Care Sheet for Geckos: LeopardAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 1.20 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 12/29/2005 |
Main Category: | Lizards |
Sub Category: | Geckos: Leopard |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Japa2222 |
Years Experience: | 1 to 2 Years |
Species: | Leopard Gecko |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Leopard gecko can be easily sexed at the age of 1 year, but they can be sexed at earlier times if you know what to look for.
Males will have line of pores in the area of their vent , the pores are dark and form a V shape. Males will also have to bumps at the base of their tail, these are the two half’s of his penis. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Water should be offered daily and should be changed every day. Since some geckos like to sit in the water dish to aid in shedding you should provide one that the gecko can sit in safely.
One of the most debating subjects in the world of pet reptiles is what substrate is best for the geckos. Well I’m not going to say one for certain but I will compare and contrast them for you.
Sand, it looks natural, it holds heat very well, it’s easy to clean up fecal matter, it gives geckos a sort of grit the helps pooping. It can cause blockage in geckos, CANNOT be used with hatch lings or Juveniles.
Coco fiber, looks natural, hold humidity well, it’s sort of easy to clean. It can smell very bad, it’s hold humidity too well, crickets and lay eggs in it(good or bad?),
Paper towel, it’s easy to really easy to replace, it’s great for juveniles. It’s hard to spot clean because poop sticks to it, it doesn’t hold heat at all, crickets make it a habit to hide under it, it doesn’t look natural at all.
These are the main substrates you can use. Things you don’t want to use would be, anything that could block your geckos digestive tract. NOT reptile bark or and kind of wood chip.
Every substrate has it’s Pros and Cons. You just have to find something that suits your needs and your geckos needs. |
Lighting and UVB: | Heat lamp could be provided for a basking spot. UVB not really required because Leopards are nocturnal, but some people do get them, and if you have one you can put plants in the cage and they will survive. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Day:82-88 degrees
Night:72-78 degrees but it can fall as low as 64 degrees before it will start to make your gecko ill.
Leopard geckos are from the deserts of Pakistan and do not require very high humidity ,but they do require a small box with high humidity for aid in shedding. Other than that just having the water bowl in the dish should keep it at about the right humidity. |
Heating and Equipment: | Leopard gecko require heating to keep temperature at a safe level. Under Tank Heating mats or UTH’s will work great will leopards. Also heating lamps can be provided to give them an area to bask.
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Caging Provided: | A ten gallon will work fine for a single gecko, you should have two hides, and when geckos start to shed they will need a moist hide. They’re easy to build, just get an old Tupperware container and clean it well, then make a hole suitable for your gecko in the top fill it with either coco fiber or moss, and keep it damp not wet. This may also be used as a laying box when used with pairs. |
Diet: | Carnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Cricket, meal worms, wax worms, silkworms, roaches, bugs caught in an area that isn’t sprayed with pesticides. These can all be used as food for leopard geckos, but the only ones you should ever use as a staple diet would be, crickets and roaches and maybe meal worms. All the others should be considered treats or "gecko crack" because your geckos will get addicted to them if fed as a staple food. The best food for leopard gecko would have to be roaches because they are easy to gut-load, have a great shell to meat ratio. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | I try to dust at least one of the crickets i feed each day, Herptivite and rep-cal are great products to dust with and can even be mixed together with each other to provide a great dusting supplement. |
Maintenance: | Spot clean cages every day, and do a full cage clean about every two weeks. |
Some Words on this Species: | Leopard Geckos are great animals, and are the perfect pet for a beginning herper. They are very hardy and can take quite a bit of mistakes. They can also be trained to held. They can cost anywhere from $29-$1000. |
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