Leopard gecko care: everything you need to know to get started

[Geckogirl_88]

Leopard Gecko care sheet

Feeding

What to feed:

Leopard geckos should be fed a diet completely made up of insects. Unlike some other lizards, they cannot properly digest fruit or veg. Some keepers feed baby (pinky) mice to gravid (pregnant) females, but this is not necessary and most individuals do not need them.

Food items should be no bigger than the size of your geckos head. Items bigger than this, when ingested, can cause impaction.* (see below)

The best feeder insects are mealworms, crickets, locusts and, sometimes, roaches. Wax worms, silk worms, phoenix worms or butter worms can be given occasionally as treats. It should be noted that such treats are very high in fat and can be addictive, so make sure not to exceed 1-2 treats a week max.

The wax worms with pupate into wax moths which can also be eaten by your gecko.

The records for the oldest male and female leopard geckos (29 and 27 yrs respectfully) are held by animals fed mealworms as the main bulk of their diet. Mealworms are an ideal feeder as they require the minimum amount of space storage wise, last a long time, are very easy to breed, and cannot escape from smooth sided containers. They are also the cheapest of the 3 main feeder insects (mealies, crix, locusts). The down side is that mealworms contain more chitin (exoskeleton) which can be difficult to digest, though most reptiles have no problems as long as the mealworms are of appropriate size. They are also more difficult to gutload.

Most geckos will not readily eat giant or “Morio” mealworms as they are very hard and quite large. Though some larger individuals may eat morio worms, they are best avoided as they are full or chitin and carry a risk of impaction.*


Crickets are also good as the bulk of your geckos diet as they contain high amounts of protein. They are easy to gut load but will also need water in a very shallow dish (to prevent drowning) or cricket gel (water in gel form with no drowning risk). Uneaten crickets MUST be removed from your gecko’s tank as they will nibble on sleeping geckos causing infection or caudal autonomy *. They also tend to go for softer tissue, like eyes, ends of toes and tail, and so even one bite can do a lot of damage.

Locusts are an insect loved by most reptiles. They contain very high amounts of protein and gut load well. For smaller/ slower geckos, the back, jumping legs can be removed/cut off to make them easier to catch. They come in the widest range of sizes from small/hatchling size hoppers (1cm) to winged adult locusts (10cm). Their bite is not as bad as a cricket’s, but any uneaten insects should still be removed from the tank just in case. The down side to locusts is that they are the most expensive feeder insect of the three. They also do not last as long and must be kept dry if they are to survive. Locusts need water but any added to their container will increase humidity, killing them quicker. The best way to keep locusts is in a roomy, well ventilated container, feeding them a little veg each day so as not to increase humidity too much. They will get all the moisture they need from their food and do well if kept near/on top of your geckos tank or another heat source (fridge, freezer, TV). This said, they are still the most loved feeder insect.

A WORD OF WARNING:

If you do not want to be using locusts, the most expensive feeder, as the bulk of your geckos diet, then do not give them too many as I’ve found they can be addictive. It is not unheard of for a gecko to refuse all other food (except treats) once they have gotten used to locusts. Try feeding locusts just once a week to counteract this effect.
While feeding locusts is beneficial to your gecko, it is NOT very beneficial to your bank balance.


When to feed:

Geckos should be fed once a day as juveniles (1 - 5 months) and every 2 days as “teenagers” (5 months - 1 year). As adults (1 year +), geckos should be fed once every 2-3 days. Each individual is different and you will soon find what routine suits you and your gecko best.

You should feed as many food items as the gecko can eat in 5-10 mins. As you get to know your gecko, you will come to know how much they can and want to eat in one sitting.

It is recommended to feed geckos in the evening when they are waking up. At this time they will be the most willing to eat, although they can be fed any time of day to fit your own schedule.


