Reptile Specialists - Tucson, Arizona

Leopard Geckos

Latin Name - Eublepharis macularius

General Information: Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are found mostly throughout the middle east (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Western India.) Most of the geckos in the pet trade are descendants from Pakistan. They reside in deserts and arid grasslands. Unlike the more tropical geckos, the leopards have movable eyelids and lack the toe pads which allow them to climb glass and other vertical surfaces. These lizards are nocturnal and can reach an average of 8 inches within 8 months to 1 year. They can live 10-20 years in captivity.

Leopard Geckos as Pets: Leopard Geckos make a very good pet for young children or even adults that are looking for a small, friendly and inexpensive pet. They remain healthy on a diet of mainly crickets and require no special lighting.

Housing: An adult leopard gecko needs a minimum of a 10 gallon terrarium, although a 20 gallon is ideal and works well for housing two or three. They live together peacefully as long as they are similar sizes. Sometimes mature males will fight regardless of space and size.

Substrate:  Leopard geckos naturally ingest their substrate as an extra source of calcium and minerals. Anything used must be able to pass through the system without harming your lizard. This is especially true when housing babies. Dried, fine coconut husk, dried, packed down peat moss, millet, or alfalfa pellets all work well for babies. Once they reach 4 or 5 inches, calcium carbonate sand is a great substrate. The sand can be sifted once a week and rarely needs to be changed. Beddings that should always be avoided include cedar, which causes respiratory problems, and walnut shell, silica sand or ground corn cob which can all be extremely dangerous if swallowed. If you notice your gecko ingesting a large amount of substrate or if it is visible in the fecal matter, calcium supplementation should be added to the crickets. You may also place a small dish of calcium carbonate (without D3) in the terrarium for the lizard to munch on instead. D3 is essential for the absorption of calcium but is poisonous in excessive quantities.

Heating:  Leopard Geckos require one side of the tank to be around 88-95 degrees F; the cooler side should be 80-85. At night, they can tolerate drops into the mid 70s. Under-tank heat pads work well with thin layers of substrate. (If it is more than one inch thick, the heat will not conduct all the way through). Alternately a nocturnal heat lamp can be placed on top of the terrarium. A 50 or 60 watt bulb is usually enough on ten gallon terrariums and twenty gallons usually require a 75 watt bulb. For more information visit our Light and Heat FAQ.

Feeding:  Leopard Geckos are insectivores. Crickets should be the staple part of a leopard gecko's diet. Mealworms, Super-worms, Wax-worms, and/or pinky mice may be offered occasionally for variety. An average adult leopard gecko will eat 3-5 crickets every day. Baby geckos should be fed as much as they will eat twice a day as their metabolisms are faster at younger ages. Supplementation is also important. Prey items can be dusted with calcium and vitamins. A pinch per animal twice a week is sufficient or once a day for babies.

Humidity Chambers and Shedding:  Leopard Geckos require humidity chambers to properly shed their skin. If left without one, skin can build up around the toes and eyes and, in the dry environment, become infected or cut off digits. Any well-enclosed cave will do, filled with a few inches of moist Bed a Beast® or Vermiculite and topped with wet moss. The moss will help hold in the moisture so you don't have to spray it as often. These chambers also work well for egg laying if you are breeding.

Sexing: Sexing leopard geckos before they are mature can be tricky but once they are at least 5 inches long it becomes much easier. The males have a V-shaped row of preanal pores lining the inside of their thighs, just before the vent. These pores exude a waxy substance and become enlarged when the male is mature. They are barely noticeable, if at all, in females since they don't excrete any waxy substance. Males also have two large hemipenile bulges right after the vent at the base of the tail which are absent in females.

