CARE AND HUSBANDRY
Leopard geckos are very low maintenance in comparison to other reptiles commonly kept as pets, making them an ideal 'starter' lizard. The minimum vivarium size for one leopard gecko is 2' x 1', height is not really an issue as they are terrestrial and tend to stay on the ground A larger vivarium with more floor space is preferable. You can use a wooden vivarium, a glass vivarium or even a tub to house your gecko its personal choice really they each have advantages and disadvantages, work out what is best for you. Personally I prefer the wooden vivariums and I like to make them as comfortable as possible for my geckos. I will include pictures on my site to give you an idea how they are housed. Leos need lots of hiding places to make them feel secure, you should have a minimum of 2 hides in your vivarium for one gecko, and these can be anything from shop bought reptile hides to homemade hides. .Margarine tubs with a 2inch hole cut in for access work very well. You should also have a humid hide this is to help your gecko to shed their old skin. These are usually small dens with damp kitchen towel, vermiculite or moss. Again you can use a homemade margarine or Tupperware tub.
In order to properly digest their food, leopard geckos need a warm spot of 88-94F. This is achieved by using a Heat Mat or a Heat Cable.
A heat mat gives Leopard Geckos the heat they need. Since they are crepuscular animals, Leopard Geckos do not get their heat from the sun, but from the rocks that have absorbed the heat from the sun. The heat mat should cover about a third of the floor space of the vivarium, give or take a little. EVERY heat source should be controlled thermostatically with the probe on the floor touching the heat source. Failing to provide proper regulated temperatures can lead to disastrous consequences you can burn or even kill your leopard gecko or worse still burn down your house. You can also put a digital thermometer with a probe in your vivarium making monitoring temperatures at a glance very easy. We use an infra red thermometer to check our temperatures as they are more accurate than any other thermometer. Do not use the stick on dial thermometers as they have been known to be out as much as 20F.
Substrate is what you use as the flooring of your vivarium, it is a highly debated area as to what to use as a substrate.
Ideal substrates are paper towel, newspaper, reptile carpet, astro turf, shelf liner, lino or a natural look slate tile. I personally use vinyl floor tiles in my vivariums it looks nice is really easy and quick to clean out and there is no risk to your leopard gecko as it is a none particulate (loose) substrate. Do not use wood chip or sand substrate this can become lodged in the digestive system blocking them from ingesting food and tearing through the lower digestive system. Even when using sand that is advertised as digestible there is a risk of impaction that could potentially kill a leopard gecko. Calcium Sand in my personal opinion is one of the worse substrates it is said to be digestible but the truth is it sets like concrete when wet causing horrific blockages and death. Being calcium base it encourages leopard geckos to eat it. There are arguments to say only calcium depleted geckos will in fact ingest the sand; however there are many very well fed looked after animals that have become impacted and died because of this and other loose particle substrate
If you are going to use sand you can use children's play sand as it is extremely fine and screened for human use. The choice is yours as to what substrate to use, this is only my opinion. Some say sand has a small risk of impaction but I think a small risk is too high for my pets.
Below is a picture of a post mortem of a leopard gecko impacted with fine grade bark sold as a substrate specifically for reptiles. The bottom picture is of a leopard gecko x-ray impacted with reptile sand.
Before you get your leopard gecko it is advised to have your vivarium set up and running for a couple of days so you can get the correct temps needed and tweak it a little till its spot on.
What you need for a 'basic' set up for one leopard gecko is
2'x1' vivarium should cost around £40 if buying from a shop
Heat mat that covers approximately 1/3rd of the floor space. There are lots
of different manufacturers of heat mats. Prices range from £6-£20 depending on size and brand.Mat Stat 100w - You should ALWAYS have any heat source connected to a stat so your mat does not over heat and harm your leopard gecko. There are two main manufacturers of these, Habistat and Microclimate. This should cost you around £20
Flooring - we use vinyl tiles from the pound shops but you can use lino, kitchen roll, and news paper. I would never advise using a loose substrate especially with hatchlings.
Hides (including moist hide) - these can be used out of anything; we use Hamster houses which they love. Prices range from £1-£20
Substrate for moist hide-kitchen roll, eco earth, moss. Depending on what you go for prices range from £2-5
Food Bowls and Water Bowls - Once again you can use a variety of things from the reptile branded ones to tea light holders. We use lee's mealworm bowls also little hamster dishes and sofa castors (the ones u put under the legs).
Decor - You can use anything you want to decorate. In our vivariums we have big pieces of bark, hamster play toys, and plastic plants. You can get stuff from anywhere just make sure these are disinfected.
There are a few ways to disinfect any wood or other decor you are putting in your vivarium. The 1st was is bake in a hot oven for 20-30mins this will kill any nasties, the 2nd way is put it in the freezer for a couple of days again this will kill nasties, the 3rd way is soak in a diluted bleach solution 5-10% bleach to water then rinse thoroughly and leave to dry.
Unlike us leopard geckos skin does not stretch or grow with them, they need to shed their old skin when they grow. This is where the humid hide is used, it helps soften the old skin so they can get it off easily. When your leopard gecko is about to shed you will see that they go a milky colour and they may also go off their food. Once a leopard gecko has pulled the shed skin off, they will usually eat. It is not really known why they eat it some say for the nutrients that may be in it but it is most probable they are removing any clue they were there from predators Other ways of helping them shed is to add a piece of large bark, or another natural-looking, rough (not sharp) surfaced ornament for the gecko to rub up against. If the skin doesn't come all the way off their toes you should soak the feet in tepid water and then try to gently roll it off with a cotton bud. If the shed is left especially on their toes the skin will tighten and restrict blood flow resulting in the loss of toes.
Here is a picture of our Murphy patternless Peppa, she had shed stuck on her toes when she came to us and it was too late to save her toes. Not having them doesn't make any difference at all on her ability to walk and climb but I am sure she would be happier not to have gone through this very painful process.
Male Leopard Geckos have more noticeable V-Shaped Preanal Pores.
Male Leopard Geckos show two hemipenal bulges on the base of their tail
Females Leopard Gecko's femoral pores virtually non-existing.
Females Leopard Gecko's preanal pores are virtually non-existing.
Female Leopard Geckos do not have 2 hemipenal bulges at the base of their tails
