Critter of the Month
Leopard Gecko
Leopard Geckos, Eublepharis macularius, are small to medium sized lizards that are native to south central Asia. They are grouped with other lizards in the Family Gekkonidae. Their natural environment is a relatively harsh place to live and that makes Leopard Geckos very hardy animals. This hardiness combined with their tendency to be trusting and docile animals makes them good pets for beginning or young lizard keepers, and they have been bred in captivity long enough to result in many different color varieties keeping them interesting for more experienced individuals.
Wild Leopard Geckos live in an arid environment where there are distinct wet and dry seasons. During the dry months finding food and water consistently is difficult which is one reason why they are such tough little lizards. They store food and water in their tails to help them through periods when they can't find enough. Their habitat is dry, mountainous, brush country with rocky areas where they live in burrows or other hiding places and come out at night to forage. Leopard Geckos are carnivorous and in the wild will eat anything that moves and is small enough to fit in their mouth. The majority of their food will be insects but they won't pass up small vertebrates like baby snakes, lizards, or mice.
In captivity Leopard Geckos can be housed in a 10 gallon tank with a screen top. My first choice as a substrate is crushed walnut shells and sand is my second choice. I don't worry about impaction with these substrates. I don't like cedar or pine shavings because they can release irritating oils and corn cob expands too much when ingested and can cause impaction. The cage should also have a place for the gecko to hide. Something as simple as an empty paper towel tube can serve this purpose or you can choose something more decorative.
Feed your Leopard Gecko crickets and mealworms. Feed mealworms in a small dish with sides just high enough so the worms can't get out. I use a 3 inch ceramic crock, with some healthy, low sugar, cereal crumbs and a small piece of carrot in it to gut load the worms before they are eaten. Three or four times a week give each gecko as many calcium dusted crickets as it will eat over night. Two or three times a week place a shallow dish of water in the cage. Don't water the gecko at the same time that you feed crickets or some of the crickets will drown. If you leave the water dish in all of the time the gecko will fill it up with substrate.
Leopard Geckos will pick a corner of their cage for their toilet making scooping easy. I scoop every day or so and change the substrate when it starts to look bad. That is clean up for your gecko.
Wild Leopard Geckos live in an arid environment where there are distinct wet and dry seasons. During the dry months finding food and water consistently is difficult which is one reason why they are such tough little lizards. They store food and water in their tails to help them through periods when they can't find enough. Their habitat is dry, mountainous, brush country with rocky areas where they live in burrows or other hiding places and come out at night to forage. Leopard Geckos are carnivorous and in the wild will eat anything that moves and is small enough to fit in their mouth. The majority of their food will be insects but they won't pass up small vertebrates like baby snakes, lizards, or mice.
In captivity Leopard Geckos can be housed in a 10 gallon tank with a screen top. My first choice as a substrate is crushed walnut shells and sand is my second choice. I don't worry about impaction with these substrates. I don't like cedar or pine shavings because they can release irritating oils and corn cob expands too much when ingested and can cause impaction. The cage should also have a place for the gecko to hide. Something as simple as an empty paper towel tube can serve this purpose or you can choose something more decorative.
Feed your Leopard Gecko crickets and mealworms. Feed mealworms in a small dish with sides just high enough so the worms can't get out. I use a 3 inch ceramic crock, with some healthy, low sugar, cereal crumbs and a small piece of carrot in it to gut load the worms before they are eaten. Three or four times a week give each gecko as many calcium dusted crickets as it will eat over night. Two or three times a week place a shallow dish of water in the cage. Don't water the gecko at the same time that you feed crickets or some of the crickets will drown. If you leave the water dish in all of the time the gecko will fill it up with substrate.
Leopard Geckos will pick a corner of their cage for their toilet making scooping easy. I scoop every day or so and change the substrate when it starts to look bad. That is clean up for your gecko.
