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Note: to anybody considering buying, or who already owns, a leopard gecko, I highly recommend purchasing "The Leopard Gecko Manual" by Philippe de Vosjoli -- it's packed with great information!

Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are one of the best starter reptiles that you can find -- they're hardy, and fairly easy to care for. They are quite long lived, with an average lifespan of around 20-25 years, but there have been reports of leopard geckos living to as old as 29! Average adult size is 7-9", although some will grow to be larger. One of the best things about leopard geckos is that you will almost never find a wild caught specimen for sale -- the reptile industry is able to breed enough of these wonderful herps in captivity to keep up with the demand for them! As a result of that fact, you'll find that leopard geckos come in a wide variety of colours & patterns -- something to suit almost anyone. The "normal" wild caught coloration is not nearly as bright as the results of the selective breeding of leopard geckos that are available today.

Housing

A single leopard gecko can be comfortably housed in a 10 gallon aquarium for its lifetime. You can keep more than one leopard gecko in the same tank, provided that there is only one male per enclosure (to see how to sex your leopard gecko, click here). A good rule of thumb is to have around 10 gallons of space for each gecko in the tank -- so for instance, if you wanted to keep 4 geckos in the same enclosure, a 40 gallon tank would be a good size. Since leopard geckos are terrestrial (meaning ground dwelling), the height of the enclosure doesn't matter as much to them as the length. So, a 20 gallon Long tank should comfortably house a trio of leopard geckos (1 male & 2 females, or 3 females).

The temperature of the enclosure should be regulated to be warmer on one side than the other. Reptiles don't produce their own body heat, so the variation in temperature in the tank allows them to thermoregulate by either going over to the cool side, or the warmer side, depending on their needs at the time. The warmer side of the tank should be kept at around 84-88F, and the cooler side can be basically room temperature. When measuring the temperature, place the thermometer on the warm side around 1-2" above the substrate. I've found that the best way to maintain the heat on the warmer side is with an Under Tank Heater (UTH). These can be purchased fairly cheaply, and mount underneath the tank to warm up the substrate, as well as the air in the enclosure. Be sure to get one of the correct size, it should not cover more than 1/3 of the area of the tank. Incandescent heat lamps can also be useful in maintaining temperature -- a 40-60W bulb is sufficient for most enclosures. I use a combination of a heat lamp and a UTH. Since leopard geckos are nocturnal, they do not require UV rays, so a special flourescent bulb is not necessary. Do NOT buy a "heat rock" -- they often develop hot spots that can burn your gecko quite severely.

There are many choices out there for substrate, some more appropriate than others. For a young leopard gecko, under 6" in size, you need something that can't be accidentally swallowed when they eat -- paper towel, newspaper, or ReptiCarpet are good choices. Once your gecko is over 6", you can switch to a more natural looking substrate, such as sand. Just keep in mind that there is always the danger of impaction -- this is when a gecko swallows too much sand, and it blocks their intestines -- it can be fatal. If you do switch to sand, be sure to pick one with a very fine grain size -- this reduces the risk of impaction. Personally, I use ReptiSand and have been very happy with it. There is also a product out there called Calci-Sand that is quite popular, and is supposedly digestible by the gecko in case it is swallowed. I don't like it personally, but I know of many people who are happy with it -- I've also heard of it staining the geckos skin when it gets wet (it comes in a variety of bright colours). Some people also use plain old playbox sand from Home Depot.

Now that you've chosen an appropriate substrate for your leopard gecko, there's a few other things that you should include in it's new home. A water dish is necessary, and should be changed on a regular basis (at least a few times a week) -- it should also be washed thoroughly on a weekly basis with soap & hot water to prevent bacterial buildup -- be sure to rinse well afterwards! Another thing to be included is a small dish with some calcium powder in it -- unlike many reptiles, leopard geckos will eat calcium direct from this dish. Last, but definitely not least, is several hiding places ("hides"). There should be at least one hide for each gecko in the tank, to give them each a place to retreat to in case of stress. There should be hides available both on the warm & cool sides of the tank, to allow your gecko to thermoregulate. Your gecko will also need a humid hide to aid in shedding, which should be placed on the warm side of the tank. These can be made quite easily using a tupperware container with a hole cut in the side, and then partially filled with moss, vermiculite, paper towel, or something similar. It should then be wet down until it is damp, but not super wet (as this can cause mold & bacteria to develop), and kept this way by a regular wetting down of whatever material you choose to put in the hide (once every 1-2 days is usually ok). Do NOT mist your leopard gecko's tank! Leopard geckos are desert dwellers, and the higher general humidity caused by misting will stress them out, and can lead to illness.

Fake, or real plants can be added for decoration -- if you choose real plants, please only pick ones such as non-spiny cactii or succulents that will not raise the humidity in your tank, as they only need to be watered very sparingly. Tropical house plants make poor choices, as they require frequent watering, and do not do well in the higher temperature of a leopard gecko enclosure.

Your leopard gecko's home should be cleaned out approximately every week. They like to make cleanup easy for you, so they poop in one spot in the tank! So, clean out any poop at least once a week -- change the papertowels or newspaper if you're using a disposable substrate, if you're using sand, sift it to remove any large particles of waste -- make sure that the water dish is thoroughly washed & rinsed, and put back in the tank -- dispose of any dirty calcium in the calcium dish, and replace it with fresh stuff -- and rinse off any tank decorations that are looking a bit dirty.

Feeding

Leopard geckos are insectivores, so their staple diet should consist of  insects such as appropriately sized crickets & mealworms. Waxworms, silkworms, superworms, and pinky mice may be offered as treats, but should not make up very much of their diet, as these food items aren't very nutritious, and can be quite high in fat content. What many people do is feed a diet of crickets, and in addition have a small dish of mealworms available in the enclosure at all times in case their gecko is feeling hungry outside of feeding time.

For young leopard geckos who are still growing, their food should be dusted with calcium & vitamin supplements at every feeding. Once your gecko is grown, you can cut back to dusting a couple of times a week. Also, young leopard geckos should be fed every day, while an adult can be fed every 2-3 days. You will probably find that your gecko will eat around 5-8 items per feeding -- more or less is ok, just try to remove any uneaten crickets after around 15-30 minutes, as they may try to nibble on your gecko, and this can be quite stressful! Once you get to know your gecko better, you will know its feeding habits and have a fairly good idea of how many crickets to put in at each feeding.

Handling

Leopard geckos don't mind being handled in general, but they don't like to be handled a lot. A few minutes every day is fine with them though. They should be handled gently, with care taken not to grab them by the tail, as this will cause them to drop it. The tail will grow back, but it will often look misshapen, and much more bulbous than the old tail. If possible, instead of picking your leopard gecko up from above, try to get them to walk onto your hand -- when they are grabbed from above it can be quite stressful for them (especially babies), as this feels exactly like being grabbed by a predator to them. Once they're on your hand, just let them walk over it, and keep putting one hand in front of the other if needed. Leopard geckos have no sense of height, so it's quite possible for them to walk right off of your hand and fall to the ground and injure themselves. Young leopard geckos can be quite skittish when handled, but once they grow older, they tend to be quite calm, and will walk slowly over your hands.