Leopard Gecko

A Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is a friendly reptile and very popular as a pet. Captive-bred geckos can be found in most pet stores. These beautiful lizards can come in lots of colors, sizes and patterns. Leopard geckos are terrestrial animals which means they are ground dwellers. They are also nocturnal which means they roam around mostly at night. Leopard geckos are mostly yellow and white colored with black spots. When the hatch-lings are born, they are more striped, but the spots come out later.

A pet gecko can be housed easily in a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium with a secure screen cover. The ten gallon would be fine for one gecko and for two or more, a 20 gallon tank would be better. There can only be one male per tank because if two males are together in one tank, they may cause injury to one another. Only put a male and female together in a tank if you're prepared to deal with the offspring. As far as the substrate covering the floor of the tank, do not use wood shavings or sand. With the sand, while the leopard gecko is eating it could eat some of the sand with the food and suffer an intestinal blockage. Paper towels, slate, tile, or indoor/outdoor carpeting also work well. http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/lizardsaspets/p/leopardgecko.htm

Housing
To make your leopard gecko comfortable. you will need a shallow water dish, 2 hides (one moist), an under tank heat pad and maybe some artificial greenery for decoration. The heat pad needs to be put underneath one side of the aquarium making it about 88 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The other side will be the cool side and should be kept in the mid 70s. A thermometer is needed to keep the temperature at the proper level. You put one hide, which can be as simple as an inverted saucer, wood or special hides just for geckos, on the cool side. Put another hide on the hot side. Fill that hide with moist sphagnum moss, forest bed (Coconut fiber) or paper towel. This provides the gecko with a warm humid hide so that it can shed properly. This way the gecko can go to whichever area he desires and he can regulate his own body temperature. Since leopard geckos are nocturnal, overhead UVB lighting is not required.

Diet
Leopard geckos are insectivores meaning they eat insects. Juvenile leopard geckos should be fed once a day as many dusted insects as they will eat in 20 minutes. Once they get older, they will begin to refuse food every day and will only eat a few times a week. This is normal. Some insects that are good to feed geckos are crickets, meal-worms, super worms, silk worms, butter worms, roaches, phoenix worms and locust and sometimes for a treat, wax worms. Wax worms should be fed sparingly since they are very high in fat. The insects fed to the gecko need to be the proper size. Crickets, locust and roaches should be as long as the geckos head is wide. Super worms and meal-worms should be 1 1/2 the length of the geckos head or maybe even a little bit longer. Phoenix worms, silk worms and wax worms should be the length of your geckos head. Do not leave crickets in the aquarium for an extended length of time. Remove them once your gecko is finished eating. Crickets that are left in with the geckos have been known to nibble on sleeping geckos.

Your insect food must be gut loaded before giving to your gecko. This means you need to feed the insects with nutritious food so then, when your gecko eats the insects, it is passed on. You can make your own gut load or buy it commercially. Never feed your gecko with insects you find out in your yard. They could be infected with parasites or contaminated with pesticides or weed killer.

The leopard geckos that are our pets and in captivity need additional vitamins. Therefore, you need to dust the insects with vitamins, and D3 twice a week and pure calcium every other feeding for young geckos and vitamins and D3 twice a month and pure calcium at the other feedings for adults. http://www.reptilerooms.com/forums/index.php?s=12e177768b6eaa2e2384e04209642813&showtopic=63508

Shedding
A juvenile gecko may shed its skin as often as once a week. Older geckos may not shed for 30 days between sheds. After a gecko pulls the dead skin off of his body, he eats it so you may not even know that your gecko has shed. Sometimes, you call tell that your gecko is about to shed because your gecko's skin begins to look grayish/whitish and dull. Right after your gecko sheds, his skin will be very bright again. Make sure after your gecko sheds that he got all the skin off of him, especially around his toes. If skin gets left on toes, it could shut off blood circulation and the gecko could lose his toe. Since you never know when your gecko is ready to shed, always keep the hot hide very moist so it is ready for him. http://www.reptilerooms.com/forums/index.php?s=12e177768b6eaa2e2384e04209642813&showtopic=63508

Leopard geckos are capable of living a very long life if given proper nutrition and care. An illness can occur in leopard geckos even with a good diet and housing. You need to make sure there is a veterinarian locally that has experience dealing with exotic animals, especially reptiles, before anything happens. Here are some health problems that can occur in leopard geckos.

1. Digestive Tract Obstruction
   This happens when the gecko eats something that he is unable to digest. Some obstructions that the gecko may have ingested are gravel, sand, or substrate. This blockage could be fatal. Always make sure that the substrate in the aquarium is either not able to be eaten (paper towel, tile, slate) or is small enough to be easily passed through the system if eaten.
2. Calcium Deficiencies
   If you are not giving your leopard gecko enough calcium in his diet, the gecko may eat the substrate to get his calcium. A digestive tract obstruction could then occur. The best way to make sure your gecko is getting enough calcium is to put some in a little dish in the aquarium. You can purchase calcium supplements at most pet stores.
3. Mouth Infection
   Leopard geckos can get mouth infections from fighting with another gecko, accidental injury or a dirty habitat. The indication of a mouth infection is swelling around the geckos mouth. In order to treat this, you would clean the infected area daily and depending on what the veterinarian suggests, an oral antibiotic may be given.
4. Tail Loss
   It is common for a leopard gecko to lose his tail. This can happen if a gecko is grabbed by the tail or frightened or feels threatened. In nature, a leopard gecko uses this trick to distract the enemy and try to escape from danger. If your leopard gecko loses his tail, separate him from other geckos until the tail grows back and then return him to the original tank. The new tail will begin to show in a few days. However, it may take 3 to 4 months for it to recover to its full size. The new tail may not be as pretty as the original tail. Always handle your leopard gecko with care.
5. Respiratory Infection
   Your leopard gecko can get a respiratory infection if his aquarium is too cold for a lengthy period of time. A sign of an infection would be mucus bubbles on the nostrils and labored breathing. One way to correct this health problem is to increase the temperature in the aquarium.http://www.leopardgeckoguide.com/leopard-geck-health-illness/