FAQ
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answered in a timely fashion.
Q: How much space does a leopard gecko require?
A: One leopard gecko can live comfortably in a 10 gallon tank. Two or three
geckos can be kept in a 20 gallon, long.
Q: What should cover the bottom of the cage?
A: This answer varies from person to person. Paper towels or newspaper
work quite well and are very cheap. One of the quirks of leopard geckos is
that they make one corner of their cage the "reading room". This corner can
have an appropriate sized piece of paper towel or newspaper to make for
easy clean up. Desert sand is used by owners; however, we do not
recommend it. Desert sand can become compacted in the lizard causing
serious problems and death. We have used Calci-Sand in the past and
had no problems with it. However, we have recently changed to paper after
reading several articles discouraging the use of Calci-sand.
Q: What needs to be in the cage?
A: There should be hide boxes on the warm end and cool end of the cage.
Also, a moist hide box should be in the tank. This is made by having a
plastic container with moist vermiculite in it. The vermiculite should be
misted daily. This allows for ease of shedding as well as an ideal place for
females to lay eggs. If a 10 gallon tank is being used, one moist hide box
can be put in the middle rather than having several different boxes. While
expensive halved, hollowed pieces of wood can be purchased, slightly
modified tissue boxes seem to work very well. Paper towel rolls seem to be
a favorite as well. Use a little creativity when putting your tank together. A
shallow water dish needs to be included and a shallow calcium dish if their
food is not being dusted.
Q: Will my leopard gecko be able to climb my walls if it ever gets out?
A: No. While many geckos have "sticky" toes, leopard geckos have very small
claws. They cannot climb walls and if they "escape" while they are being
played with, they are quite easy to catch. Leopard geckos are not nearly as
quick as most of the native lizards people are use to seeing in outside. A
leopard gecko will not be able to escape a cage with a mesh lid and cannot
climb glass.
Q: What should I expect when my geckos are shedding?
A: The geckos will begin to have a slightly white overcast look. They will
probably spend a good bit of time in the moist hide box and also begin
rubbing. Leopard geckos eat their skin which helps recycle nutrients.
Q: Are leopard geckos fragile?
A: No. Obviously, pulling legs while holding their body is not a good idea, but
typical handling will not harm the lizards. The only part of their body that will
come of with some effort by an owner is the tail. The tail will re-grow;
however, it will not be as "pointy" as before. Basically, do not grab or pick
up a leopard gecko by its tail and there should be nothing to worry about.
Q: I thought leopard geckos had nice personalities, why is my baby a little snappy?
A: While adult leopard geckos are very nice, the babies do seem to have a bit
of a chip on their shoulder. They are completely harmless and quite
amusing. Imagine an animal less than half a foot long without teeth trying to
bite a hand many times larger than itself rather than run from it. It is obvious
to see the attitude beginning to change in as little as one month of age.
Q: Are there any considerations when putting two leopard geckos together?
A: While females can live together or with one male, two males cannot live
together. Male leopard geckos are territorial and will fight. All of the geckos
we currently offer are female.
Q: How can The Leopard Gecko be sure all of its geckos are female?
A: The sex of leopard geckos is determined while they are incubating. A lower
temperature (about 80 degrees) will produce all females while a higher
temperature (upper 80's) will produce males. If the temperature is kept
in-between, an equal number of males and females will result, but sex cannot
be determined at birth.
Q: What are the temperature requirements for leopard geckos?
A: During the day, leopard geckos need to have a temperature of 85 degrees,
give or take 3 degrees. Twelve hours of light (warmth) is plenty for the
lizards and their night time temperature can go as low as 70 degrees
without any harm - although I would recommend between 75 and 80
degrees. Reptile heat rocks or heating lights can be used to
accomplish this. A 40 watt bulb will do the trick quite well.
Q: What do leopard geckos eat?
A: The usual diet is cricket or meal worms. Ours are fed crickets. The insects
are readily available from pet stores and can be dusted with calcium dust.
We use the "shake and bake" method when dusting crickets. Using a
plastic bag with a little bit of calcium dust in it, throw a few crickets in and
shake lightly. If dusting the individual insects isn't your speed, a small,
shallow dish of calcium dust can be kept in the cage. The geckos will lick
the dust whenever they need more calcium. The geckos should be fed once
every day or every other day. We feed them as much as they want to eat at
feeding time. This will vary from gecko to gecko. One cute thing most
leopard geckos do when eating is quickly wag the end of their tail just
before striking their food. This behavior is also exhibited by males during
breeding season when they are "confronting" females.
Our breeding geckos are fed pinkies (small mice) every two weeks or so.
They need the extra fat and protein for all of the extra activity. Also, the
bones provide calcium.