Keeping Leopard Geckos - a beginners' guide

Why Leopard Geckos?

In many respects, leopard geckos are the ideal exotic pet. Generally, they are friendly, relatively inexpensive to house and keep, fairly resistant to disease and most come with a distinctive coloration that makes them an attractive adornment to any living space. They are not suitable for very young children or for people looking for a strong empathic bond with their pet. They are nocturnal and so are rarely seen during daylight hours. They have very specific heating, hygiene and feeding requirements, but if these are met a captive leopard gecko should live a full and contented life and bring joy to its owner.

Physical characteristics

The two most distinctive features of leopard geckos - their fully developed eyelids and attractively speckled dorsal skin (which comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns) - account for their genus-species name eublepharis macularius, eublepharis meaning 'good eyelid' and macularius meaning 'spotted'. Leopard geckos have the triangular head and long neck that are peculiar to geckos, and a substantial tail which serves as a fat store. The tail is detachable and will break off (continuing to move of its own accord for a few seconds) if the gecko is attacked by a predator, buying it precious time to escape to safety. When this happens, the tail will eventually grow back but will rarely be as attractive as the original.

Leopard geckos lack the toe-pads that other species of gecko use for climbing and are polyphyodonts, meaning that they replace all of their hundred teeth every 3 to 4 months. Adult males and females can be distinguished by their pores on the ventral abdomen. The males have a V-shaped cluster of pores that are clearly visible; the pores are much smaller on the females, barely discernible. It is a good idea to ask the supplier from whom you buy the gecko to sex it for you. Females are usually easier to handle than males and may be the better choice of pet for children under 15.

Leopard geckos are fast growing and achieve adulthood within one year, attaining a length of between 20 and 28 cm (8 to 11 inches), with males being slightly bigger than females. They owe their common name to their leopard-like markings on their back, which are muddy brown spots on a yellow-brown background for the natural geckos. There is a wide variety of morphs that have different colorations, some strikingly beautiful. One of the most popular morphs is the High Yellow which is predominantly orange-yellow in colour with a reduced number of dark spots. The hypomelanistic or hypo is similar but has even fewer spots (i.e. less than ten on its body, excluding the head and tail). The underside of all leopard geckos is unmarked, smooth and transparent.

Leopard geckos in the wild

The natural habitat of the leopard gecko is a dry, sub-humid environment with plenty of groundcover, such as is found in the desert regions of North India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the hot days, these geckos will hide themselves away in underground shelters and emerge at dusk to hunt for food. They are ectotherms, which means they have no internal body heat and must take the warmth they need for their metabolic function from their surroundings. Usually, they absorb heat at night from rocky ground that retains the scorching heat of the day's sun. In the cold winter months, when temperatures dip below 10° C, they go into hibernation.

Leopard geckos in captivity

The exotic habitat that these fascinating lizards enjoy in the wild is surprisingly easy to replicate in the home for captive leopard geckos. A basic set up, consisting of a small heated tank and a few hides, will be adequate for most geckos and cost as little as 50 pounds (80 dollars). Unlike some other lizards (such as bearded dragons), they do not have any UV lighting requirements. What is essential is a low wattage heat mat with a thermostat to ensure that the correct temperate gradient - 20°C (70°F) to 30°C (85°F) - is achieved across the length of the tank. The cost of running the heat mat is low - less than 50 pence (80 cents) per week for a modest-sized tank.

Food for leopard geckos (mealworms and crickets) is readily available and fairly inexpensive, as are calcium and vitamin supplements needed for a healthy metabolism. Providing you follow some basic but essential hygiene rules, health problems with your gecko should be minimal. The most likely reason for premature death in leopard geckos is poor hygiene. You must not adopt a leopard gecko as a pet unless you are prepared to put in the time, money and effort to keep him or her healthy. Watching a pet die from neglect is one of the most heart-breaking things imaginable.