How to feed:

When eating, geckos can accidentally ingest some of their tank substrate, risking impaction*. To avoid this, either adjust their substrate accordingly, or use tongs to feed. In this way you can hold the insects above floor level, even above the gecko, minimising the risk of substrate ingestion. Feeding with tongs also means that it is harder for insects to escape from your gecko and hide in their tank. As all loose insects (not mealies in a dish) must be removed at night, losing insects in the tank can mean dismantling it to find them. This can be very stressful for your gecko, especially with more complicated set-ups.

If you choose, you can provide your gecko with a constant supply of mealworms in a dish they cannot escape from, replenishing them every feeding time. It is best to use a clear dish so that the gecko can see the mealies moving from far off.


Supplementation of food

Calcium:

All food items should be dusted in calcium powder. If geckos are not provided with calcium it will very quickly (within a few weeks) lead to calcium deficiency, where the geckos bones will become softer and more brittle.

If not treated the deficiency will get worse, causing full on Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). At this stage the gecko’s bones will be very soft and prone to fractures/breaks. The legs will not be able to support the gecko’s weight and the jaw will become soft. At this point the gecko will probably be unable to eat, move properly or shed properly. If not eating, it will be unable at this point to ingest calcium dusted insects and so cannot get better without being fed a calcium solution or an injection (provided by a vet). As leo’s are such small creatures and operations are in themselves life threatening, your vet, if any bones are broken, may at this point recommend having the animal put to sleep, though you can of course opt for surgery.

It is also a good idea to provide your gecko with a small dish of calcium in its tank. This way, if for any reason it does not receive enough calcium from its food, it will be able to eat the calcium power itself. This is especially true of gravid females who need extra calcium for the production of eggs.
THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE TO DUSTING.

Not all animals will readily eat raw calcium powder. Some may also refuse food which has too much calcium on it. The best way to dust your insects is to “Shake ‘N Bake”. Put your insects and your powdered supplements in a small plastic bag (like a sandwich bag). Close the bag, making sure you trap enough air to allow proper movement, and shake it. This will lightly coat your insects in powder without causing them to taste unpleasant.

You cannot overdose your gecko with calcium.


Vitamins:

Calcium cannot be absorbed by your gecko unless it has enough vitamin D3 in its system. In the wild it would get this from the sun and from its food.

Vitamin powder is not entirely necessary if feeder insects are properly gutloaded. With this method, it is recommended that you coat insects in vitamin powder at least once a month to ensure your gecko has enough D3 for the proper absorption of calcium. This is especially true if feeding mostly mealworms as they are harder to gut load.

If using commercial bug grubs for gut loading, vitamin (D3) powder should be used to dust insects once every week.

Vitamin D3, unlike calcium, can be overdosed on. Never dust with vitamin powder more than once a week. D3 overdose looks a lot like calcium deficiency so if your gecko shows signs of MBD but has had plenty of calcium then it could be an overdose of D3. Consult your vet.

Gutloading:

All food items must be gutloaded (fed) before they are given to your gecko, otherwise their nutritional value is GREATLY diminished.
You can buy commercial “bug grub” if you wish.
However, it is recommended that you use fresh fruit or veg. The best foods to use are cabbage, lettuce, carrot, apple and potato (or other spring greens). Cabbage is a good staple with the others added for moisture, usually for crickets.

Citrus fruits, banana and spinach should be avoided for gutloading as they can inhibit the absorption of calcium in your gecko.
[This is true of veg eating lizards and so, while there are not a lot of studies investigating the effects of these foods on geckos, it is safer to assume the worst and avoid them for gutloading insects]


Tank set up

Heat:

Geckos, like all reptiles, cannot internally regulate their own temperature. This means that they must move to hotter or cooler areas in order to thermo regulate.

Your leo must be provided with a source of heat. The best way to do this is to use a UTH (under-tank-heater), more commonly known as a heat mat. Leopard geckos absorb heat through their underside so a heat mat is ideal for this particular species. Heat mats should cover 1/3rd of the tank floor. This will create a temperature gradient whereby your gecko is able to regulate its temperature.

