The leopard gecko is a ground-dwelling lizard naturally found in the deserts of Asia and throughout Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of northern India. Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids.

Leopard geckos are large for a gecko. Hatchlings tend to be 6.5 to 8.4 cm (2.6 to 3.3 inches) in length and weighing about 3 grams while the adult geckos are about 20.5 to 27.5 cm (8.1 to 11 inches) in length and weight about 45 to 65 grams.

Those found in the wild typically have a darker, dull, and drab coloration than those kept in captivity as pets. Those in captivity generally have an assortment of skin colors and patterns. The skin of a leopard gecko is very durable, which provides protection from the rough sand and rocky hills terrain of their dry environment. Their dorsal side is covered with small bumps, which gives a rough texture and appearance while their ventral side is thin, transparent, and smooth. Like all reptiles, leopard geckos shed their skin. In the few days before the shedding, the skin will turn color to a translucent whitish gray. Adults shed an average of once a month, while juveniles will sometimes shed twice as much. The gecko will eat its old skin after shedding, revealing a brighter colored one. There are two theories of why leopard geckos do this. One is that in the wild leopard geckos eat their shed skin so there is no trace that the leopard gecko was there. The other theory is that eating the shed skin is a means for obtaining protein and other vitamins for growth.

Leopard geckos are ectothermic. They absorb warmth and energy during the day as they are sleeping, so they can hunt and digest food at night. In addition, they have short legs, which enable them to be quick and agile while their small nails allow them to climb twigs and rocks. Leopard geckos have openings on either side of their head as ears. A tympanic membrane covers and protects it. They use their ears to locate their prey. Healthy leopard geckos have thick, fleshy tails; a thin tail is an indication that the gecko is not healthy and may be lacking nutrition. Although, when in captivity, the tail can be fattened by the feeding of waxworms (wax moth larvae), these worms are typically too fatty for the gecko to get the nutritional value it needs. They can also be fed “pinkys”, a one-day-old mouse to fatten up the tail, but again, these are very low in nutritional value. Breeders recommend coating crickets in a nutritional powder before serving them either live or dead. Leopard geckos’ thick tails can regenerate when lost; however, the regenerated tails appear stumpy and never have the same appearance as the original tail.

Where Do Leopard Geckos Live?

The native habitat of the leopard gecko is the rocky, dry grassland and desert regions of south-Asian Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-west India, and some parts of Iran. Winter temperatures in these areas can be quite low, below 10 °C (50 °F), forcing the animals underground into semi-hibernation, called brumation, living on fat reserves. Leopard geckos are crepuscular reptiles; they are limited to the burrows during the day but become active at dawn and dusk when the temperature is favorable. These geckos are solitary, and do not usually live with other animals.

Owning A Pet Leopard Gecko

Leopard geckos are one of the most popular reptile pets. They are possibly the first domesticated lizard species. Their small size, robustness, and relatively easy care makes them a good “beginner” reptile pet. They breed easily in captivity, so most sold today are captive-bred rather than wild-caught.

Many morphs—color or pattern variations, and occasionally size variations—have been bred. Some of the morphs include three different strains of albino, pattern-less, blizzard, jungle, hypomelanistic, tangerine, giant, and snow. Since many of the morphs are unrelated gene sequences, various combinations, such as pattern-less albino and mack snow albino, have also been bred. Pattern-less, hypomelanistic, and blizzard morphs primarily involve the reduction or loss of dark spots. Giant is a size morph, giants are considerably larger than normal leopard geckos. Jungle morphs involve a change in the arrangement or pattern of dark areas. Snow morphs typically have normal dark spots, but little or no yellow pigment. Tangerine morphs have an orange pigment on part of their body, typically the head and/or tail.

Even though leopard geckos are the most easily kept lizards, they are not necessarily the best lizard to keep as a pet if you want to handle and interact with your pets frequently. Leopard geckos should be thought of as display animals that will tolerate occasional handling. Still, leopard geckos seldom bite and, if they do, the bike is of little consequence. Also, after a little handling, leopard geckos don’t scurry, but instead, move in a relatively slow and deliberate manner. As with all animals, the degree to which your leopard gecko is a pet depends on the animal’s genetic propensity and the amount of interaction you invest in it. As a general rule, closely supervise children when they are handling leopard geckos. Animals that are regularly handled for short periods are usually calmer than animals that are unfamiliar with such interactions. On the other hand, excessive and long-term handling is generally not recommended.

How To Select The Best Leopard Gecko

Most of the leopard geckos sold in the trade are captive-bred juveniles, with sub-adults, retired breeders and imports sporadically available.

Relatively few wild-collected leopard geckos are now imported into the United States and they are primarily of interest only to breeders who want to diversify their gene pools. Compared to the captive-bred leopard geckos offered in the pet trade, wild imported specimens typically appear dull-colored, beat up and thin. Captive-bred and raised leopard geckos are best for aspiring pet owners because they are generally more attractive and healthier than wild forms.