My checklist breaks down the cost of keeping a leopard gecko. After the initial outlay (the cost of the lizard, tank and its adornments), which can range from 100 pounds to 500 pounds (160 dollars to 800 dollars), the cost of keeping your leopard gecko is modest compared with most other pets, typically 25 pounds (40 dollars) per month. On top of this you should allow for vet bills, which can be costly, so it's a good idea to take out a pets insurance policy on your gecko. On average, leopard geckos live for five years in captivity, but they have been known to live much longer, up to twenty years in some cases.

Buying your leopard gecko

When buying a leopard gecko it is essential that you do so from a specialist reptile supplier or a reputable pet company. In either case, ensure that the vendor is knowledgeable and that the shop is clean, with the animals on sale in good condition. Always select a healthy gecko, i.e. one with a full body and tail and no obvious blemishes (scabby mouth, protruding bones, dead skin). Never be duped into buying a sick animal, believing that you can restore it to health. If a gecko looks as if it is on its last legs, it probably is.

One parasite that leopard geckos are especially prone to is cryptosporidium, for which there is presently no known cure. You are more likely to end up with a gecko infected with cryptosporidium if you buy it from a large retailer than a small specialist supplier. If, having bought the gecko, you have to reason to think it has the virus (symptoms include an unwillingness to eat, a thinning of the tail and a prolonged appearance of lethargy), return it to the supplier and ask for your money back. Never mislead yourself into thinking that you can save a sick gecko - all it has to look forward to is a slow and painful death.

Plan ahead for the happy arrival

Before you purchase a leopard gecko, it's a good idea to get hold of a small container in which you can safely transport it from the supplier to your home. Usually, a plastic faunarium or pet carrier will be suitable, but if the lizard is likely to be exposed to heat (above 30°) for any length of time, an ice box with air holes might be a better choice. In either case, line the inside of the container with paper towels to reduce the chance of injury in transit.

It is strongly recommended that you set up the gecko's home before you go to collect it. Allow two or three days to get the temperature in its permanent container (vivarium) to the right settings, so that you can be sure the gecko will be safe and happy when he or she takes up long-term residence.

Moving in

During its first few days in its new home, the leopard gecko will be in no mood for socialising. It needs to be given time to settle down and become familiar with its new environment, so it's best to keep your interaction with it to the absolute minimum. Start by offering the gecko food on a daily basis (use tweezers if you are squeamish about holding worms or insects) and start to handle it only when it appears settled (this can take several weeks, if not months).

Getting a young leopard gecko to accept food in these first few days can be tricky - usually they will be reluctant to set so much as an inquisitive snout outsider their nice cosy hide. It may help to use a small pencil torch to illuminate the inside of the hide as you nudge some food in the shy gecko's direction (be careful not to shine the light into its eyes). You'll be amazed at the speed at which the food disappears once the gecko sees it crawling towards it. (If the gecko shows no interest in the food, always remove it, dispose of it, and try again with a fresh piece of food later.) Once the gecko gets into the habit of eating food given to it inside the safety of its hide, it will be more willing to venture outside to take food from you.

It is generally not a good idea to keep two or more geckos in the same container, but if you want to give it a try, there is one golden rule that most be followed. If you buy another gecko to go into a tank with another, always quarantine it (for a period of two months) beforehand, to guard against the possibility that it might have a contagious illness. If the two geckos show hostility towards one another when they first meet, they should be separated immediately and housed separately.

It is now widely believed that the quarantine rule is no help if one of the geckos has something as serious as cryptosporidium, as the symptoms are hard to spot in the early stages of infection. For this reason alone I would strongly recommend that you never house more than one gecko in any container. If you have more than one leopard gecko you should never allow them to come into contact, either directly or indirectly - i.e. wash their container items separately, never transfer food or water from one container to another, and always wash your hands thoroughly after handling one gecko or anything it may have come into contact with. If your working assumption is that your leopard gecko has a highly contagious infection and act accordingly, there's a very good chance that your pet will achieve its maximum life expectancy.

