Care Sheet for Geckos: LeopardAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.11 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 10/19/2006 |
Main Category: | Lizards |
Sub Category: | Geckos: Leopard |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Houdini1 |
Years Experience: | 1 to 2 Years |
Species: | Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius) |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | None- Although I have seen the question of caring for different morphs or color patterns. The care is the same for all color patterns/ Morphs |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Leopard Geckos are fairly easy to to determine the sex if they are the right age. Males have pores just above the vent in a v shaped pattern, they also have a bulge at the base of the tail where the Hemi Penis is stored. Females may have both of these but are less prominent if they can even be seen at all.
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Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Fresh Water should be provided Daily in a dish large enough for an adult to get in and out of. It shouldn’t be any deeper than about 1.5 inches. For hatching’s Use a smaller dish that isn’t as deep so there isn’t a risk for drowning.
The safest substrate options are Reptile Carpet, Non Adhesive Shelf Liner, Paper Towel, or Tile. I personally find tile the easiest to clean and keep clean and it conducts heat the best in my experience. Please do not use any loose substrate, like sand, bark, coconut. There are others. These pose a possible risk of impaction, this can kill a leopard gecko. They lick their surroundings and accidentally eat sand while hunting prey and it builds up in their system causing a blockage. |
Lighting and UVB: | No Special lighting is needed. Under tank heaters have proved to be all the need for heat. I don’t not use a light during the day and only use infrared bulbs at night during the winter. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Temperature is very important, they need a temp gradient because they cannot regulate their own body temperature. The warm side of the tank should be between 88 and 93 degrees. The cool side should be in the high 70’s to low 80’s or about 10 degrees cooler than the warm side.
Humidity levels should remain below 40%. Although lower is preferable. Humidity can cause some health problems if it is too high. Most keepers use a humid hide made out of a Tupperware container with a lid. Cut a hole in the side and place some paper towels or moss in the bottom and mist it daily. This will aid in their shedding and allow the geckos to get the humidity they require when they feel they need it, and are also able to escape the humidity. |
Heating and Equipment: | I use an Under tank heater for my Leopard Geckos. I also have these hooked up to a Rheostat to regulate the Under tank heaters as they can get extremely hot. You can also use a Thermostat. I also recommend getting a Digital Thermometer with a probe to measure the temperature because the stick on thermometer have been very inaccurate up to 15 degrees when I have used them. I use the Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometers bought at a hardware store and they are fairly inexpensive. |
Caging Provided: | I keep my Leopard Geckos in a separate enclosures I use 20 gallon long tanks. Remember that they need floor space being terrestrial (ground dwelling). These have proved to be adequate in space for having 3 hides, 1 for the warm side, 1 for the cool side, and 1 humid hide, still leaving them enough room for roaming around the cage and water and food dishes. |
Diet: | N/A |
Description of Diet: | Leopard Geckos are insectivores meaning they eat bugs. There are several healthier feeder bugs such as Crickets, Meal worms, Roaches, Silkworms- Being the healthiest. There prey must be live. Pre killed prey can grow bacteria very fast and I consider them unhealthy and the geckos show no interest in them. Another feeder is Wax worms, these are very high in fat and very low in other nutritional value. I don’t recommend using these even as treats due to the fact that geckos love them so much they will often quit eating anything else and its very difficult to get them eating healthy food again. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | I use T Rex bone aid pure calcium in a dish in the tank, this must be pure calcium with no vitamin d3. Babies and juveniles should have their food dusted with pure calcium every feeding and they should be fed everyday. D3 and a Multivitamin once a week.
A good feeding Schedule is
Monday through Friday - Dust with pure calcium
Sat. and Sunday dust with Multivitamin and Vitamin D3
For adults you can feed them every other day, I use the schedule of
Every other day for 3 feedings I use Pure Calcium
Every 4Th feeding I use Reptivite which has Multivitamin and D3 in it.
Be careful with D3 they can over dose on it and the effects are similar to Metabolic Bone Disease. |
Maintenance: | I spot clean my cages every day and remove poop, fill water dishes with fresh water, mist hides then once a week I completely scrub down the enclosures with Vinegar and water. I don’t like using Bleach and water, due to the fact that if something didn’t get rinsed well enough it would pose a major health threat. |
Some Words on this Species: | This is a very hardy species and will tolerate handling very well depending on the Leopard gecko itself. They are the perfect beginner reptile if proper research is done first. Keeping leopard geckos can be a very rewarding experience for any age keeper.
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