Leopard Gecko Care Sheet
My experience
Leopard geckos are great for beginners and experts, leopard geckos make great pets and they only need simple care also they are really simple to breed which can be exciting to watch! Leopard geckos come in loads of different morphs and colours, leopard geckos are nocturnal which means they sleep in the day and wake up at night. My leopard geckos like to some times explore their home day and night which is great because its shows their really active which shows they are healthy along with their fat tails, having a fat tail is great as leos store all there fat there. Now i am going to go through a care sheet for what i have learned for the past year and a half, this will be to help out all the new beginner's.
Housing leopard geckos
A 6 month old leopard gecko would do fine in a 23'' vivarium as having to much space will make the gecko uncomfortable and older leopard gecko will need more space so a 34'' vivarium would be ideal.
A 34'' will also be great for housing up to 3 female leopard geckos just remember they will need lots of hides not just two, ONLY house female leopard geckos together as having males together will fight and some times to death!
Hides
Leopard geckos need at least two hides, one at the cool end and one at the hot end of the vivarium this will give the leopard gecko the choice to move to the hot side or the cool side.
Moist hide
Leopard geckos need a moist hide in the vivarium all the time, they also like to rest in them. Having a moist hide helps the gecko out with removing their skin when they are shredding, moist hides can be filled with damp moss or damp kitchen towel.
Lighting
Leopard geckos need to know when its day and night time, you can use a normal light bulb or led light bulb which i prefer . Leopard geckos DO NOT need any UV lighting or artificial lighting like other reptiles do.
Heating
Heating is really important to have a healthy leopard gecko. Leopard geckos need to thermo - regulate as they don't produce their own body heat and its very important that you have a heat mat covering a 3rd of the vivarium so they can digest their food as they take heat in through their belly. DONT buy a heat rock as theses will burn your leopard gecko because they don't know when to get off.
Temperature and humidity
Leopard geckos need a hot side on the floor between 86-90 degrees Fahrenheit and a cool side of 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity should be between 45-70% humidity don't worry if the humidity 80% as this will don't be a problem, just make sure the humidity doesn't go below 45% as this will be to try for the leopard geckos.
Leopard geckos need a hot side on the floor between 86-90 degrees Fahrenheit and a cool side of 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity should be between 45-70% humidity don't worry if the humidity 80% as this will don't be a problem, just make sure the humidity doesn't go below 45% as this will be to try for the leopard geckos.
Substrate
There are several different substrates out there but some you should not have like sand or calcium or any other small substrate as this can lead to impaction and can lead to death! unless you take your gecko to a vet. Here are some of the safe substrates: reptile carpet, slate tile/ceramic tile. I would highly recommend slate tile/ceramic tile as it takes in the heat well and can don't be eaten :)
Shedding
Leopard geckos shed their skin every 2-5 weeks you will be able to tell as their skin colour will darken to a grey colour. However you may not notice that they eat their skin don't worry if you see them doing it as this is really healthy for them as their skin provides them with vitamins and minerals.
You should always check all their shed skin is off, mainly check their toes and end of their tail as skin that is still on them will dry out which will lead to a missing toe. Having a moist hide will help them with their shedding, this will soften their shed skin which will help them to get all the shred skin off.
Food
A good rule is not to buy food no longer than the width of the leos head. Leopard geckos are insectivorous which means they are insect eaters, so make sure your able to get your hands on some insects, here's what leopard geckos can eat:
Crickets
you can buy crickets in different colours and all of them are fine for your leopard gecko to eat, i prefer the silent ones :D you can get brown house crickets, silent brown crickets, black field crickets and banded crickets.
Locusts
Locusts are a good diet for leopard geckos they also give your gecko high protein.
Mealworms
Mealworms are a good diet for geckos as this gives geckos high nutritional value. I would recommend having mealworms in the vivarium 24/7 as when the geckos are hungry they can have something to munch on. Don't offer to much though as they wont be that interested when it comes to feeding time.
Waxworms
Wax worms should only be fed as a treat not a staple diet as they are really high in fat and should only be fed 2-3 times a month.
Silkworms
Silkworms are sometimes hard to get hold of but if you can, get them as theses will give leopard geckos protein, vitamins and minerals. Remember silkworms have a short life up to two weeks so only buy what you need.
Feeding hatchlings
Hatchling baby leopard geckos can be fed up to 8 food items a day and adults can be fed up to 10 or more.