Temperatures should range from 29-31 C at the hot end to room temp at the cooler end (19-25 C). Temperatures can be monitored using digital or analogue thermometers placed at each end of the tank. You may also require a thermostat (mat-stat) to prevent overheating. If the surface at the hot end is allowed to overheat it can cause thermal burns. Never buy “hot rocks” as they overheat easily and are a fire hazard, not to mention hazardous to your gecko.

Leos come from dry, arid, rocky deserts so you should not try to increase the humidity in any way. You do not need to spray any part of their tank except from their moist hide.

Substrate:

Substrate is the name given to the medium you use to cover the floor of the tank. While some substrates come with the risk of impaction, others are completely risk free. Possible substrates are kitchen roll, grease proof paper, tiles, linoleum, newspaper, repticarpet, and sand. Out of these sand is the only medium which can cause impaction. NEVER use any kind of woodchip or sawdust. Note that the paper babed substrates should be used whole and flat, not torn up in any way.

Geckos which are not fully grown should be kept on one of the risk free, paper substrates. In temporary or quarantine tanks the best substrate is kitchen roll as it is easily replaced. Newspaper, while having no impaction risk, does dye your gecko with ink and the effects of this are not yet known so it is probably best to avoid it.

When fully grown, you may wish to keep you gecko on repticarpet or sand. Repticarpet does not cause impaction but your geckos can occasionally catch their claws on it. This is rare however, but normal carpet should not be used for this reason.

Sand is the most debated substrate around. While ANY loose substrate can cause impaction if ingested, sand can also scratch your geckos insides, sometimes causing inflammation or infection.

If using sand it is advisable to use tongs to feed your gecko, feed it mealworms from a dish, and/or have an area without sand where they feed. Sand is usually ingested when your gecko lunges for its food. Younger geckos, and some adults, have a worse aim, but even with good aim it is hard for them not to ingest the sand while feeding.

Some sands are marketed as “digestible”, but there have been so many reports to the contrary over the years that it is impossible to find out if this is true or not.

If using sand, a course, calcium based sand is best. Also, provide extra calcium in a dish so that your gecko does not feel the need to ingest the substrate to gain calcium/minerals.

If you wish to use sand, it is advisable to put these measures in place to reduce the risk of impaction as much as possible. Sand is one of the more natural looking substrates, though leos would not necessarily live on it in the wild as their natural terrain is more rocky.

If you prefer to use a natural looking substrate, but not sand, a good alternative is rock or stone. You can either use slate tiles (or equivelent), appropriately sized stones (bigger than the geckos head), or flat rocks. Any rocks which are stacked must be fixed in place, otherwise the gecko could topple it over and be injured.

[Personally, I avoid “Exo-terra desert sand” as it scratches tanks, dyes everything (including your gecko), and clumps awfully when wet.
I also use a mixture of flat rocks and, over the heat mat and in hides, a course, calcium based sand with low dust levels. My geckos are fed on the rocky, sand free areas. I also use sand where they defecate as it is easy to sieve clean.]

Décor:

Leos like to hide under things so they should be provided with plenty of shelter, or “hides”. You should have at least one hide over the hot end, one hide over the cool end, and a moist hide. The moist hide is a hide with moist medium inside in order to aid your gecko in shedding its skin properly; something it will do around once a month when fully grown, and more often when still growing. Moist hides should be filled with either kitchen roll, sphagnum moss or some kind of soil (eco earth coconut fibre). This should be kept moist by spraying it regularly with a mister.

Hides can be simple or elaborate, from a small Tupperware dish with a hole cut in it, to a store bought rock effect hide. Holes can be either in the side of the hide or on top as leos are good climbers and will cope with either. For the moist hide it is a good idea to have the entrance hole on the top as otherwise the leo may dig and kick out the moist medium.

Leos like to climb so feel free to add extras like wooden logs or fake vines. Live plants should be avoided for simplicity as leos like to dig them up and poop under/on them, and also they will increase the humidity.

Your leo should also be provided with a water dish (not deep enough to drown in). This should be filled with treated water (de-chlorinated).


