Housing
There are a few essentials to housing Leopard Geckos. For
tank size, generally a 10 gallon tank is perfect for one Leopard Gecko.
When you get into having more Leopard Geckos, commonly it is about 10
gallons for every gecko. So if you have two Leopard Geckos, a 20 gallon
tank is ideal.
Inside your tank, you will need to make available a
few basics for your Leopard Geckos such as a dark hide, humid hide,
water bowl, supplements, and food dish. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal
animals, meaning they are on the go at night rather than the day. They
need a hide that will stay dark while it is light outside or in the
room to decrease stress.
Although Leopard Geckos are from the
desert, they still need a source of humidity. The easiest way to offer
this is to create a humid hide. A humid hide can be as straightforward
as Tupperware container with a hole cut into it for the gecko to enter.
Inside, you will need to have a moist substrate. At MK Geckos, we use
Bed-A-Beast for all of our humid hides; moist paper towel can be used
as well.
For a substrate (what goes on the bottom of the tank)
many breeders favor paper towel. Lots of Leopard Gecko owners use
Repti-Carpet or Slate Tile. One thing to keep in mind when choosing a
substrate right for your Leopard Gecko is to stay away from loose
substrates. Loose substrates lead to impaction which usually results in
death.
Heating
The best way to provide heat for Leopard
Geckos is through an under tank heater. An under tank heater gives
Leopard Geckos the heat they need. Since they are nocturnal animals,
Leopard Geckos do not get their heat from the sun, but from the rocks
that have absorbed the heat from the sun. With that said, one might
think a heat rock would be the most excellent source of heat. It is
not; heat rocks tend to get hot spots which can burn your Leopard
Gecko. As for temperatures, Leopard Geckos are best kept with a hot
side of the tank between 87° F and 92° F with a cool side between 70° F
and 78° F.
Feeding
There are a few different options when
feeding Leopard Geckos. The two best ways to offer food to your Leopard
Geckos is either a bowl of gutloaded mealworms or offering gutloaded
crickets. First off, both food options need to be gutloaded. It is best
to offer the crickets fresh carrots, lettuce, and bread. For mealworms,
potatoes and wheat bran is sufficient. Cody's Pro Geckos also sells a
gutload called Cody's Pro Gutload which many breeders including MK
Geckos uses.
When offering mealworms to your Leopard Gecko, it's
best to do so in a bowl. Simply refill the bowl as needed. The Leopard
Gecko should be allowed to eat as much as it wants. For crickets, put
the crickets into the cage, and give the gecko time to get the
crickets. After about an hour or so, take the crickets that have not
been eaten out. If they are not taken out, the crickets will nibble on
the geckos body.
Supplements are also needed for your Leopard
Gecko. A multivitamin and calcium are a necessity. A Gatorade cap worth
of calcium should be offered at all times in the cage. Along with the
cap, the food source should be dusted with calcium about once a week.
The multivitamin should be used to dust the food source two to three
times a week.
A water dish must be available for the gecko at all times. You might not see your gecko drinking, but they are using it.
