Eublepharis Macularius
Leopard Gecko
The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) lizard has been captive bred in the United States for more than 30 years and is one of the most commonly kept lizards today. These hardy saurians come in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes. This is a great species for the home. Imagine a lizard that can vocalize and wash an eye with its tongue with ease. There is a friendly dinosaur in this small package.
Biological Facts
· Found in the Middle East into India in rocky, grassland and desert areas.
· 6-10 years normally in captivity but can go up to over 27 years.
· Males grow to be 7-10 inches and Females 7-8 inches. (Giants can be larger)
· Great For beginners
Enclosure
We find that in our opinion enclosures such as, PVC cages, Sterlite tubs, and rack systems do best for the health and longevity of your leopard gecko. We avoid glass because it does not maintain proper temperature, as well as it builds up ammonia from your pet’s defecation due to lack of cross-ventilation. We also avoid wood enclosures because they are harder to sanitize.
Housing Multiple Leopard Geckos
Our rule is simple. You cannot house males together. Females can live together if they are of similar size and are monitored closely for signs of stress such as substantial weight loss, tail dropping, or fighting injuries. One male and female(s) of similar size can live together, but probably shouldn't unless you are wanting to constantly have little babies. You will need a larger in enclosure for a group.
Heating and Lighting
To safely and effectively provide a hot side to your enclosure we find it best to do so by means of belly heat. This means providing heat from underneath the enclosure. The best way to do this is to use THG or Flex-watt heat tape secured to the bottom of the enclosure or rack slot in conjunction with a on/off thermostat to regulate the temperature and avoid serious burns. In our opinion the thermostat is the most important component of your pet’s entire enclosure! We avoid using any overhead heat lamps as they tend to dry out the skin of the geckos making sheds harder for them which can pose health risks. Leopard geckos do not require supplemental UVB lighting if they are fed a proper calcium plus D3 supplement. You can use a lighting for your viewing enjoyment but be sure the lighting does not emit heat and is not bothering your leopard gecko most people stick to UVB bulbs or LED.
Substrate
ABSOLUTLY NO SAND! Any type of sand such as, silica sand, play sand, and calcium sand, are not safe for most reptiles as they pose a huge impaction risk. Impaction can be fatal to your leopard gecko so please take care in selecting your substrate. Other loose particle substrates like eco-earth, reptichip, etc. also pose a potential impaction risk and are not suggested. We only recommend the use of eco earth in a moist hide box. A moist hide is a small hide away such as a plastic bowl with a hole cut in it (be sure to sand the opening after cutting to avoid injury) and filled with damp eco-earth and put in the enclosure for the leopard gecko to retreat to in times of shedding. You may also offer low hanging ground cover plants we use only reptile safe plastic plants with large leaves as they are easiest to sanitize.
Feeding and Diet
We feed our leopard geckos mealworms daily by filling a small smooth ceramic dish just deep enough the meal worms can not escape but not so much that the leopard geckos can not get in and out of it with ease depending on size of your gecko. We dust our mealworms with a 50/50 mix of Vionate and Calcium plus D3 supplements and we offer small dishes with just the supplement as well as the geckos will often eat it alone when they feel they need it. We also encourage supplementing your Leopard gecko's diet with other insects as needed such as super worms, hornworms, Dubia roaches, CalciWorms (added calcium), Phoenix Worms (high source of calcium) and Waxworms (to add fat). One common prey item we tend to avoid is crickets since they can bite and have been known to cause injury to leopard geckos as they’re skin is very fragile.
Temperature
It is important to have the correct temperatures for your Leopard gecko(s). You can do this by keeping a "hot side" between 87-90° F (no hotter than 94°F) and "cool side" between mid to upper 70s (°F) all the time. We strongly suggest using heat tape in conjunction with a thermostat as discussed previously.
Hides
Your enclosure should offer 3 hides to your leopard gecko(s) a warm hide, cool hide and moist hide (required for easier shedding).
Water
It is always important to have a water dish available for your gecko, at all times. Size really doesn't matter, but you want the dish shallow enough for your gecko to reach the bottom. Change daily with fresh water. Periodically, do a health check on your Leopard gecko's tail to make sure that it is nice and plump since that is where they store water.
Brumation
We do not brumate or hibernate babies their first year of life. Please wait until there second year. If you are not breeding, you do not need to hibernate your Leopard gecko. They still may be a little sluggish during the cycle, but that is normal. Before, you brumate you will need to take your Leopard gecko off food for about 10 days so that they are able to pass all their food but continue to offer water. You can brumate for as little as a couple weeks to 2 months. Cool down your Leopard gecko to about 65-70°F and make sure that you have fresh water in the enclosure the entire time.
Care sheet provided by Fantastic Beast’s Exotic Rescue.
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