Leopard Geckos are members of the Eublepharidae family and originate from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Adults usually attain the size of about eight to eleven inches except in the case of the giant versions which are considerably bigger. They are ground dwelling and nocturnal and are usually found during the day hiding away in crevices. Probably the most noticeable feature of healthy leopard geckos apart from their vivid array of colours is their tails which are used to store fat reserves for breeding or during times of food shortage.

My Leos are housed in two foot vivariums, and I usually have no more than 2 females together, males are housed separately until breeding season. They are all housed on kitchen roll for ease of cleaning, though not particularly aesthetic it is a clean and safe option, and avoids the risk of impaction from substrate ingestion. I use heat mats to provide belly heat and these are taped down to the bottom of the vivariums under the kitchen roll at one end. The heat mats should cover no more than half the bottom of the enclosure. I also have 40 watt spot bulbs above the heat mats that operate during the day, and I find that these give a good simulation of daylight, and also help to raise the ambient day time temperature. The heat mats are connected the thermostats, and the probe for this is situation about half way up the wall on the heat mat side, the bulbs are not regulated and operate on timers in time with natural daylight hours. The ideal temperature range for leos is an ambient air temperature of 84°f-88°f during the day to 74°f to 78°f at night. I have my heat mats set and regulated to 90°f, and I very often see them at night laid out on the heat mat warming their bellies. I provide them with 2 basic hides, one in the cooler end and a moist hide in the hot end. For a moist hide I use damp sphagnum moss which I spray daily to keep moist placed inside a hamster igloo, and this seems to be a perfect set up, as I as have yet had no shedding problems. I have also given them empty kitchen roll tubes in the middle section of the vivarium, which they seem to take full advantage of, whether laid out inside them or climbing over them. As they don’t relish a high ambient humidity I keep their water bowl in the back corner of the cooler area.

I feed my leos on gut loaded meal worms, and use plastic cat dishes for the purpose. They are supplemented with Leopard Gecko Dust Insect Cricket Balancer, and also have an additional small dish containing Calypso Calcium Powder within their enclosure, and for this I use the lids from plastic milk bottles that have been scrubbed out.

They really are very easy to keep, and are delightful little creatures. They make very good pets, although being nocturnal they tend to be more active when their owners are asleep. When the lights go off, someone is definitely home.

Breeding planned for 2008.

Leopard Gecko Gallery