Water
Fresh clean water should be available 24/7 to leopard geckos as some geckos like to use their water bowl as a toilet. If your going to use tap water then you will need to get exo terra aquatize using this will eliminate harmful chemicals that are found in tap water. Tap water is not safe to use on its own without any water treatment.
Supplements
Calcium should be in the vivarium 24/7 as leopard geckos need it for strong bones without calcium your leopard gecko would get MBD which stands for metabolic bone disease is caused when the gecko has not had enough calcium.
You should dust the geckos food at least 5-7 days a week, calcium D3 should be used once a week and vitamin powder should be used once a week. Remember leopard geckos can not overdose on calcium but they can on vitamins!
Hygiene
Sport checking for feces should be done every day to keep the vivarium clean and to stop it smelling.
Cleaning the vivarium should be done once a month with reptile cleaning spray to get rid of bacteria and to stop your geckos getting problems.
Breeding
Breeding a leopard gecko is really easy however you should be thinking about if you have the following:
Do you have the money to keep female geckos in great health when breeding her?
Have you got a incubator for the eggs?
Will you have time to spend with hatchlings?
Do you have someone willing to buy your baby leopard geckos or will you have them all?
For breeding leopard geckos you will need one female and male they need to be one year old to breed and much have a weight of 45grams 50grams to be on the safe side. Have you got somewhere to put the eggs? you can buy a incubator or make your own like i have done, its really easy to do i will tell you more about that near the end. Do you have a rack system for the baby leopard geckos if not you can buy or make your own rack, i will also tell you about that soon.
Egg laying
Female leopard geckos will take up to 2-5 weeks to lay her eggs, females will lay two eggs at a time, some have been know to lay three eggs at one time.
Female stopped eating?
This is a normal sign that the female is about to lay also another sign will be that the female gecko will get restless and will tend to stay in one spot.
Where will my female lay her eggs?
You will need to provide a lay box which is a container filled with moss or other experts use vermiculate for more detail have a look on YouTube. Fill your lay box a 3rd or the way. My female laid her eggs in damp moss and is misted when the moss starts to dry out.
Fertile and infertile eggs
When the eggs are just born, the eggs will be yellow this does not mean they are infertile you will have to wait a week to see if the eggs are fertile or infertile. Look up some images there are good ones out there.
Candling the eggs
candling the eggs is easy, get yourself a good torch and shine up against the eggs but don't touch the eggs with the torch, leave a little gap between the egg and torch.
Incubating sex temperature
A leopard gecko is sex determined. This means you can determined the sex by incubating at different temperature. Incubating at 82 degrees Fahrenheit will give you female leopard gecko and incubating at 88 degrees Fahrenheit will give you male leopard geckos.
When will the eggs hatch?
From the date of the eggs being laid the eggs will take up to 30-60 days depending on what temperature your incubating at, it will take 30 days for males as the temperature is higher and 60 days for female eggs as they are set at a lower temperature.
I will post some pictures of my eggs when they hatch.
Now i will explain how to build your own incubator, its really easy.
1. Polystyrene Fish box, you should be able to get this for free from pets at home or your local reptile shop.
2. Slate tiles, i used slate tiles at the bottom of the polystyrene box. This spreads out the heat across the incubator better, you can get theses from homebase for £10.00 for a box of 25.
3. Heatmat you can buy them online or your local reptile shop, i would suggest you get a 6" x 11" heatmat which will cost £12.00
4. A rack of some sort, i got a metal drying rack, this will need to be in the incubator so your eggs aren't direct on the heatmat.
5. Habistat Temperature Thermostat this will be for controlling the heatmat temperature this costs £27.99 or if you find a cheaper one.
6. Digital thermometer, i would suggest getting two so you can see the temperature in the incubator and inside the egg laying box so you know the temperatures are right.
7. Digital Hygrometer cost £10.00 this will measure the humidity inside your egg container, so you know your eggs are at the right temperature. The humidity should be between 70-80% or a little over will be fine.
8. Egg nesting substrate you can use vermiculite which you can buy from a garden centre but make sure the vermiculite has no chemicals in or online from swell reptiles which cost £2.89, i got mine from B and Q which cost £4.00.
Do you have somewhere to house your baby leopard geckos?
You will need to invest in a rack system or build your own which is fairly easy, you can look on YouTube for more detail or search on google "building leopard gecko hatchling rack.
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