Leopard geckos for beginners
Leopard gecko's (Eublepharis Macularis) are widely regarded as THE beginners lizard. They are easy to keep and are generally quite forgiving of mistakes that beginners often make. This doesn't mean you can cut corners in research and husbandry, all pets should be cared for regardless of how easy this care may be.
- They are small and managable (6-9inches)
- They are good feeders
- They are docile and very handleable (there are of course exceptions)
- They are readily available as captive bred specimens.
- Any specialist equipment they might require (all reptiles require specialised equipment) is relatively cheap and readily available
- The temperatures they require are very easily achieved with basic reptile equipment
General leopard gecko care
Temperatures: Warm end of 88f, cool end of room temperature (75f or so)
Humidity: Room humidity at about 40%, make sure you offer a humid hide (a hide filled with slightly damp tissue or sphagnum moss which is at a higher humidity to the rest of the vivarium)
Vivarium size (young): Usually you will buy leopard gecko's at no younger than 4 weeks old (refuse to buy them any younger), at which point they will do fine in a 18x12x12in enclosure.
Vivarium size (adult): In my opinion you shouldn't even consider keeping and adult leopard gecko in anything less than 24x18x12in (LxWxH). Bigger is better providing the gecko can still catch its food
Feeding: Hatchling leopard gecko's should be fed daily, they eat ALOT, about 10-20 food items per sitting. Adults should be offered food every other day, their appetites will vary between specimens, as a rough guide 4-8 items should be offered. You will soon get used to what your gecko eats and how often. The bulk of the diet can be made up of crickets and locusts (although the price of locusts often means keepers use crickets as the bulk and use locusts as a treat), mealworms can also be offered. For treats you can provide (in moderation) waxworms, silkworms, butterworms, waxmoths, house spiders (if you can ensure they are pesticide free) and more. Generally speaking, as long as you know its 100% safe, and its an insect, theres no harm in trying it, your leopard gecko will either eat it or ignore it. Try to avoid leaving new food types in the vivarium, I'd recomend offering them with tweezers to start with.
Make sure you dust the food with the appropriate vitamin/calcium powers. For hatchlings every meal should be dusted with calcium and you should dust with a good reptile multivitamin (such as nutrobal) twice a week. For adults you should dust every other meal with calcium and dust with multivitamins once a week. A bowl of calcium should always be available within the vivarium. Gecko's are good at regulating calcium if its there but you should still dust.
Please note, use the above only as a rough guide and a starting/reference point. There is alot more to keeping leopard gecko's than that. For a more comprehensive care guide see our care sheets page.
So, you've decided you want a leopard gecko, but what do you need to buy?
I've compiled a basic list of the bare essentials required to keep a leopard gecko. Anything else you can add yourself providing you make sure its perfectly safe (no sharp edges, free from bacteria, poisons, pests, etc).
- An enclosure. This can be as simple as DIY storage tub, an old aquarium with a new lid or a special reptile vivarium (check out the DIY page for one of the best DIY vivarium guides you'll find on the internet).
- News paper or kitchen roll, this should be used as a substrate for youngsters all the time, it should be used for a few months with older geckos so you can easily spot any potential problems (mites, parasites, etc). Once the gecko is 6inches or longer it can be kept on sanb but be warned there is always an impaction risk. Avoid calci-sand like the plague, its nasty stuff.
- 2 hides. One for the warm end and one for the cool end. These can be as simple as card board boxes wth holes cut in them, you can also use special reptile ones, pieces of bark, etc.
- A waterbowl, you can get reptile ones but any appropriately sized (should be big enough for the gecko to soak in and drink from) sloping bowl will suffice.
- A rock or rough surface to aid in shedding, if you are using bark or rock hides you don't need one of these.
- A moist hide, this is simply a 3rd hide like the others with someslightly damn sphagnum moss it to keep moisture up.
- Calcium powder (you can either buy a calcium powder specially for reptiles, or if you want to save some money you can grind up a cuttle fish bone, its 99% calcium, I do the latter)
- Reptile multivitamin, nutrobal is excellent.
- A bowl for the calcium, this can be a milk bottle cap a small plant pot saucer, or another small bowl.
- Heat mat, this should only cover a maximum of half of the vivarium (so if you had a 24x12in vivarium the maximum size heat mat for you would be 11x11in), generally aim for 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor space to be heated via the heat mat
- A thermostat, this is essential to control the heater. You would want what it known as a "mat stat" or a "temperature stat", these are inexpensive and an essential piece of kit. If you are planning on splashing out, get a pulse thermostat, these provide a more steady temperature but are more expensive.
- Thermometer, to monitor the temperature. Just because you have a thermostat doesn't mean you can slack off temperature monitoring
As I mentioned earlier they are the bare essentials, you can add more if you like. I like to add a few secure rocks for the gecko to scramble up and lie on. You could always build a fake rock background like I have for my leopard gecko. Details of that can be seen in the DIY section.
Remember, if you can't afford the equipment you can't afford the pet.
A very good and concise leopard gecko book, worth every penny (and more).
