Leopard Gecko Caresheet:
Housing:
House your gecko in a glass, plastic or wooden vivarium. We house our leopard geckos in plastic tubs with a floor space of at least 16" x 11" (40cm x 27.5cm) and a height of 9" (22.5cm) per leopard gecko, although height is not a major requirement for leopard geckos because they are ground-dwelling lizards but they may appreciate a more three dimensional setup achieved with some added height. Two female leopard geckos can be kept together if the length is increased by 6" and so on. Sexually mature male leopard geckos must not be kept together as they become increasingly territorial.
Substrate:
At Kent Gecko we use paper towel as our preferred substrate in all of our leopard gecko enclosures because it makes cleaning the tubs much easier, it is cheaper than other substrates and it is visible when soiled. You can also use pea gravel, newspaper or repti-carpet, but I would not recommend the use of loose substrates such as sand due to the risk of impaction towards the leopard gecko when ingested.
Heating:
Leopard geckos need a temperature of approximately 90F (32.2c) at the warm end of their vivarium and 75-85F (23.8-29.4c) at the cool end of the vivarium so that the leopard geckos can thermoregulate themselves. To create this heat gradient we at Kent Gecko use heatmats that cover about one third of the vivarium floor space with a thermostat which is absolutely essential so that the heatmat doesn't overheat and that the ambient temperature of the vivarium is kept at a safe level for the leopard geckos.
Lighting:
Due to leopard geckos being a nocturnal species no added UVB lighting is needed as long as their vivarium receives natural sunlight. You can buy various night bulbs for night time viewings of your leopard gecko. You can use a low wattage bulb for day viewings of your leopard gecko but it shouldn't be left on for more than 12 hours per day.
Decor:
Your leopard gecko needs at least two hides: a moist hide which helps leopard geckos when they are shedding by giving them the required humidity, and a normal hide in the cool end for privacy. Also you will need a water dish, a food dish and a small dish containing calcium (we use bottle lids).
Food:
You should feed juveniles and adult leopard geckos nine mealworms per sitting three times a week. Mealworms should be dusted with calcium with vitamin D3 on every second feed and dusted with a multivitamin supplement once a week. A small bottle top of pure calcium powder should be available at all times in the enclosure. Leopard Geckos under 4 months should be fed about 5 crickets/mealworms every day. Gutload mealworms by feeding them oatmeal and apple with a piece of potato to act as a water supply.
Water:
Fresh water should be available constantly for your leopard geckos in a stable, shallow dish. Water should be boiled and left to stand overnight before use unless you use a reptile safe de-chlorinator before giving to the leopard geckos.
Sexing:
Sexing leopard geckos is not hard when they have matured at a size of 5"-6" (12.5cm - 15cm) and one way of differentiating female and male leopard geckos is that male leopard geckos have visible femoral pores between their hindlegs whereas female leopard geckos do not. To add to that male leopard geckos have hemipenal bulges at the base of their tail whilst female leopard geckos do not.
Breeding:
Males should 40g and females should be 50g before they are bred with females being preferably 2 years of age. Eggs should be removed daily from the nesting box and carefully placed in an airtight container on a bed of moist vermiculite and placed inside an incubator. Maintain the orientation of the egg by marking the top of the egg with a marker pen. Leopard geckos can be temperature sexed: Females 80-82F, Males 88-90F and Mixed 85-86F. Containers should be opened twice a week to allow fresh air and remove condensation from the lid. The eggs should hatch in about 2 months depending on the incubation temperature. Retire females after 4 breeding years.
Recommended Reading:
House your gecko in a glass, plastic or wooden vivarium. We house our leopard geckos in plastic tubs with a floor space of at least 16" x 11" (40cm x 27.5cm) and a height of 9" (22.5cm) per leopard gecko, although height is not a major requirement for leopard geckos because they are ground-dwelling lizards but they may appreciate a more three dimensional setup achieved with some added height. Two female leopard geckos can be kept together if the length is increased by 6" and so on. Sexually mature male leopard geckos must not be kept together as they become increasingly territorial.
Substrate:
At Kent Gecko we use paper towel as our preferred substrate in all of our leopard gecko enclosures because it makes cleaning the tubs much easier, it is cheaper than other substrates and it is visible when soiled. You can also use pea gravel, newspaper or repti-carpet, but I would not recommend the use of loose substrates such as sand due to the risk of impaction towards the leopard gecko when ingested.
Heating:
Leopard geckos need a temperature of approximately 90F (32.2c) at the warm end of their vivarium and 75-85F (23.8-29.4c) at the cool end of the vivarium so that the leopard geckos can thermoregulate themselves. To create this heat gradient we at Kent Gecko use heatmats that cover about one third of the vivarium floor space with a thermostat which is absolutely essential so that the heatmat doesn't overheat and that the ambient temperature of the vivarium is kept at a safe level for the leopard geckos.
Lighting:
Due to leopard geckos being a nocturnal species no added UVB lighting is needed as long as their vivarium receives natural sunlight. You can buy various night bulbs for night time viewings of your leopard gecko. You can use a low wattage bulb for day viewings of your leopard gecko but it shouldn't be left on for more than 12 hours per day.
Decor:
Your leopard gecko needs at least two hides: a moist hide which helps leopard geckos when they are shedding by giving them the required humidity, and a normal hide in the cool end for privacy. Also you will need a water dish, a food dish and a small dish containing calcium (we use bottle lids).
Food:
You should feed juveniles and adult leopard geckos nine mealworms per sitting three times a week. Mealworms should be dusted with calcium with vitamin D3 on every second feed and dusted with a multivitamin supplement once a week. A small bottle top of pure calcium powder should be available at all times in the enclosure. Leopard Geckos under 4 months should be fed about 5 crickets/mealworms every day. Gutload mealworms by feeding them oatmeal and apple with a piece of potato to act as a water supply.
Water:
Fresh water should be available constantly for your leopard geckos in a stable, shallow dish. Water should be boiled and left to stand overnight before use unless you use a reptile safe de-chlorinator before giving to the leopard geckos.
Sexing:
Sexing leopard geckos is not hard when they have matured at a size of 5"-6" (12.5cm - 15cm) and one way of differentiating female and male leopard geckos is that male leopard geckos have visible femoral pores between their hindlegs whereas female leopard geckos do not. To add to that male leopard geckos have hemipenal bulges at the base of their tail whilst female leopard geckos do not.
Breeding:
Males should 40g and females should be 50g before they are bred with females being preferably 2 years of age. Eggs should be removed daily from the nesting box and carefully placed in an airtight container on a bed of moist vermiculite and placed inside an incubator. Maintain the orientation of the egg by marking the top of the egg with a marker pen. Leopard geckos can be temperature sexed: Females 80-82F, Males 88-90F and Mixed 85-86F. Containers should be opened twice a week to allow fresh air and remove condensation from the lid. The eggs should hatch in about 2 months depending on the incubation temperature. Retire females after 4 breeding years.
Recommended Reading: