Setting up a Leopard Gecko is pretty straight forward. Please bare in mind, I live in the UK, so I work in feet and inches, not gallons, and I work in Degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit.
They should be kept separately. I learnt the hard way that even Geckos that have live happily for a long time, will eventually fight for dominance and you will end up with injured Geckos.
If you want to keep them in groups, please please please have spare vivariums on stand-by.
Vivarium - This must be a MINIMUM of 2ft Long, 1ft Deep. You will likely find that this
ends up being too small for an adult Gecko, so you can add shelves for extra levels and floor space or upgrade to a bigger vivarium.
Heat & Lighting - Leopard Geckos do not require a UVB Light, that's not to say you can't use one. They are a Crepuscular reptile, meaning that they are most active at Dawn and Dusk. If you want to use a UBV light, no more that 2% should be used.
In the wild, Leopard Geckos use rocks heated by the sun during the day to aid in the digestion of their food. They sleep in rock crevices or burrows during the day to escape the day time heat. As the sun sets,
they emerge and flatten their bellies on the warmed rocks, this is them ‘Basking’, they will then go hunting and bask again to digest their food. There are many ways to recreate this in captivity, and what works for on Gecko,
may not work for another.
I can only advise on how I heat mine.
All of my guys are heated using a heatmat attached to a Pulse Thermostat. Each heatmat is statted to reach a temperature of 33C and is at that temperatre 24/7.
Thermoregulation - Leopard Geckos are reptiles, meaning they are cold-blooded. They will move about their
vivarium between the hot and cold ends to regulate their body temperatures, this is why it is IMPERATIVE that you create the correct temperatures at both ends and that there is a marked difference in those temperatures.
The hot end should range between 31-33 Degrees Celsius.
The cold end should ideally not drop below 24 Degrees Celsius.
Controlling Temperatures - Heatmats and lights malfunction. You must have a fail safe in place to prevent this. You need a Thermostat to control the temperatures of the mats and lights. I use a pulse proportional thermostat on my mats. Thermostats have dials on them that you turn to set the temperature; they are not accurate. You will also need a digital thermometer to read the actual temperature over the heat
mat/under the light. Most thermostat dials are about 3 Degrees Celsius out so it's a case of playing around with the dial until you reach the correct temperature.
Substrate -
This is the term used to describe the material you use on the floor of the Vivarium. There are many different substrates you can use; some more controversial than others. I’ll list below the most common SAFER Substrates and the pros and cons for each. I will not include how aesthetically pleasing
they are, that is down to each owners personal preference.
PROS - Very natural substrate allowing geckos to dig, burrow and scratch about. Hols heat very well. Easy to keep clean once set hard.
CONS - Quite expensive, very messy to set yup. You will need to occasionally but more to replace heavily soiled areas. Live food can hide and you will end up with singing crickets.
Substrates I will never use due the the HUGE risk of Impaction even with perfect husbandry.
Calcium Sand
Wood Chip (beach, bark, cocoa)
Aspen Bedding
Compost
Pea Gravel
Grit
Sawdust
Decorations & Hides - Leopard Geckos should receive mental stimulation to prevent then from going ga ga, they get a lot of this from hunting their food; but they will also need decoration in their vivariums to keep their brain ticking. Leopard Geckos love to climb (despite what the shops will tell you); they don’t have sticky feed but they have tiny claws. It’s a good idea to create shelves or Platforms in the vivariums to increase the floor space and allow them to climb to different heights. You can make or buy backgrounds to stick to the back of the vivarium which creates an artificial rock face. You should have one warm end hide on top of the heatmat, one cool end hide at the far end of the vivarium and one moisture hide in the middle. A moisture hide is a hide the gecko will (normally) use when they are shedding and it is essential. You should fill the hide with Sphagnum moss or Damp Kitchen Towel or a Flannel and keep it damp by spraying it a little every day.
Hides can be bought from Reptile Shops or you can make your own from butter tubs or ice cream pots.
Every vivarium should ideally have a flat rock in the hot end so it can be warmed by which ever heat source you choose. You can also include fake Cacti and logs for your gecko to climb over, but bare in mind
that they do appreciate floor space, so try not to clutter the place up too much, it will also make hunting very hard if there are obstacles at every turn. Also be mindful of shelf height to floor level, just because they like to climb doesn't make the good at it.
Diet & Supplementing - Leopard Geckos are strictly Insectivorous, you must not feed your gecko fruit or
vegetables. In the UK, there are loads of different insects you can feed your gecko; a varied diet is an absolute must! It is also important to feed your gecko LIVE insects. A dead insect or canned insects are not nutritionally viable and provide your gecko with absolutely no mental stimulation. You should care for your live food properly, while the bugs are in your home, they are your responsibility and it is your job, considering the purpose for their existence, to make sure they are properly looked after. All live food must be gut loaded (fed before being fed). The list below are the available invertebrates for sale in the UK as a food source for your
Gecko, and how to look after them.
Every insect you feed your Geckos should be dusted with the proper Supplement. There are many brands out there that claim to be the best, but in my experience, you will not beat Repashy Leopard Gecko Calcium
Plus for pet geckos, it seems to lack in calcium for breeding animals. Using this eliminated the need to switch between Nutrobal and Calcium +D3 powders. Repashy is with out contest, the most complete supplement available. You can only buy it online, I get mine from Amazon. I always have a Milk Bottle Top of Pure Calcium powder in the vivariums anyway, so the Geckos can self supplement if the feel like they need to.
I also have a bowl of Repashy Dusted Mealworms in every Vivarium 24/7.
My adult Geckos are fed Locusts/Cockroaches/Morio Worms/Silkworms/ every 2-3 days. The
amount of each food item offered differs from Gecko to Gecko, it’s down to you to get to know how much your Gecko will eat.
Weight Progress - Every Leopard Gecko will reach a different adult weight. Males normally surpass 75g and females normally reach about 65g. There are exceptions to this, I have females that are into the 100gs. At about 2 years old a Leopard Gecko will stop growing and continue to plump up; they get fat very easily if you let them, so you have to keep an eye on it. Leopard Geckos should have a FAT, SQUISHY TAIL! Some will
also develop Calcium Pockets under their arms, these will appear and disappear at random and are a GOOD thing. Average weight gain for a hatchling is 2-6g a week. They should be fed as much as they will eat, every night until they start to become disinterested or eat less. Once mine start to eat, maybe less than 5 locusts, ect per night, I switch them to being fed every other day and once they start to want less again, every 3 days. Geckos should be weighed regularly and a progress chart should be kept. Any dramatic weight loss’ should be taken seriously and the Gecko should be taken to a Vet and/or have a faecal test done. It is normal for the weight of an adult Gecko to fluctuate a bit, but a massive drop, say 10g in a week needs looking at.
Handling - New geckos will take a while to settle in. No handling should be attempted until the Gecko is eating regularly. Baby Geckos and un-handled Geckos will be scared of being held, to them you are a predator. To get them accustomed to being held you should sit still next to the vivarium with your hand placed palm side up on the substrate. Start with just a minute, the next day 2 minutes, and so on. The Gecko will start to become used to the smell of your hand and will come over to investigate. Do not move your hand. The Gecko will walk over it and will eventually see you as a form of escape and climb up your arm, et voilà You will, hopefully, now find they your Gecko will allow you to just go in and pick it up, to do so, cup both hands under the Gecko and
cradle it out. There are some Geckos that will never tame down and will always be scared; you should be prepared to have an animal you might never be able to hold, and not just ‘get rid of it’
when you get bored.
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They should be kept separately. I learnt the hard way that even Geckos that have live happily for a long time, will eventually fight for dominance and you will end up with injured Geckos.
If you want to keep them in groups, please please please have spare vivariums on stand-by.