Sexing Leopard Geckos

 

Breeding:

Set up: To breed leopard geckos you must first make sure you have a sexed pair. It is almost impossible to sex babies and even young juveniles so you may have to wait a few months before you can accurately determine what you have. Of if you are purchasing babies with breeding in mind, ask the dealer to tell you what temperature they were incubated at. Leopard geckos are one of many reptiles whose sex is determined by the temperature that the eggs were incubated. 77-82 degrees will produce females, while 87-92 will produce males. Anything in between will produce a little of both. Once you have a male and a female it is fairly simple. The first step is to set up the environment. It is very important to provide a nesting chamber as soon as you put the geckos together. Even if they have not been together long enough to mate, female leopard geckos may lay infertile eggs and she will require a nesting site. You can use the same concept as a humidity chamber and you can even use the same chamber just be sure that it has at least two or three inches of moist bedding so that the female gecko can bury her eggs. ZooMed's ReptiShelter® 3 in 1 Cave is one of our favorites for making a natural looking nest box. You can also use small Rubbermaid containers with a hole cut in the top if you don't mind the aesthetic aspects. Also, the female gecko will be laying a lot of eggs and therefore, her calcium levels will be easily depleted. To prevent calcium deficiency, be sure to give your geckos calcium as mentioned above. We leave a dish of calcium in the cage all year round for the geckos to lick up. Again, be sure not to use one with D3 in it as over supplementation of D3 can be fatal.

The Season: Leopard Geckos do not require exact temperature or lighting variation to induce breeding behavior. Most households will experience a slight drop in temperature part of the year and this is enough to stimulate the geckos. Breeding season is generally from February through August and the female may lay 1-2 eggs every 2 to 3 weeks during this time. The rest of the year is recuperation time for the female. You will know that you gecko is gravid (pregnant) because the eggs become visible through their almost transparent skin. You will see one on each side of her belly. Do not be alarmed if your female stops eating right before she lays, this is normal behavior.

Eggs: After eggs have been laid, you will need to place them in an incubator. Shortly after being laid, the embryo attaches itself to the wall of the egg. If you change the orientation of the egg at all when removing it from the nesting box, the baby inside will drown. Some breeders use a Sharpie marker to mark the visible side of the egg before attempting the remove it, this way, if something should happen and the egg gets turned around, you will still know which direction to place up again. Shoe box sized Rubbermaid containers make excellent incubation mediums. Fill the container with an inch or two of moist substrate again. We usually use Bed a Beast® but you can also use perlite, or vermiculite or a mixture. You will want to mist the mixture evenly, layer by layer so that it is all moist but not wet. You want it to create a humid environment. Dig a little hole with one finger and place the egg in it. Then push the mixture back up around the egg so that it fits snuggly into the mixture but is not covered. If your eggs are stuck together (this is often a good sign), do not rip them apart, just place them in together. Once the eggs are in, place the lid on the container and start incubating! We usually poke one or two tiny holes in the container for ventilation but any more than that will dry it out.

Incubation: There are several different options for incubating eggs. Many of our customer build their own incubators. You can do this very simply. First you will need a ten gallon aquarium with a lid. The lid needs to hold in humidity so you can use the all glass lids that are sold for fish aquariums. Place a brick in the middle of the aquarium with your egg box on top of it. Fill the aquarium with water so that it is touching the egg box or coming part of the way up but not covering it. Place an underwater heater in the water and set your temperature. Use one of the heaters with a sensor and thermostat attached. You can set the temperature anywhere from 77-92 degrees. The hotter the temperature, the faster they will hatch, however it will also produce all males making it a difficulty housing them together if you keep them for very long. We usually set our incubator somewhere in the middle unless we specifically need one sex or the other. Once a week, go in and make sure your eggs are staying humid but not too moist. Lift the lid of the container to give it some airflow. If mold is beginning to grow, you can wipe it off with a very slightly moist towel. If you do not want to mess with it, you can talk to us and we will incubate for you.

Hatchlings: After 36-105 days, depending on incubation temperature, you will end up with a clutch of leopard gecko hatchlings. After slicing through the top, they may still remain inside the egg for a few hours or a day while absorbing the remainder of the yolk. Once they emerge, place them in a small terrarium with moist paper towels and a shallow water dish. Give them a couple days before attempting to feed them, at which point you may offer a couple small crickets. If they are ready to eat these, keep offering more until they eat their fill. It is important to feed hatchling leopard geckos at least once or twice a day for the first few weeks. Also make sure there are not too many crickets in the terrarium at once as they can chew on your lizards. Just put in what will be eaten in a day.