If your interest in captive breeding or having a long-lived pet, then the best choice for a leopard gecko is an immature llizard under 6 inches long that you can reliably assume is under one year old. For beginners, animals at least 4 inches long are a better choice than small hatchlings, which tend to be more delicate. If you are attracted to a particularly large and robust adult, probably a retired breeder, remember that it may be old and, in the case of a female, probably not capable of producing many more eggs.

Both male and female geckos make equally nice pets. If you can to breed leopard geckos, remember that you need only one male per ten or every twenty females, and males cannot be housed together when mature.

There are many varieties of leopard geckos and every year seems to bring some new variation. The primary criterion for selecting a morph should be the aesthetic appeal it has for you. If your interest is primarily in the financial benefits of breeding one morph or another, then research your market carefully before investing.

How To Spot A Healthy Leopard Gecko

The following are guidelines for selecting a healthy leopard gecko. Careful examination and selection prior to purchase, however, does not always guarantee a healthy leopard gecko.

The body outline should be smooth, the outline of the hip bones not visible, and the tail rounded – without wrinkles that give it a shrunken appearance. In the case of imports, a wrinkles tail may simply mean that the leopard gecko has not been fed for an extended period of time.
The mouth, when closed, should appear even, with no jutting upper or lower jaw.
Examine the fingers and toes. They should appear even and without swelling. No toes should be missing.
The eyes should be equal in size. It is also a good idea to avoid geckos with small eyes or with large bug-eyes.
If fecal matter is present in the enclosure, examine it for consistency. The feces of healthy leopard geckos are semi-formed and somewhat pelleted in shape. They are dark with some whitish urates. Pale, light-colored, or yellow-orange feces, pasty feces that are patty shaped, and runny are all signs of possible disease.
Ask the seller to let you see the leopard gecko you want up close. It should appear bright-eyed and alert when in your hand. Look at the belly area of the leopard gecko. The vent of the animal should appear flush and clean with no signs of swelling, fecal smearing or caked material.

What Type Of Cage Is Best For A Leopard Gecko?

The basic leopard gecko cage for first-time owners is usually a glass tank, like an aquarium, but one that doesn’t necessarily hold water. Glass tanks for reptile use don’t have to hold water, they just need to be glued enough at the edges to hold the pieces of glass together. Whatever type of tank or terrarium you use for your leopard gecko, please keep in mind that a good cage keeps your lizard safe from outside threats, prevents your lizard from escaping, and keeps your lizard’s food from getting away.

In order to set up a leopard gecko vivarium, you will need:

One 10-gallon (40-liter) tank or an equivalently sized cage for one leopard gecko. A 12-15 gallon tank is ideal for two leopard geckos. The tank you use must have a securely fitted screen top and doors at the top or front of the terrarium so you can clean the cage and access the leopard gecko inside.
One reptile under-tank heater.
One ceramic heater.
One light fixture that will function as a cage-top heater.
Two reptile thermometers.
A water dish and one or more shallow food dishes.
A flooring material.
At least two hiding spots.
Additional cage furnishings (such as plants, rocks, pieces of bark, etc.)

Leopard Gecko Flooring

In the wild, leopard geckos can be found in rocky areas with clay-gravel soil covered by sand. in captivity, the first substrate of choice is newspaper or paper towels. These materials are inexpensive, relatively sterile, and easy to monitor and replace. However, many pet owners prefer to keep their animals on a substrate that is more natural looking and pleasing to they eye, and their preferred choice of flooring is usually a fine-grade sand or a mix of sand and soil. Several kinds of sand, including natural red sands, are now sold in the pet trade specifically for the keeping pf leopard geckos and similar animals.

There have been some reports of leopard geckos ingesting sand and dying of sand impaction, so this is why most leopard gecko pet owners prefer to keep baby geckos on paper and then later, once they have reached a length of at least 6 inches, to switch them over to a more sand-based substrate.

The grade of sand is also a significant factor in impaction, as fine sands are less likely to cause impaction than coarse ones. The kind of sand can also play a role, with hard silica sand more likely to cause impaction than softer limestone or calcium sands. The reduce sand ingestion when feeding your leopard gecko, try offering food and insects to your leopard gecko inside of a feeding dish. Fine orchid bark, first rinsed in water to remove dust and then allowed to dry, has also been used successfully a flooring for leopard geckos. Sand, sold, orchid bark mixes, and pea gravel have been known to work as well.

Leopard Gecko Vivarium Decorations

Leopard geckos are nocturnal animals that usually avoid bright light and try to remain concealed from potential predators. A great deal of their lives is spent out of sight and inside various forms of shelter, such as burrows or rock crevices. For this reason, it is essential to provide your leopard geckos with some form of shelter.

There are currently several types of commercially made reptile shelters, ranging from basic plastic boxes to molded concrete or plastic structures that resemble rock or bark and work well with leopard geckos. Many other landscape products currently sold in the trade, such as cork bark, dried woods and rock are ideal for creating natural looking shelters.