Illness

At the first sign of illness, please consult your vet.
Reptiles are very good at hiding any illness/pain to avoid being seen as easy pray in the wild. This means that if your geckos behaviour/appearance changes to show illness in any way, then it is already serious enough that they can no longer hide it. Individuals can live with some illnesses for months, even years before it becomes too much to hide. Sometimes geckos can have an underlying illness which only effects them a little, but it can get out of control very quickly if their immune system is compromised for any reason. This can happen through lengthy exposure to low temperatures or breeding, to name a few.


Impaction:

Gecko’s intestines are lined with liquid full of enzymes for breaking down food. If they eat too much substrate (fine sand is usually the worst) it absorbs the liquid and clumps in your geckos stomach. This causes a rock like blockage to form. While some smaller blockages may be passed with the aid of a warm bath, this is usually not enough. Unable to pass any food, the gecko stops eating and, if untreated, will either starve to death or die of a resulting infection.

Impaction can also be caused by larger particles being ingested, like wood chip or insects which are too big for your leo (bigger than its head).

Impaction can be treated by your vet with medicine and/or surgery, though surgery is less likely if it is caught early.


Respiratory infection:

This is when your geckos lungs have too much fluid in them. It can be caused by having too high a humidity in their tank, or by the inhalation or fluid. For the second cause, the risk is even greater with smaller animals. If syringe feeding for any reason, it is important to give the gecko a little fluid/ liquid food at a time with enough time in between for the gecko to properly swallow. Otherwise the liquid can build up in the leo’s gullet and they may inhale some.

Parasites:

There are a large number of paracites which can effect your gecko, including pin-worm, cocodiosis, and cryptosporidiosis.
If at any point your gecko’s poo changes in colour, smell, or consistency, see a vet immediately as this can be an indicator of parasite infection.
The same applies if your gecko’s appetite changes or it looses weight. Also see a vet if your gecko’s tail becomes shrunken/skinny.

All parasites are extremely contagious to other reptiles/birds/amphibians, so sick individuals should be quarantined immediately and all hides/décor/tanks disinfected.

Caudal Autonomy:

Leopard geckos have the ability to drop their tail when threatened. They may do this if bitten by another gecko or insect, if grabbed by the tail, if their tail is caught on anything, or if they get a large enough fright. While some adult geckos may let the owners they are used to lift/move them by the tail, younger geckos will usually not tollerate this kind of handling. Other geckos will drop their tail at a loud enough noise near by.

[I knew of a shop owner who had 4 young geckos drop their tails all at once when his very loud fire alarm went off. Whereas, by contrast, my adult male lets me lift him out of his moist hide and onto my hand by his tail without any complaints]

If a gecko does drop its tail, keep it clean and dry and free from substrate. It is best to move the gecko into a tank with only kitchen roll as substrate and in the moist hide.

The tail itself will keep moving for a while after separation. This is to distract predators so that the leo can make its escape.

The gecko’s tail will grow back but it will not be the same. Regenerated tails are not reticulated (able to move side to side) like a normal tail, and they will be less colourful. Each time a tail grows back it can look more are more like a head. This, again, is to confuse predators.



Shedding

All reptiles shed their skin. Leo’s do this every 3-6 weeks when fully grown, and more often when still growing. Leo’s should be provided with a moist hide at all times to aid them when shedding. If the skin becomes to dry it can become stuck to the new skin underneath. If left too long this can cause infection, especially around sensitive areas like the eyes.

Also, take care to remove any stuck skin from around the ends of the toes/tail as it can cut off circulation, resulting in the loss of a toe.

Stuck shed can be removed with the aid of a shallow (they cant swim), luke-warm (not hot/cold) bath. Gently rub any stuck skin with a cotton bud to loosen it. If this doesn’t work, try catching an end with tweezers. Be careful not to pull too hard though as this could damage the skin layer underneath.

Most of the time your gecko will shed by itself without any help, pulling the skin off with its mouth and eating it. If it does not eat all of the shed skin, that’s ok too.