Another thing to bear in mind is that leopard geckos are timid animals and easily stressed. If you constantly disturb your pet gecko, move its furniture around a lot, play it loud music and don't stick to a regular feeding and cleaning schedule, it will become stressed and is much more likely to fall ill. The best defence for leopard geckos against any disease (even something as nasty as cryptosporidium) is a healthy metabolism and immune system, and reducing stress levels is one way to help achieve this. We all know that stress can be lethal to humans - for leopard geckos it is doubly so. They like the quiet life.

Shedding

Like most lizards, leopard geckos will shed their skin in pieces rather than in one piece (as a snake does). The process of shedding will usually take a few days and occurs once a fortnight for young geckos, once a month for adults. As it sheds, the gecko will usually eat its skin, which explains why it may decline food offered to it a day or two before shedding begins.

Two theories have been put forward to account for why leopard geckos eat their own skin - either the skin has some valuable nutritional content or the gecko is simply eating it to conceal its presence from any predators in the vicinity. During shedding, it is best not to disturb the gecko. You will find that leopard geckos are at their most nervous and panicky when they are shedding.

Natural-born loners

Lacking the emotional equipment of mammals, leopard geckos are not capable of forming a close attachment with their owners, or even with their own kind. They are solitary creatures and regard other geckos as either a competitor or a threat. For this reason, it is recommended that if you wish to own several leopard geckos, these should be housed separately. Placed in the same container, the likelihood is that the geckos will fight and possibly maim or even try to kill each other.

Sometimes two or three female leopard geckos may get along together in the same tank (particularly if they begin co-cohabiting in early infancy), but under no circumstances should two or more adult male geckos be housed together. The best bet is always to keep your geckos apart, bringing a male and female together only for breeding purposes. Leopard geckos never get lonely. They prefer to have their own space.

Handle with care

Because they do not seek or require attention, leopard geckos are not wildly enthusiastic about being handled by their owners. It takes a while for a gecko to get used to being handled and even then they find it a stressful experience. If it feels threatened, there is a chance that the gecko will turn on its owner and bite, although this is quite rare as most geckos are friendly and bite only when seriously provoked.

Never try to pick up a gecko from above and never grab hold of its tail (if you do so there is a good chance that the tail and lizard will part company). The safest option is to either gently scoop it up onto the palm of your hand from the side or let it walk onto the back of your hand (gently touching it rear legs to encourage it to do so). You can also lift it up by its shoulders, providing you also support it from beneath.

Once it has grown accustomed to being on your hand, the leopard gecko will usually allow its curiosity to overcome its fear and it will go exploring - climbing up your arm and onto your shoulders. With gentle encouragement, the gecko will be persuaded to climb down your other arm. If you are careful, this routine can be carried on for several minutes, until the gecko gets bored and shows signs of wanting to return to the comfort of its tank. If at any time the gecko appears stressed or starts barking (its bark sounds like a faint, high-pitched squeal), always place it back in its container immediately and leave it alone for a while.

When handling your gecko, be very careful not to let it fall onto the floor. Sometimes, a gecko may become a little too adventurous and try to make a break for it, risking life and limb in the process. It is best to handle geckos when you are seated on the floor, in a small (preferably carpeted) room in which the windows and doors are closed. Note that young leopard geckos (less than six months) move like grease lightning - they need to be handled with extreme care.

Immediately after handling your leopard gecko, you must wash your hands thoroughly with an effective anti-bacterial soap to guard against the possibility of picking up some harmful bacteria. Take time (at least two minutes) to wash your hands properly otherwise you may end up in bed with a nasty food poisoning complaint. Children under ten should never handle geckos, unless closely supervised by an adult.

Leopard geckos are naturally inquisitive creatures and will, if they are in the mood, appreciate being let out of their enclosure. If you do this, make sure that any surface your gecko walks on is safe, it is unlikely to fall from a height and injure itself, and the room is sealed so that your cherished pet does not escape into the wide blue yonder.

© James Travers 2014