Leopard Gecko Care

Eublepharis Macularius

Range

Leopard geckos range from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northwest India.

Selection:

When selecting your gecko look for obvious signs of health. The gecko should be alert and if possible try and see the lizard
feed. Make sure the gecko is captive bred and not imported. With the massive quantities of geckos being produced by captive
breeders each year this shouldn't be a problem.

Appearance:

Leopard geckos are large geckos with adults attaining a length of around 9 or 10 inches. . Juvenile geckos have a  striped
pattern that fades with age. They differ from many geckos in that they have eyelids and are terrestrial , meaning they can't walk
up vertical sufaces.
 

Housing:

An aquarium is a perfect home although many people have success with plastic sweater boxes. Since they are a terrestrial
species, a long aquarium is better than a high one. A 20 gallon long aquarium is adequate for 3 or 4 geckos. Make sure that
you only have one male per enclosure as males will fight each other. The substrate can be anything from sand to paper towels.
Sand creates the most natural setup, and you can buy playsand from any hardware store. Rocks and logs can make the
terrarium more natural looking and they provide your lizards with places to climb and get exercise. A hide box is also
recommended for each lizard for use in times or conflict and for sleeping.We suggest paper towels until they are atleast 6 inches
long this reduces the chance of impaction.

Lighting and Temperature:

Leopard geckos are a nocturnal species so no form of UV lighting is necessary.Although you can put a spot light with a low
wattage bulb on the tank to simulate day and night cycle. Daytime temperatures should be around 88 on the hottest side and 78
on the cool side. The nighttime temps can go down in the low 70s.  I feel that it's best to provide any reptile with a temperature
gradient and let them regulate their temperature.
With the use of undertank heatpads be sure to only put the pad under 1/3 of the tank to allow for a temperature gradient also it
is a good idea to use a thermostat so you can more closely monitor temperature.NEVER USE HEAT ROCKS  THEY
CAUSE THERMAL BURNS!

Feeding and Watering:

Leopard geckos will thrive on insects. A diet of crickets along with occasional waxworms and mealworms make a good diet.
Adult geckos can also be fed an occasional pinkie mouse. Juveniles can be feed every day and adults every other day.
Supplementation is a must for leopard geckos. Two supplements should be used: one that is just calcium/D3 and another that is
a reptile multivitamin.We recomend sticky tongue farms miner-all 0 . Juveniles should be supplemented at every feeding and
adults at every other feeding. Gravid females should also be supplemented at every feeding to make up for the large nutritional
depletion caused by egg laying. Insects can be coated with these supplements and it's always a good idea to feed the insects a
high quality diet so as to "gut-load" them and increase their nutritional value.

A shallow water dish should be provided at all times and changed daily to stop bacteria and fungus growth. Allowing leopard
geckos access to a moist area is a good idea that aids in shedding. Even though they come from arid climates their burrows
tend to have moderate humidity. raising  humidity by moistening the area under their hide boxes. Make sure that the overall
cage isn't wet or overly humid.

sitemapbest air conditioner tankless hot water heater