Pooping

Leopard geckos use what is known as a defecatorium. This means that once they have settled into their tank, they will choose a place as their toilet area and only go to the toilet in that place. It is usually in a corner or sheltered part of the tank, usually near(ish) to one of their hides. This makes it very easy to clean them out. Faeces should be removed as and when spotted. Substrate should be replaced as a whole every 2/3 months and the tank disinfected.




If I have forgotten anything feel free to let me know. Any questions are welcomed.
This is based on my own research and experience in keeping reptiles. If you think anoything is wrong with your leo, please consult a vet.

Cheers

xx

[freekygeeky]

s and, sometimes, roaches. - why only sometimes?
You cannot overdose your gecko with calcium. - yes you can
Vitamin powder is not entirely necessary if feeder insects are properly gutloaded. - hmm never heard of that i woudl suggest using it
You may also require a thermostat (mat-stat) to prevent overheating.
grease proof paper, - you need a thermostat
calcium based sand is best -Wrong its infact the worst

what about mating
fighting
egg laying
etc etc

[IndigoFire]

Originally Posted by freekygeeky

s and, sometimes, roaches. - why only sometimes?
You cannot overdose your gecko with calcium. - yes you can
Vitamin powder is not entirely necessary if feeder insects are properly gutloaded. - hmm never heard of that i woudl suggest using it
You may also require a thermostat (mat-stat) to prevent overheating.
grease proof paper, - you need a thermostat
calcium based sand is best -Wrong its infact the worst

what about mating
fighting
egg laying
etc etc

Well said! I totally agree, Vitamins should be used at least once a week! Calcium on week days and Nutrabol on Weekends. And you have a few spelling errors. I think one of them is "Babed" instead of "Based" but thats just me being picky.

[SleepyD]

Originally Posted by freekygeeky

s and, sometimes, roaches. - why only sometimes?
You cannot overdose your gecko with calcium. - yes you can
Vitamin powder is not entirely necessary if feeder insects are properly gutloaded. - hmm never heard of that i woudl suggest using it
You may also require a thermostat (mat-stat) to prevent overheating.
grease proof paper, - you need a thermostat
calcium based sand is best -Wrong its infact the worst

what about mating
fighting
egg laying
etc etc

ditto would also query the temps recommended ~ hot end temps of 29-31 (84*F-87*F) and cool end temps of 19-25 C (66*F - 77*F) are I'd say a bit too much towards the cold end of the spectrum ~ personally would say hot end temps of 31*c-32*c (88*F-90*F) and I know some have a hot end higher then that

[IndigoFire]

Originally Posted by SleepyD

ditto would also query the temps recommended ~ hot end temps of 29-31 (84*F-87*F) and cool end temps of 19-25 C (66*F - 77*F) are I'd say a bit too much towards the cold end of the spectrum ~ personally would say hot end temps of 31*c-32*c (88*F-90*F) and I know some have a hot end higher then that

My hot end is between 30* and 33*!

Some good points raised though about live food - expenses ect.

[Geckogirl_88]

oh well lol.
I just wrote basically what I use, qlthough i admit i was guessing at temps cos im used to farenheit lol

I said sometimes roaches for a few reasons.
1. They look really chitinous to me
2. the one time i used them ALL my leos either spat them out or had problems digesting them, the later was esp true or my juvenile (6months)
3. they are really fast and tend to escape before my leos even know they're there, resulting in me having to demolish the tank to find them
and 4. They creep me out lol. FAR too fast for my liking
Though I understand that a lot of ppl use them and thats fine too

What I said about vitamins Iv been told be 3 completely seperate breeders now and its what iv always used for my leos, and also my 2 vets in Falkirk and Aberdeen both agree. I give my feeders fresh fruit nd veg nd use the nutrobal D3 only once a month (just incase they get a couple of bugs that havent eaten much) and have never had any problems. I up this to once a fortnight for gravid females or young, still growing hatchlings, but i forgot to put that on there lol.

Its not a method i had heard of until i met the first breeder and he'd been doing it for 30 years. Also I'm sure I read somewhere that when Ron tremper first started out, before it got too large scale, thats what he used to do too. Its entirely up to the induvidual though

I knew id forgotten loads lol, but it was after midnight by the time id wrote that much nd my brain was mush lol.

