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Leopard Gecko (Eublepharus macularius) Care Sheet
Leopard geckos are a ground dwelling desert gecko from Pakistan and Afghanistan. They are well known in the pet trade as an easily tamed and interesting gecko.
**Note, while we do still keep leopard geckos, we no longer breed them. There are many in need of adoption and good care that can be found on craigslist, petfinder, and kijiji.
Life span: 20+ years (our oldest is 15!)
Size: 8-12 inches nose to tail tip
Appearance: leopard geckos have been specifically bred for many years to have different colored patterns, and even eye color! But in the wild they are a yellow base dorsal color with brown or black spots all over and a white belly. Young leopard geckos are more blotched with black pattern that slowly becomes spots with age. They are also known to have the ability to regrow their tails. While these regrown tails may not look exactly like the original, they still serve their purpose of holding fat for water reserves and giving predators a second "head" to bite.
Captive care:
Cage- Horizontally oriented terrariums are best for housing leopard geckos. A 20 gallon long tank can comfortably house 1 male and 2 female adults. Males should never be housed together as they will fight for dominance and seriously injure each other if given the chance.
Decor- these geckos enjoy climbing, though they are not very good at it, and love cozy hide containters. You can use anything from a half log hide to a Tupperware container. If you do choose to offer branches, which the animals will definitely utilize, make sure they are at least the width of their bodies so they can more easily stay on and climb about.
Temp- 90*F basking spot, 75-80*F during the day, drop to 70-75 at night. Under tank heat pads work the best if you do not want to provide lighting. DO NOT USE HEAT ROCKS! they can be dangerous to your animal and may burn them.
Lighting- No special lighting is required as these animals are nocturnal and spend most of the daylight hours in hiding. However, we have noticed more vibrant coloration in our animals when they are given UVB lighting, and continue to provide it for ours.
Substrate- Adult animals may be kept on various types of substrate. We have had the best results with calci-sand a digestible sand which is made up of calcium and therefore not harmful if swallowed. The only downside I've read about calci-sand is it dehydrates animals faster, but you should always have clean water available for your animals regardless of substrate type. Young leopard geckos should be kept on paper towels or newspaper for easy cleaning and to prevent them from eating any foreign objects which can cause impaction and death.
Water- As mentioned earlier these animals should always be provided a clean water bowl to drink from as needed.
Diet- Leopard geckos are insectivorious, and will accept a wide variety of insects and occasionally pinky mice. If pinky mice are offered they should only be given as a treat, and are very useful if preparing a female for breeding. Insects we have offered to our leopard geckos include: Blaptica dubia roaches, meal worms, king worms, wax worms, phoenix worms and crickets. Crickets and dubia roaches are the best insect staple due to their low fat content and active behavior, giving the gecko something to chase!
**Note, while we do still keep leopard geckos, we no longer breed them. There are many in need of adoption and good care that can be found on craigslist, petfinder, and kijiji.
Life span: 20+ years (our oldest is 15!)
Size: 8-12 inches nose to tail tip
Appearance: leopard geckos have been specifically bred for many years to have different colored patterns, and even eye color! But in the wild they are a yellow base dorsal color with brown or black spots all over and a white belly. Young leopard geckos are more blotched with black pattern that slowly becomes spots with age. They are also known to have the ability to regrow their tails. While these regrown tails may not look exactly like the original, they still serve their purpose of holding fat for water reserves and giving predators a second "head" to bite.
Captive care:
Cage- Horizontally oriented terrariums are best for housing leopard geckos. A 20 gallon long tank can comfortably house 1 male and 2 female adults. Males should never be housed together as they will fight for dominance and seriously injure each other if given the chance.
Decor- these geckos enjoy climbing, though they are not very good at it, and love cozy hide containters. You can use anything from a half log hide to a Tupperware container. If you do choose to offer branches, which the animals will definitely utilize, make sure they are at least the width of their bodies so they can more easily stay on and climb about.
Temp- 90*F basking spot, 75-80*F during the day, drop to 70-75 at night. Under tank heat pads work the best if you do not want to provide lighting. DO NOT USE HEAT ROCKS! they can be dangerous to your animal and may burn them.
Lighting- No special lighting is required as these animals are nocturnal and spend most of the daylight hours in hiding. However, we have noticed more vibrant coloration in our animals when they are given UVB lighting, and continue to provide it for ours.
Substrate- Adult animals may be kept on various types of substrate. We have had the best results with calci-sand a digestible sand which is made up of calcium and therefore not harmful if swallowed. The only downside I've read about calci-sand is it dehydrates animals faster, but you should always have clean water available for your animals regardless of substrate type. Young leopard geckos should be kept on paper towels or newspaper for easy cleaning and to prevent them from eating any foreign objects which can cause impaction and death.
Water- As mentioned earlier these animals should always be provided a clean water bowl to drink from as needed.
Diet- Leopard geckos are insectivorious, and will accept a wide variety of insects and occasionally pinky mice. If pinky mice are offered they should only be given as a treat, and are very useful if preparing a female for breeding. Insects we have offered to our leopard geckos include: Blaptica dubia roaches, meal worms, king worms, wax worms, phoenix worms and crickets. Crickets and dubia roaches are the best insect staple due to their low fat content and active behavior, giving the gecko something to chase!
Below are some animals we owned, bred and hatched!