How to care for leopard geckos

Relatively easy to care for, beginner friendly reptile.

Minimum 20 gallon enclosure for 1 gecko, but larger is better. Leos are solitary creatures and should not be housed together, especially males. 

Substrate can be as simple as paper towels or reptile carpet, but I prefer cypress mulch which is more natural looking and helps keep the humidity up. Do not use loose substrate like sand because they might lick it up and become impacted.

They need at least 3 hides, warm, moist and cool. I use a deep heat projector to keep my warm hides around 90 degrees, but there are other options such as heat pads and ceramic heat emitters. Be careful using heating pads because if a gecko buries themselves too close to the pad, they could get burned. Never use heat rocks because they can get dangerously hot.  For my moist hides I use a Tupperware dish and cut a hole in the lid so they can bury themselves in order to stay cool and damp. I use sphagnum moss inside and fluff and moisten it once a day. This helps keep them hydrated and promotes good shedding. My geckos rarely use their cool hides, but always have one in their tanks so they have plenty of cover to hide in.

Geckos tend to be more active in the evening and at night and thus UVB is not super important for them. It’s still a good idea to include a UVB light for several hours each day so they can get plenty of Vitamin D which allows them to better absorb calcium from their diet and will generally improve the overall health of your gecko.

With proper care, geckos can live 10 to 20 years as a pet, so do not get one unless you are willing to give it a lifetime of love. 

Leos can be skittish and afraid of being handled, especially when they’re young. After an initial settling in period of 1-2 weeks, I recommend starting out by just talking to them to get them used to your presence and voice. I follow that up with putting my hand flat on their substrate and letting them choose to investigate me. If they climb on my hand, then I slowly remove them from their enclosure and let them explore their surroundings. I recommend no more than a few minutes of interaction at first until they become more comfortable with you. Each gecko will have a unique personality and will handle being picked up differently. We have one gecko that wants nothing to do with us and another that paws at the air wanting to be picked up whenever she sees us. 

Leopard geckos are carnivores and eat exclusively insects. They should be fed a variety of insects to make sure they get all the nutrition they need. Dubia roaches and CalciWorms have an excellent amount of much needed calcium and either/both should be included as part of their menu. Other options are crickets, mealworms, super worms, wax worms, etc. Some such as super worms and wax worms should be fed only rarely because they don’t have the best nutrition. I feed a combination of mealworms, super worms, dubia roaches and isopods to my geckos. Each gecko will have flavor preferences. I have one that absolutely loves isopods and others that turn up their nose at them. Find what works for your gecko’s pallet.  

All insects should be gut loaded before feeding. Gut loading means feeding them nutritious food such as commercial Dubia roach diet or fresh vegetables so that your gecko gets the extra nutrition of what the insect ate. Insects should also be dusted with calcium and multivitamins powder. I dust with calcium twice a week and multivitamin powder once a week. If a gecko does not absorb enough calcium and other nutrients, they can get metabolic bone disease which can cause bones to become weak and easily broken. This can be a disfiguring and potentially deadly disease. 

Geckos shed regularly and as weird as it sounds, will often eat their shed skin because it is full of nutrients. Normally they do not need help with shedding, but occasionally they may have stuck shed, especially if their enclosure is too dry. Fill a small tub with warm/not hot water up to their bellies and let them soak for 15 or 20 minutes. This will help hydrate them and allow the skin to come off more easily. Don’t pull the stuck skin off by hand. The new skin underneath is fragile and you risk tearing it.  You can occasionally mist their enclosure, and make sure the Sphagnum moss in their wet hide is wet, but not soaked in order to avoid shedding problems. 

Although geckos do not need yearly inoculations at the veterinarian like cats and dogs do, you should still have a herp vet available in case of emergencies. You should also weigh your gecko on a regular basis to make sure they are keeping a consistent weight. Unexplained weight loss could be a sign of health problems, and should be addressed by a vet. Yearly wellness exams are also a good idea, especially if you have any questions or concerns about your gecko’s behavior or enclosure setup.

It’s always a good idea to do more research before committing to caring for a gecko, but I hope this guide helps you along the way.