Vivarium - This must be a MINIMUM of 2ft Long, 1ft Deep. You will likely find that this
ends up being too small for an adult Gecko, so you can add shelves for extra levels and floor space or upgrade to a bigger vivarium.
Heat & Lighting - Leopard Geckos do not require a UVB Light, that's not to say you can't use one. They are a Crepuscular reptile, meaning that they are most active at Dawn and Dusk. If you want to use a UBV light, no more that 2% should be used.
In the wild, Leopard Geckos use rocks heated by the sun during the day to aid in the digestion of their food. They sleep in rock crevices or burrows during the day to escape the day time heat. As the sun sets,
they emerge and flatten their bellies on the warmed rocks, this is them ‘Basking’, they will then go hunting and bask again to digest their food. There are many ways to recreate this in captivity, and what works for on Gecko,
may not work for another.
I can only advise on how I heat mine.
All of my guys are heated using a heatmat attached to a Pulse Thermostat. Each heatmat is statted to reach a temperature of 33C and is at that temperatre 24/7.
Thermoregulation - Leopard Geckos are reptiles, meaning they are cold-blooded. They will move about their
vivarium between the hot and cold ends to regulate their body temperatures, this is why it is IMPERATIVE that you create the correct temperatures at both ends and that there is a marked difference in those temperatures.
The hot end should range between 31-33 Degrees Celsius.
The cold end should ideally not drop below 24 Degrees Celsius.
Controlling Temperatures - Heatmats and lights malfunction. You must have a fail safe in place to prevent this. You need a Thermostat to control the temperatures of the mats and lights. I use a pulse proportional thermostat on my mats. Thermostats have dials on them that you turn to set the temperature; they are not accurate. You will also need a digital thermometer to read the actual temperature over the heat
mat/under the light. Most thermostat dials are about 3 Degrees Celsius out so it's a case of playing around with the dial until you reach the correct temperature.
Substrate -
This is the term used to describe the material you use on the floor of the Vivarium. There are many different substrates you can use; some more controversial than others. I’ll list below the most common SAFER Substrates and the pros and cons for each. I will not include how aesthetically pleasing
they are, that is down to each owners personal preference.
Kitchen Towel -
PROS - Cheap, easy to clean and sterile. Heatmats easily penetrate trough it and Geckos are easily warmed.
CONS - It allows the live food to escape under it, and will also allow baby geckos to get stuck and
lost. It’s sometimes seen as a fire hazard, as it’s paper and you’re dealing with electrics. Little to no chance of substrate impaction. I use this.- Lino -
PROS - Cheap, easy to clean and sterile. It’s fire proof. It can be cut exactly to size and be sealed into the vivarium to prevent Live food escaping. No chance of Substrate Impaction.
CONS - Can sometime give of toxic fumes if it's a self-adhesive tile, is sometimes heat resistant (depending on brand) and can block the heat from the mat. I also use this. - Tiles (Kitchen/Slate) -
PROS -Easy to clean and sterile on the surface. Fire proof and disperses heat nicely, also holds heat for prolonged periods. Provides lots of grip if they aren’t glossy tiles. No Chance
of Substrate Impaction.
CONS - Can be sharp. Gaps in the joins of two tiles can mean tiny gecko toes get trapped, and faecal matter can become ingrained in those joins. - Play Sand -
PROS - Cheap, easy to clean. Disperses and holds heat. Allows Geckos to dig, proving mental stimulation. Provides good purchase for Gecko feet.
CONS - Allows live food (mealworms) to burrow and get away, can be ingested and should not be used for Geckos under 30g EVER. High chance of substrate impaction if correct temperatures
and supplementation aren’t met and if the Gecko is too small/young. - Reptile Carpet -
PROS - Easy to clean, and easy to find in all reptile shops; and be cut to size and put in the washing machine to re-use. Allows heat to pass through easily and holds the heat a bit. No Chance of Substrate Impaction.
