Is a leopard gecko right for you? Are you ready to commit love and time to a loving creature? Leopard geckos are a docile specie of reptiles. They come if a variety of colors know as morphs or Phases. They have a bright attitude and are easy to care for. They don't require much, but what little they require they better have because it could lead to improper nourishment,stress,physical deformities,emotional stress and many more things geckos really don't need in their life.

 Bringing your new gecko home.Stress from new surroundings,new sounds and even new smells could cause you gecko to become stressed at first. Stress from the shipping or simply just taking it home will require you to let you new gecko adjust before you start handling. They should be placed in their enclosure that should of been ready to go before you brought you new gecko home. Let it adjust which could take up to a week, in the meantime it might not have an appetite or it will be scared. In no time your new gecko will be ready to be picked up moderately and have an appetite of a lion. 

Housing 1 Adult leopard geckos should have a minimum floor space of a 10 gallon tank. We keep our single adults in 16q sterilite tubs. Juveniles and babies are kept in 6q tubs till they are ready for an upgrade. Our adult breeding groups are kept in 32 q sterilite tubs. 

We use the plastic containers appose of the hundreds of cages you could find in the stores because they are easy to find and easy on the bank. 

The cage should include a Cold humid hide which is placed in the cold side of the cage and contains wet paper towels or other substrates to help with shedding , a warm hide which is placed in the warm side of the cage, water bowl, calcium bowl and meal worm dish hers a link to a picture of an adequate cage from celebrity geckos. Another type of cage is a simple 10 gallon cage here's a link to a cage from celebrity geckos 

Males should never be housed with other males because they will fight to the death. They will never co exist with each other, so they should  be house alone. Males could be housed with a female and breed with them, but shouldn't be housed unless you are accepting the responsibility of caring for the gravid female and her offspring's. 

 If bred the male should be removed and housed separately to keep him from trying to breed with her over and over, which could lead to  stress.

Territorial Leopard geckos could become territorial for many reasons . It could be food competition,bigger gecko harassing the smaller gecko and over crowding. Geckos should be housed separately if aggression is shown to prevent serious health problems. 

Never house leopard geckos with any other specie of reptile. leopard geckos are naturally solitary animals and do not do well with other reptiles. Do Not house your adult gecko with babies or smaller geckos. 

Substrate  Loose substrate such as sand,bark,rocks,dirt can be harmful to you gecko. These substrates have a high possibility that they will end up in your geckos mouth and cause him/her to become impacted and die. Leopard geckos especially the babies are notorious for eating sand while striking at prey or just simply licking around. Most pet stores that use sand have dead babies or close to death geckos in their cages. Safe substrates are,paper towels, news paper, reptile carpet.slate, and unglazed tile. Most breeders agreed that paper towels and news paper are the safest for the gecko and are easy to change. 

Lighting Unlike most other reptiles leopard, geckos do not require special lighting. They are nocturnal,  so they are adapted to live without any special kinds of lights unlike Iguanas and other type of  geckos.  Leopard gecko eyes are sensitive to light, so keep in mine that using bright lights around your pet will cause discomfort.  Red bulbs made for reptiles are recommended while viewing your gecko. 

Heating  All reptiles lack the ability to produce their own source of heat, unlike mammals. Artificial heating such as a UTH (under tank heater), which is placed under enclosure to provide belly heat, is essential to leopard geckos to help with digestion and the well being.  All heating accessories should be controlled with either a rheostat or a thermostat, to prevent over heating causing burns to your gecko. The heat source should be placed at one end of the tank to allow for thermal regulation. The gecko should have a hot side of 88F-95F  and a room temperature cold side( 70F-80F).

Shedding Reptiles shed their skin on regular basis, and Leopard Geckos should shed about every 2-4 weeks.Unlike some other reptiles, leopard geckos will eat the skin after it comes off. It is extremely important that ALL the skin comes off,especially from the eyelids and toes, as geckos can lose their digits to infection if the skin does not completely shed. If shedding is a problem for your gecko, it may be necessary to keep the substrate around their cave moist by misting it with water, placing a damp paper towel inside, or adding a separate, moist hide in their enclosure. For severe cases of stuck shed, soaking your leopard gecko's feet in 1-2 inches of warm water and then using a swab, very gently remove any residual skin from their toes or eyelids in a rolling motion.

Handling Leopard geckos should be picked up gently from the side or allow it to walk up onto your hand. Never grab your gecko by the tail because it will drop it as a defends mechanism from predators. Tails are essential because they store food and water and will grow back gradually, but never as nice . 

Feeding  Leopard geckos  feed on Live insects like crickets, meal worms,king worms, wax worms(small quantities)  and roaches. Try not to feed insects bigger than 3/4 the size of the gecko's head to prevent suffocation. Meal worms can be placed in a dish containing calcium at all times. Crickets should be dusted with calcium supplement every other day and fed once a day and removed the survivors to keep them from bothering your gecko. Always remember to gut load your insects before feeding so your insects are full of nutritious value instead of an empty shell.  Goat loading is simply feeding your insects 24-48 prior to feeding, feeding a diet like whole grain cereal, oats, oranges, potatoes and dog food.  

Supplementation Always supplement your geckos with commercial products like repti cal with d3 for calcium and reptivite for vitamins or you can use T-Rex/Calcium Plus leo supplement which is soposto be the latest technology for supplementation . Hers a link were Julie owner of gecko ranch talks about this amazing product.  Supplement your live feeders by putting them in a container with the supplements and shaking it until all the feeders become dusted with the product. Supplement with calcium 2-3 times a week and at least once a week with herptivite. Without calcium and vitamins your gecko won't be able to function properly and its bones will become soft and develop MBD(metabolic bone disease). 

Quarantine   It is very important to quarantine any  animal, regardless if it came from a cheapo place or a high dollar breeder. You certainly wouldn't want to introduce a disease or parasites into your collection. A 30 -90 day period of quarantine is best.Wash your hands and don't share accessories between the current collection and the quarantined gecko while in quarantine. 

Thanks and if you have anymore questions please email me and I will be happy to answer them.