THEM!!! If you do, the developing embryo will drown. I like to mark the top with a sharpie so I know which side is up. Make a thump print hole in the medium and put the eggs in. Close the lid, poke some holes in it, and put it in the incubator. (It seems that the bova bator incubator is very popular. But do not get the turbo fan.) The temperature you incubate the eggs will effect the baby's sex: At 79 degrees F, most baby's will be females, 86 degrees F, there will be a mix of females & males, and at 90 degrees F, most will be males. When babies hatch, you can put them in a new enclosure, and you must house them separately. The caring for baby leopard geckos is the same as adults, except they eat TINY insects!
Handling
Leopard Geckos are gentile and delicate. You can handle your gecko with care a few times a week for a few minutes. Children should be supervised while playing with the leopard gecko. Make sure not to tug or hold the gecko’s tail as it could fall off.
All info are self-written