CONS - Can be tricky for Geckos to walk on as they can get their claws caught in the fibres and it allows Live food to escape underneath. Faecal matter will soak into the fibres meaning it will need washing/changing regularly.
PROS - Very natural substrate allowing geckos to dig, burrow and scratch about. Hols heat very well. Easy to keep clean once set hard.
CONS - Quite expensive, very messy to set yup. You will need to occasionally but more to replace heavily soiled areas. Live food can hide and you will end up with singing crickets.
Substrates I will never use due the the HUGE risk of Impaction even with perfect husbandry.
Calcium Sand
Wood Chip (beach, bark, cocoa)
Aspen Bedding
Compost
Pea Gravel
Grit
Sawdust
Decorations & Hides - Leopard Geckos should receive mental stimulation to prevent then from going ga ga, they get a lot of this from hunting their food; but they will also need decoration in their vivariums to keep their brain ticking. Leopard Geckos love to climb (despite what the shops will tell you); they don’t have sticky feed but they have tiny claws. It’s a good idea to create shelves or Platforms in the vivariums to increase the floor space and allow them to climb to different heights. You can make or buy backgrounds to stick to the back of the vivarium which creates an artificial rock face. You should have one warm end hide on top of the heatmat, one cool end hide at the far end of the vivarium and one moisture hide in the middle. A moisture hide is a hide the gecko will (normally) use when they are shedding and it is essential. You should fill the hide with Sphagnum moss or Damp Kitchen Towel or a Flannel and keep it damp by spraying it a little every day.
Hides can be bought from Reptile Shops or you can make your own from butter tubs or ice cream pots.
Every vivarium should ideally have a flat rock in the hot end so it can be warmed by which ever heat source you choose. You can also include fake Cacti and logs for your gecko to climb over, but bare in mind
that they do appreciate floor space, so try not to clutter the place up too much, it will also make hunting very hard if there are obstacles at every turn. Also be mindful of shelf height to floor level, just because they like to climb doesn't make the good at it.
Diet & Supplementing - Leopard Geckos are strictly Insectivorous, you must not feed your gecko fruit or
vegetables. In the UK, there are loads of different insects you can feed your gecko; a varied diet is an absolute must! It is also important to feed your gecko LIVE insects. A dead insect or canned insects are not nutritionally viable and provide your gecko with absolutely no mental stimulation. You should care for your live food properly, while the bugs are in your home, they are your responsibility and it is your job, considering the purpose for their existence, to make sure they are properly looked after. All live food must be gut loaded (fed before being fed). The list below are the available invertebrates for sale in the UK as a food source for your
Gecko, and how to look after them.
- Crickets (Black or Brown) - Transfer them from the little box they come in, to a larger, well ventilated tub, a 15ltr RUB with lots of air holes works well. Use crushed Bran or porridge oats on the floor of the tub and a half an egg box for them to hide in and climb. Feed them on carrot peelings, orange segments and
lettuce. I occasionally dust the orange segments with PURE Calcium Power, just to
give my Geckos an extra boost. Make sure the tub they are in isn't too damp, they will die. - Locusts - These need A LOT of heat, so it’s best if you can keep them in a vivarium of their own and use a heat lamp to warm them. The same flooring as crickets if fine, or you can use sand. Locusts are veracious
feeders and will need constant access to food. I also leave branches in there for them to climb on. They also need to be kept very dry or they will die. - Dubia Cockroaches - These also need to be warm, I have mine in a Large Tub from Wilko with lots of air holes, and use a heatmat to warm them. They have crushed porridge oats as flooring and I feed them on grated carrots and Go Cat biscuits. Dubia’s will breed like rabbits if you give them the chance so they are a good staple if you have a gecko that will eat them as you can breed your own and save money.