The entire care sheet is based around my experience with reps including personal research and vet recomendations. It is by no means to be taken as the be all and end all in keeping leos lol. Its my own personal care sheet based on my own personal recomendations. Iv wrote that at the bottem of it so anything not agreed with is TOTALLY fine lol.

as for the calcium based sand bit, tbh I cant remember the name of the sand i use, nor what is based on, but im sure there was a CaCo written on it somewhere lol. The bag's in the bin

Cheers guys

xx

[Reptilover]

Originally Posted by Geckogirl_88

oh well lol.
I just wrote basically what I use, qlthough i admit i was guessing at temps cos im used to farenheit lol

I said sometimes roaches for a few reasons.
1. They look really chitinous to me
2. the one time i used them ALL my leos either spat them out or had problems digesting them, the later was esp true or my juvenile (6months)
3. they are really fast and tend to escape before my leos even know they're there, resulting in me having to demolish the tank to find them
and 4. They creep me out lol. FAR too fast for my liking
Different species of roaches have a different chitin ratio. Infact most common live feeder roaches, such as dubia or turkistan have a low ratio of chitin and must better than things such as mealworms.

Though I understand that a lot of ppl use them and thats fine too

What I said about vitamins Iv been told be 3 completely seperate breeders now and its what iv always used for my leos, and also my 2 vets in Falkirk and Aberdeen both agree. I give my feeders fresh fruit nd veg nd use the nutrobal D3 only once a month (just incase they get a couple of bugs that havent eaten much) and have never had any problems. I up this to once a fortnight for gravid females or young, still growing hatchlings, but i forgot to put that on there lol.

Its not a method i had heard of until i met the first breeder and he'd been doing it for 30 years. Also I'm sure I read somewhere that when Ron tremper first started out, before it got too large scale, thats what he used to do too. Its entirely up to the induvidual though

I knew id forgotten loads lol, but it was after midnight by the time id wrote that much nd my brain was mush lol.

The entire care sheet is based around my experience with reps including personal research and vet recomendations. It is by no means to be taken as the be all and end all in keeping leos lol. Its my own personal care sheet based on my own personal recomendations. Iv wrote that at the bottem of it so anything not agreed with is TOTALLY fine lol.

as for the calcium based sand bit, tbh I cant remember the name of the sand i use, nor what is based on, but im sure there was a CaCo written on it somewhere lol. The bag's in the bin

Cheers guys

xx

Also on it you state that morio worms are packed with chitin. Infact they are low on chitin compared to body.

Very nice caresheet though, could add something about keeping more than 1 together.

[Geckogirl_88]

I didnt know that lol. My leos hate morio worms lol. I thought it was the chitin but maybe they're just too strong or somethin lol.
Yeh it need more. I actually wrote it for my mate who is buying one of my hatchlings. Its her first leo so the whole thing is based on her and what she'll need
xx

[James D]

Originally Posted by Geckogirl_88

What I said about vitamins Iv been told be 3 completely seperate breeders now and its what iv always used for my leos, and also my 2 vets in Falkirk and Aberdeen both agree. I give my feeders fresh fruit nd veg nd use the nutrobal D3 only once a month (just incase they get a couple of bugs that havent eaten much) and have never had any problems. I up this to once a fortnight for gravid females or young, still growing hatchlings, but i forgot to put that on there lol.

Plant material contains vitamin D2, not D3 so the insects will not contain any extra D3, unless they're gutloaded on whole vertebrates.

[Reptilover]

Originally Posted by Geckogirl_88

I didnt know that lol. My leos hate morio worms lol. I thought it was the chitin but maybe they're just too strong or somethin lol.
Yeh it need more. I actually wrote it for my mate who is buying one of my hatchlings. Its her first leo so the whole thing is based on her and what she'll need
xx

Probly wise to still keep clear of marios for leopard geckos. The jaws on them are immense and wouldn't suprise me if they managed to bite the gecko during eating.