Latin name: Eublepharis macularius

Common name(s): Leopard gecko

Native to: Iran, Afghanistan, Western India and Pakistan. They live in deserts and arid grasslands.

Adult size: They can reach lengths of 8-10 inches including the tail. Sometimes a leopard gecko will stay fairly small and only reach lengths of about 5 inches.

Life span: With proper care and nutrition your leopard gecko can live as long as 15-20 years.

Eggs and young:
You should be able to figure out the sex around 6 months of age but they should be at least 10 before mating. Mature males have a V-shaped row of pre-anal pores just above hemipenal “bulges” at the base of the tail, while females don’t have these. Females take about 3-4 months to lay their first set of eggs. They can lay up to 18 eggs with 12 being the average. Eggs are layed in clutches of two every 3-4 weeks. This should be done in a plastic container with sphagnum moss and vermiculite. Leopard gecko eggs are temperature sexed within the first two weeks of incubation. Temperatures around 77- 80 F will give you female offspring, 81-84 will give you males or females and 85-90 will give you males. Young will emerge in 60-70 days. You can keep clutch mates together or in groups of four as long as they are close to the same age and size. A small lid should be provided with calcium and another with water. After geckos shed for the first time they begin taking small crickets and small, recently shed mealworms once or twice a day.

Appearance: Normal patterned leopard geckos have a yellow background with brown spots. However, leopard geckos come in a wide variety of colours and patterns. Juvenile geckos normally have a striped pattern that fades to the spotted pattern with age. Leopard geckos differ from many other geckos in the fact that they have eyelids and lack adhesive lamellae or toes. Instead, they have clawed feet.

Feeding: In captivity they eat crickets, kingworms (zophobas), mealworms, waxworms, silkworms, stickbugs and adults can eat pinkies. Crickets can be tossed in the cage and gecko will chase them. Mealworms can be put in front of the gecko if it will eat them this way or put into a dish they cannot get out of. Leopard geckos will usually hunt for food at night and will find any crickets or dishes of mealworms then. Food should be supplemented with calcium and multivitamins every other feeding. Females that are laying eggs and baby geckos should be supplemented at every feeding. There should be a small dish of calcium in with the geckos.

Handling: Regular handling will keep your gecko calm and therefore easy to hold. Never hold a gecko by its tail as they break off (or are dropped) as a defense mechanism. Tails will grow back but never look as good as the original. As babies, leopard geckos are very fast and hard to hold.

Temperament: Leopard geckos can be feisty as babies but tend to calm down as adults. Temperament varies with each individual gecko and sometimes adults can stay timid and fast moving just like they are as babies.

Cage set up: Leopard geckos are relatively clean animals usually using one area of their tank as the "bathroom". A fifteen-gallon aquarium will adequately house a single gecko. A 20-gallon long tank will house 1 male with 2 females. Never put two males together, as they will fight. When decorating, include shelters for the geckos to hide in. Try to include a rough stone or bark for the leopard gecko to rub on during shed periods. Rocks and logs can make the terrarium more natural looking and they provide your lizards with places to climb and get exercise. These can all be bought at pet stores or reptile sales. The leopard gecko needs a small dish of fresh water. A humid hide made out of a plastic container with sphagnum moss or paper towel is required to help the leopard gecko shed.

Substrate: A good substrate to use is flannelette blankets made to fit the tank. They cannot be ingested and are easily washed. Towels are made from material that they can get their teeth caught in, so if this is used It should be temporarily. Another good substrate is paper towel or slightly rough slate tile. The key is to stay away from anything the gecko can accidentally ingest when it dives for a cricket.

Lighting: Although leopard geckos are nocturnal they DO need UVB lighting as this allows them to absorb the calcium. Ceramic heat emitters are a good heat source. These come in different wattages and should be on a thermostat. Ceramic heaters and red or simulated “moon” bulbs are a great way to provide heat at night since they don't produce light. Incandescent lights work well during the day.

Heating: Daytime temperature should range between 85 to 87 on the warm end and 75 to 80 on the cool end. Reptile heating pads that attach to the bottom of the tank are a good spot for them to warm up on and should be around 90. You may have to adjust the substrate thickness to get a good temperature.

Humidity: Use a plastic container with a hole cut into it so they can get in and out as a hide box. Inside the container put moist sphagnum moss or paper towel. This gives your gecko the humidity it needs when shedding.