Be extremely careful when using heavy materials such as rock or wood in creating shelter. They should be securely positioned with no risk of toppling, which would crush or injure your leopard gecko. If necessary, use silicone glue to help anchor pieces together.

Leopard Gecko Lighting & Heating

Like most reptiles in captivity, leopard geckos fare best in environments that provide a heat gradient, allowing for thermoregulatory behaviors. Cold-blooded animals like leopard geckos must have warmer and cooler areas within their enclosure in order to regulate their own temperature. The availability of a heat gradient in the leopard gecko enclosure leads to a better growth rate.

Reptile heating pads and heat take is a good idea for a leopard gecko vivarium. These heating instruments are available online and at local pet stores that specialized in caring for reptiles. The most common are sub-tank heating pads, which are placed under your enclosure. If used properly, these are effective heating systems for leopard gecko vivaria when lined with paper or with thin layers flooring/substrate. Select a heating unit size that only covered 25 to 35 percent of the floor area of your terrarium. It is critical that most of the floor area be unheated to allow your leopard geckos to thermoregulate their body temperatures.

What Do Leopard Geckos Eat & Drink?

Leopard geckos feed on crickets, roaches, grasshoppers, wax-worms, meal-worms, super worms, other insects, and earth worms. In captivity, most individuals will prefer hunting food themselves. The majority of captive leopard geckos will also refuse to eat dead prey.

Crickets are the most common food source to give them in captivity, as they can hunt them in their enclosure the way they would in their natural environment, though mealworms and certain species of roach are also common.

When food is scarce in the desert, they can rely on their ability to store excess fat in their tails. Sufficient calcium and vitamin D3 is also very important for their diet: How they obtain it in the wild is still unknown, although they likely receive this from their varied prey of moths, spiders, ants, and other insects. In captivity, it is near impossible to completely duplicate the diet they will have in the wild, so the most nutritious insects known are offered, usually dusted with a fine calcium powder with added vitamin D3 and sometimes gut loaded by feeding. Their keen sense of smell and sight allows them to search for food in the wild, so they will stalk their prey somewhat like an actual leopard will, moving their tail, and then striking when they are satisfied.

Leopard Gecko Facts & Information

Leopard geckos are the largest species of gecko with adults reaching a max length of 8-11 inches. The leopard gecko gets its name from the leopard-like spots that cover the bodies of adult animals.
Baby leopard geckos hatch with dark bands on their skin, which lighten as they grow into the spotted adults. Their general background color is yellow and lavender, although a number of new color phases have arisen through captive breeding.
Leopard geckos are strictly nocturnal, keeping out of the heat of the day, and emerging at night from holes and crevices to hunt for food. Leopard geckos are seldom found off of the ground.
Leopard geckos are members of the Subfamily Eublepharinae, or the eye-lidded geckos. Many geckos lack eyelids, but the leopard geckos’ are movable, which allow them to blink and close their eyes while sleeping.
Despite being one of the most popular lizard pets, little is known about leopard geckos in the wild. Their population numbers are unknown and their unique dots and coloring makes perfect a camouflage for their natural environments which makes them a challenge to find. They are excellent at hiding from predators and stay hidden during the day to avoid being seen.
Like many lizards, the leopard gecko has a tail that breaks off readily when grabbed by a predator. The tail breaks at a crack in the vertebra and the surrounding muscles are so arranged that they separate neatly and in an instant. A muscle closes around the artery in the tail at the point of the break and prevents undue blood loss. Usually a new tail is regenerated. This permits the gecko to get away if attacked.
One of the most notable traits about leopard geckos, which has led to their great popularity, is their unusually gentle disposition. It takes a significant amount of provoking before a leopard gecko will bite.
When agitated, leopard geckos will bark. However, leopard geckos are also not as vocal as other geckos, such as Tokay geckos.
Leopard geckos are found in Afghanistan, northwestern India, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq.
Leopard geckos inhabit arid regions, particularly rocky deserts and sparse grasslands. They avoid sandy deserts.
In the wild, leopard geckos eat other lizards, insects, spiders, and scorpions.
Leopard geckos reach sexual maturity in 16 to 25 months. Their breeding season runs from January through September. Young females lay one to three clutches of one to two eggs each in their first breeding. With age, they can produce up to five clutches per breeding season.
Unlike other geckos, leopard geckos lack adhesive lamella (sticky pads on their feet) and have little claws instead. This is why you can keep a leopard gecko in a cage without worrying about him/her escaping.
Leopard geckos may live about 20 years in captivity. There have been cases of leopard geckos living to be as old as 30, but while possible its usually rare for them to reach that age.
The leopard gecko excretes nitrogenous waste in solid crystal form as uric acid instead of as urine.
With eyesight comparable to a cat’s, leopard geckos can see better than any other lizard whose vision has been studied.