A-1 Reptiles
Leopard Gecko Care
Make sure a shallow water dish is available at all times. Drinking dishes should be kept clean and free of debris.
Mealworms and crickets are the main diet of Leopard Geckos. Leopard Gecko hatchlings will eat quarter inch crickets. Adult Leopard Geckos can eat 3/4 inch crickets or larger. As a rule Leopard Geckos can eat crickets just slightly smaller than their head. They will not chew their food but rather crush and swallow it. Baby Leopard Geckos should not be fed mealworms until the age of four to five months.
Daytime temperatures should be around 85 deg f and may cool 70 deg f at night. A small part of the Leopard Geckos enclosure should be heated to 85-88 deg f and this can be done with a reptile heat pad placed under the tank. Do not use heat rocks as heat rocks have been know to cause thermal burns on reptiles.
A twenty gallon long aquarium is the minimum size enclosure requirements for any reptile. It is impossible to regulate heat in an enclosure any smaller than a twenty gallon tank. A warm spot and a cool spot are essential for housing Leopard Geckos and keeping them in good physical condition.
A breeding group may consist of one male and three or more females. Do not house male Leopard Geckos inside the same enclosure as males of this specie are highly territorial and will fight to the death.
A plastic container should be placed inside the enclosure as a laying site for the females. An opening should be made on the containers top or side big enough for the female Leopard Geckos to crawl in and out. Inside the container a moist medium should be placed such as vermiculite, peat moss or store bought top soil. The medium should be kept moist at all times. Female Leopard Geckos are drawn to moist areas to deposit their eggs.
Mating usually takes place in early January. After mating female Leopard Geckos will lay two soft shelled eggs in approximately fifteen days. A clutch (two eggs) will be laid every fifteen days thereafter throughout the breeding season. Breeding season runs January through July of each year. Male Leopard Geckos can remain year round with their females.
Sex of the hatchlings can be determined by incubation temperature. To produce mostly females eggs should be incubated at 80-82 deg f. To produce mostly males eggs should be incubated at 85-88 deg f. Incubators can be found at most local farm supply stores and are sold as Hoovabators. Eggs incubated at 80-82 deg f will hatch in approximately sixty days. Eggs incubated at 85-88 deg f will hatch in approximately forty-five days.
Hatchling Leopard Geckos should not receive their first meal until after their first shed which usually takes place five to six days after hatching.
Juvenile to adult Leopard Geckos are easily sexed. In males there is a row of a dozen or more pinhole sized preanal pores just above the cloacol opening. Female Leopard Geckos lack these pores.
A suitable substrate for Leopard Geckos may consist of peat moss and store bought top soil. Peat moss and top soil also help to absorb odor naturally. These are organic materials and totally digestible. Top soil should be free of sand as sand causes impaction in reptiles. Leopard Geckos will defecate in the same area of their enclosure making cleanup easy.
Breeding Leopard Geckos can be a profitable investment. There are many different color morphs available on Leopard Geckos. Coloration is achieved by multiple generations of selective breeding.
A-1 Reptileswww.a1reptiles.netCopyright 1990-2010
Shipping Nationwide!
Order Line 740-493-0029
Click here to add text.
Eublepharis macularius
Click here to add text.