They like to hide, I have a piece of Corkbark in my tub as they can flatten themselves on it. - Mealworms - I keep and breed Mealworms, they are SO easy to breed and as I have a bowl of mealies in every Gecko’s vivarium 24/7 it's a huge money saving technique. I have 3, well ventilated, shallow tubs (I think they are 5ltr RUBs). Each tub is filled with crushed Weetabix, fish food flakes and sprinkled with Vionate. They are fed cabbage, half dried carrot peel and crushed porridge oats, too much moisture will kill them. If you don’t want to breed your Mealworms and don’t want them to pupate, keep the worms in the fridge and bring them out 24 hours before feeding them to your gecko so you can give them some carrot to eat before they have to be eaten.
- Morio Worms - The care and breeding of these is much the same a
Mealworms except, in order for them to pupate, they need more heat, just like Locusts
and Dubias. Morios can bite quite hard, so it's best to leave them to the bug geckos.
Most Geckos will not eat the Pupae or the Beetles of Mealworms or Morio Worms, they will normally only eat the worms. - Wax Worms - These are to be fed only as a treat as they are full of fat and not much else. I don’t move these from their Pots/Tubs, but I do keep them on top of a vivarium to keep them warm. My Geckos get 2 Wax Worms once a week.
- Silkworms - These are a fantastic source of protein, calcium and fat for geckos, probably a gecko super food. They require a special diet of Mulberry Chow in order to keep them alive and they need heat. They are breedable too, you can buy starter kits for around £30. My guys love them; I find these easier to keep/breed in the summer.
Every insect you feed your Geckos should be dusted with the proper Supplement. There are many brands out there that claim to be the best, but in my experience, you will not beat Repashy Leopard Gecko Calcium
Plus for pet geckos, it seems to lack in calcium for breeding animals. Using this eliminated the need to switch between Nutrobal and Calcium +D3 powders. Repashy is with out contest, the most complete supplement available. You can only buy it online, I get mine from Amazon. I always have a Milk Bottle Top of Pure Calcium powder in the vivariums anyway, so the Geckos can self supplement if the feel like they need to.
I also have a bowl of Repashy Dusted Mealworms in every Vivarium 24/7.
My adult Geckos are fed Locusts/Cockroaches/Morio Worms/Silkworms/ every 2-3 days. The
amount of each food item offered differs from Gecko to Gecko, it’s down to you to get to know how much your Gecko will eat.
Weight Progress - Every Leopard Gecko will reach a different adult weight. Males normally surpass 75g and females normally reach about 65g. There are exceptions to this, I have females that are into the 100gs. At about 2 years old a Leopard Gecko will stop growing and continue to plump up; they get fat very easily if you let them, so you have to keep an eye on it. Leopard Geckos should have a FAT, SQUISHY TAIL! Some will
also develop Calcium Pockets under their arms, these will appear and disappear at random and are a GOOD thing. Average weight gain for a hatchling is 2-6g a week. They should be fed as much as they will eat, every night until they start to become disinterested or eat less. Once mine start to eat, maybe less than 5 locusts, ect per night, I switch them to being fed every other day and once they start to want less again, every 3 days. Geckos should be weighed regularly and a progress chart should be kept. Any dramatic weight loss’ should be taken seriously and the Gecko should be taken to a Vet and/or have a faecal test done. It is normal for the weight of an adult Gecko to fluctuate a bit, but a massive drop, say 10g in a week needs looking at.
Handling - New geckos will take a while to settle in. No handling should be attempted until the Gecko is eating regularly. Baby Geckos and un-handled Geckos will be scared of being held, to them you are a predator. To get them accustomed to being held you should sit still next to the vivarium with your hand placed palm side up on the substrate. Start with just a minute, the next day 2 minutes, and so on. The Gecko will start to become used to the smell of your hand and will come over to investigate. Do not move your hand. The Gecko will walk over it and will eventually see you as a form of escape and climb up your arm, et voilà You will, hopefully, now find they your Gecko will allow you to just go in and pick it up, to do so, cup both hands under the Gecko and
cradle it out. There are some Geckos that will never tame down and will always be scared; you should be prepared to have an animal you might never be able to hold, and not just ‘get rid of it’
when you get bored.
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