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General
The leopard gecko is also called Eublepharis macularius. It lives in semi-arid and rocky areas. The leopard gecko belongs to the genus of pangolins. An adult leopard gecko grows up to 25 cm long. The geckos live up to 25 years. In the countries of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, the leopard gecko is most widespread in the wild.
The hand-tame gecko, which got its name because of its leopard-like skin, can be bought nowadays in many different colors from breeders or in pet shops. In case of danger, the leopard gecko can throw off its tail. Therefore, you should never hold your gecko by its tail. On its toes it does not have adhesive lamellae like other gecko species but claws. This is the reason why it is a very good climber. During the active phase the gecko is very lively and agile.
Acquisition
Leopard geckos are very sociable animals and can be kept alone or even better in groups. However, one should not keep more than one male in the group, because there are often fights among the males of the leopard geckos. So it is recommended to keep at least two females with one male. If definitely no offspring is desired, it can also be a pure female group. However, it should be strongly ensured that all group members have approximately the same size. Otherwise there will often be fights and injuries. If you observe that your geckos do not feel comfortable in the group, you should separate them immediately. Leopard geckos have relatively few requirements for keeping and care. For these reasons, leopard geckos are the perfect beginner animals.
Leopard geckos are especially suitable for children because they become tame very quickly and have a great pattern.
You should still keep in mind that the geckos are crepuscular and nocturnal. During the day they need a temperature of about 30°C and a humidity of about 40-50%. At night you should regulate the temperature down to approx. 20°C. The humidity should be around 50-70 %.
Confidentiality
If your leopard geckos have overcome the first shyness, they will even become very hand-tame. They get used to their owner and the environment very quickly. After some time you will see them already outside their actual activity phase at the window.
The Terrarium
The size of the terrarium should be about 100cm x 50cm x 50 cm. You should pay a lot of attention to the floor space, because Leopard Geckos live on the ground. Whether the terrarium is made of glass or wood is up to you. However, you should not save on the technology. It is very important for your leopard geckos that the right temperature and humidity is maintained.
You will also need terrarium lighting, heaters, and humidity and temperature monitors. You should also use a UV light, because it promotes the health and vitality of your geckos. Your terrarium should be protected from noise.
Since leopard geckos live in rocky areas in nature you should include many climbing opportunities and stones in your terrarium. Also caves made of cork or bark should not be missing in your terrarium as hiding places.
You can also build a so-called “wetbox” from plastic shells and wet moss. Your leopard geckos prefer a very high humidity especially in the time just before molting. You should not use pure sand as substrate. The geckos could ingest the sand with their food and die of the consequences. A mixture of sand and clay or gravel is very suitable. Your new reptiles will also need a clay bowl with fresh water. You can also add plants to your terrarium if you like. However, this is not absolutely necessary.
Diet And Care
Leopard geckos are insectivores. Therefore their diet consists mainly of insects and larvae. This includes food animals such as grasshoppers, crickets and crickets. They eat about two to 4 food animals per day. Salad fruit or vegetables have no place in the terrarium.
However, you don’t have to feed your geckos regularly. Regular feeding every two to three days is quite sufficient. You should supplement the food with vitamin supplements depending on the feeding. To do this, simply sprinkle your food animals with mineral powder before feeding.
Tip: Moisten the feeders with a little water before dusting. Then the mineral powder adheres better to the feeders.
However, the water should be changed fresh every day.
Other than molting, you don’t have to pay much attention to the care of your geckos.
For molting, the geckos need higher humidity than normal. The gecko will shed the skin itself. However, if you notice that the skin has not really peeled off n all places, you should help him. Because if the complete skin of the gecko is not peeled off, it is possible that it will squeeze off extremities with the old, too tight skin, and thus its extremities will die.
Breeding
Your leopard geckos are at an average of twelve to fifteen months. However, the development of geckos depends heavily on the husbandry and feeding conditions.
There is no need to create special framing conditions for reproduction. If both animals are in good condition, everything takes place without the help of the keeper. However, it has been proven that breeding works best after hibernation, because germ and egg cells are positively affected.
Females can lay 2 eggs each up to TEN times a year. There is usually a month between egg laying and fertilization. However, one can recognize successful planning by the behavior of the female. It is often much more aggressive towards the male, eats less food and digs more in the ground cover.
Incubation
You should never leave the eggs in the terrarium. The geckos tend to damage the eggs or eat the young hatchlings because of the limited space. In addition, the climate and environmental conditions in the terrarium are too bad to hatch the eggs naturally.
So for breeding you should better use an incubator with good incubation containers.
Relocating The Eggs
The laid egg must be handled very carefully. This means that the eggs must not be turned or separated if they are stuck together. So you have to put them into an incubation container with a lot of tact. These containers can be bought ready-made in pet shops or from breeders.
The Incubator
The temperature must be a constant 28 °C and may only drop by 6 °C to 22 °C at night. So you should have several thermometers in your incubator. The time span between egg laying and hatching is 50 to 90 days. This time span is highly dependent on the temperature in the incubator and can vary greatly.
You can even influence the sex a little bit. Males are more likely to hatch if the incubation period is warm and short. A cooler and long incubation period is more likely to hatch females. At a continuous temperature of 29 °C the ratio is more or less balanced.
Diseases
Even minor injuries such as scratches, bites, minor burns or a tail that has fallen off, should be seen by a veterinarian. These minor injuries usually heal quickly, but should still be treated with antibiotics by a veterinarian.
Improper Diet
A diet that is too rich, such as frequent feeding of larvae, ingested sand, or a lack of vitamins and minerals, can cause digestive problems. Noticeable symptoms of improper nutrition include: very few and slow movements, unsteady walking, loss of appetite, or aggression toward conspecifics.
Moulting Problems
Causes for moulting problems can be too low humidity or over- and undersupply with vitamins. In the worst case, skin fragments can become attached to the body and strangulate extremities. A normal molting process is completed after about 2 days. If after 2 days not all skin remains have been shed, you should increase the humidity in the terrarium and if necessary help with tweezers and lukewarm water.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is caused by a too large temperature fluctuation in the terrarium or a generally too low temperature. Clear signs of pneumonia are fatigue, loss of appetite, discharge in and around the nostrils or a strange breathing sound.
Mite Infestation
Blame for a mite infestation is often improper husbandry by the breeder or from contaminated terrarium supplies. Usually the mites can be seen with the naked eye. They are about 2 mm in size and reddish in color. The mites are often found on the head, between the scales or under the armpits. Due to this infestation, your leopard geckos will be severely weakened and appear listless and very sluggish.
Foot Rot
Foot rot is a rather rare disease and is a result of other infectious diseases in the mouth. It can also be a result of vitamin B deficiency.
You can recognize a mouth rot by redness in the palate, tongue, throat area or refusal of food.
Tip
Hardly any symptom can be assigned to a certain disease. You should always have everything clarified by a veterinarian so that the correct and accurate treatment can be started. Sick animals should rather be put into quarantine, so that they do not infect the other animals.
If parasites or bacterial infections are detected, you should clean the terrarium very thoroughly.
