Description

Scientific name : Eublepharis macularius
Family: Gekkonidae
Origin: Afghanistan, Pakistan, western India, Iraq en Iran. Dry mountain areas, steppe and deserts (see map).
Life expectancy: upto 20 years (in captivity).
Length and weight: upto 25cm long, weighing between 60 and 100 grams (or more).

Feeding

In their natural biotope, leopard geckos eat a variety of insects and sometimes even small lizards. In captivity their diet is limited to small feeder insects like crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mealworms, wax moth larvae and garden chafer larvae. Crickets are the main food, but variety is essential, as well as enriching their food by dusting it with D3 vitamins (for example Reptivite). It is recommended to gutload feeder insects (= feed them a high calcium food) a day or two before feeding them to your geckos; breeding your own feeder insects on a high calcium diet is of course an option. Make sure you remove any uneaten feeder insects as they can cause stress and harm to your geckos.

For variation and as an additional source of calcium, you can give your geckos a baby mouse (1 day old) once a month. You can also provide an extra dish of calcium powder, especially during mating season as the females need both energy and calcium to produce eggs. It's important to change their drinking water every day to avoid bacteria.




Habitat

My 5 leopard geckos live in a desert terrarium of 100 x 50 x 50cm. For a pair it is often recommended to use a 60 x 40 x 40cm terrarium, but I find that to be a bit too small. As a substratum I use red desert sand, but you can also use calcium enriched terrarium sand or regular beach sand. Never use wood chips though! Plants are possible but not necessary; I use fake cacti. Make sure to provide at least one hiding place per animal since leopard geckos love to hide; at least one hiding place should be large enough to host all the animals together. Hiding places can be made using flagstones or rocks, but make sure they're firmly placed as leopard geckos tend to dig sometimes. Of course you can find prefab hideouts in shops and on fairs.

Leopard geckos shed their skin so it's important to provide a moist area, such as peat moss in an open plastic container. These animals don't need UV light, so regular light bulbs will do. My terrarium is fitted with a 50W Exo Terra basking spot. It's important to have a warm and cool area in your terrariumt, so don't place the lamp in the middle of it. Right under the light the temperature may rise upto 35°C, the cooler areas upto 28°C. During the day the average temperature may be around 35°C and at night about 20°C. If needed you can always add a heating cable or heat mat. Air humidity is not important and sprinkling is not necessary. If you want to study these creatures at night, you need to install an infra red light or a moonlight lamp.

For an overview with pictures of the build and decoration of my terrarium, see techniques.




Behaviour

The leopard gecko is a gentle and curious animal, which doesn't easily bite and can even get tame enough to hold in your hand, so it makes a good reptile to start with. Nevertheless it's a vulnerable and delicate animal, very stress receptive and should therefore not be handled too much. Leopard geckos are mostly active during the night and will spend most of their day sleeping in their hideouts; this is something to take into account when choosing to keep them.

Although they are quite good in climbing, they usually stay on the ground. Leopard geckos live in groups, but the males are quite territorial and that's why you should keep only one male combined with one or more females; more males can lead to violent conflicts and should be avoided. I prefer to keep one male with at least two females and even more if you have the room for them.

Leopard geckos tend to dig holes, especially the females will dig for practice for when they need to lay eggs. It's important not to fill these holes up as it may cause stress. Eventually the female will deposite her eggs in the provided container with peat moss.

Leopard geckos hunt at dusk. When hunting they move their tail; the movement will increase as they approach their prey.

Leopard geckos shed their skin regularly, which is quite noticeable by their skin getting dull. During this time they spend much time in their hideout with moist peat moss. The shedding of the skin is quite fascinating to watch: the gecko litteraly takes of it's "jacket". Obviously this is not the time to disturb the animal. Make sure the gecko sheds it's entire skin. Healthy animals eat their shedded skin; by doing this they don't leave any trails for their natural enemies. It also provides them with extra calcium.




Gender distinction

Adult leopard geckos are quite easy to distinct, it's slightly harder with young animals.
The biggest difference is noticeable at the bottom side: between the belly and the tail the male has a V-shaped row of pores and at the beginning of the tail there's a bulge where the hemipenes (=reproductive organs) are located.

Diseases and wounds

The leopard gecko is a strong animal, but there are a few things you can do to avoid diseases:

• Avoid stress: put the terrarium in a quiet place (they sleep during the day, so respect that). Stress can lead to eating disorders which can weaken the animal.
• Remove excrements daily: in captivity they have limited space so they are very susceptible for parasites which can easily develop if the excrements and skin remnants are not removed regularly. These parasites can easily find the way to their hosts through the feeder insects. A clean terrarium and fresh water every day can avoid a great deal of trouble.
• Enrich feeder insects with vitamines and calcium: this will keep your animals healthy and will avoid rachitis (bone disease).

Leopard geckos can shed their tail when they're in danger (this is called autotomy). The tail holds fat and water as a backup when in times of shortage. When an animal has shed its tail, it's extra vulnerable and shoul be put in quarantine. Use kitchen paper as substratum to keep the wound clean, provide extra calcium and vitamine supplements, and don't forget to keep the water fresh. The tail will grow back, but will never be as nice as it used to be.

An unhealthy leopard gecko can be aggressive towards the other occupants, so it's important to have a quarantine area. If you notice something wrong with the animal(s) you can have their excrements tested by a veterinarian; in many cases this can provide an explanation.