Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

The leopard gecko is hardy, prolific, and comes in a wide variety of interesting color and pattern morphs. Leopard Geckos are among the easiest of lizards to maintain given the proper conditions. They rarely bite and tame easily. Leopard geckos that are handled regularly remain relatively calm. However, be careful how you hold the gecko, never by its tail! A gecko's tail breaks off rather easily as a defense mechanism. They will grow back, but never as nice looking as the original tail.

Housing

A pair of adult leopard geckos can be comfortably housed in a standard fifteen-gallon aquarium. Never put two males together, as they will fight. Many breeders utilize a breeding "colony" system. A colony system is composed of one male and up to ten females. Often, leopard gecko colonies are set up in a sweater box sized rack system. A sweater box Rubbermaid container is approximately one foot in width and two feet in length.

Rack systems are custom made cages that look a lot like a chest of drawers, the plastic containers pull out from the frame as a drawer pulls out from a cabinet. Running along the back of rack systems, or underneath the tubs is usually some type of heat tape, regulated by a thermostat to prevent a fire hazard. Do not use hot rocks! They develop hot spots and many lizards have been badly burned by them! One male and four females can be comfortable housed in this type of system. If you are planning on having more than a few leopard gecko colonies, this is one of the most cost effective and space saving ways to keep a gecko colony.

As leopard geckos are nocturnal, they require several hiding spots. Hiding spots can be easily and cheaply constructed out of terracotta plant saucers with an access hole knocked in the side, cardboard boxes, used margarine tubs, or you can purchase commercially sold plastic hiding spots.

Leopard geckos also require a humidity spot in the enclosure so that they may properly shed their skin. Failure to provide such and area will often result in the loss of digits, as the old skin clings to the animal and may cut off circulation to these extremities. To make a humidity spot, obtain an enclosed Tupperware container that will comfortable house all of the geckos in the enclosure at once (the shoebox size works well for up to four adult geckos). Cut an access hole in the side of the container, and fill the container half way with moist peat, sphagnum moss, or even paper towels. This area must always be kept moist.

The substrate (what is on the bottom of the cage) can be several materials. I personally use paper towels because they are cheap and easy to clean. However, other keepers utilize newspaper, play sand (not for use with juveniles as geckos will ingest the sand and it can result in impaction and death), lizard litter, fine reptile bark, Astroturf, and peat moss. I personally do not like any loose type of substrate, including sand, as I am concerned about excessive ingestion. Many keepers have however, kept their animals successfully for long periods on these substrates, while others have had problems, I prefer not to risk it.

Heating

Like most reptiles, leopard geckos generally require some type of supplemental heating. One end of the enclosure should be heated to 86-88 degrees; the other end can range from 70-80 degrees. In aquariums, one of the best ways to provide this thermal gradient is to use and under-tank heating pad. The adhesive side attaches to the external underside of the aquarium on one end of the cage. I find these heating pads work well because they do not give off light, which can disturb the geckos at night. Other heating options include heat light, but they can be disturbing to the nocturnal behavior of leopard geckos if left on at night (unless a blue or red bulb is used). Providing a correct thermal gradient is essential when keeping leopard geckos, without it, they have problems digesting food and regulating their immune systems.

Feeding

Baby leopard geckos will take crickets that are slightly smaller than their heads, and small mealworms. Leopard Geckos are carnivorous. In captivity they eat crickets, mealworms, silkworms and an occasional pinky mouse. It is important to provide calcium supplementation to prevent nutritional disorders. One method is the "shake and bake", the prey items and put into a plastic bag, some calcium powder is dumped in, and the insects are coated until covered. While dusting the food item at mealtime is a good way to get extra calcium and vitamins to your gecko, crickets will knock most of the dust off with in the first couple of minutes. Buying a dozen crickets at the petstore, shaking them in a bag of calcium and feeding them to your gecko is not going to provide your gecko with all the vitamins he needs. The absolute best way to ensure your geckos are getting the proper nutrients from the food item(s) is to gutload the food item(s) prior to feeding it to the gecko. many of the commercial cricket foods are sufficient, but I would suggest also gutloading using carrots, kale or spinach, squash or even yams. This also has the added benefit of providing a source of water to the food items. Leopard geckos will also consume calcium powder straight from a dish, regulating their own intake, which I find to be the more useful method. Water is, just like any other animal, a must in leopard gecko enclosure. Fortunately leopard geckos, unlike some other reptiles, will drink from water bowls. The water bowl should be shallow and the water should be replaced every day.

Breeding

Leopard geckos are very easy to breed. Obviously the first important factor is to have a male and female leopard gecko. Male leopard geckos are distinguished from females by the presence of large, prefemoral pores right before the vent. While females also have these pores, they are much less pronounced. Male leopard geckos also have a distinguishable bulge just past the vent at the base of the tail where the hemipenes are stored. Males will fight with other males, so it is best to have only one male in a breeding situation. minimum weight for a female to breed should be 40+ grams, 50 grams or more being preferred as laying eggs takes a lot out of the females. While they are capable of breeding at 30 grams, long term the drain on the female from breeding at a smaller size will affect her growth, clutch sizes and how long she will be a viable breeder. Males should be bred no smaller than 30 grams.

It is easy to ascertain if a female leopard gecko is carrying eggs. When a gravid female leopard gecko is turned upside down, the developing eggs are visible through the skin just above the vent on both sides of the body. When developing eggs are visible, it is important to include an egg-laying chamber in the enclosure. An egg-laying chamber can be constructed out of a plastic Tupperware container with an access hole cut in the side. The egg-laying chamber should be filled with a moist, loose substrate such as peat moss, vermiculite, or perlite. The humidity site can often double as the egg-laying site. Female leopard geckos will bury clutches of one to two eggs each in the substrate at two to three week intervals. If the egg-laying chamber is on top of the heat source, it is important to check the egg-laying chamber often so the eggs do not dry out. After the eggs have been laid, they should be removed and artificially incubated.

Leopard geckos are temperature sex dependent, incubating at temperatures between 79-82 degrees produces mostly females, temperatures of 89-90 degrees produces mostly males. Temperatures above 90 deg. have proven fatal and are not recommended. At a temperature of 84-88 degrees, a mix of sexes is produced.

Baby leopard geckos can be set up and maintained in a similar manner to the adults, in a smaller cage of course.