A newbies guide to leopard geckos

Welcome to the world of wonderful leopard geckos.

In this blog, we have been looking at all aspects of leopard gecko care.

I thought I would write a post about leopard gecko basics for newbies. Such as what a leopard gecko is, where they come from, their average lifespan, size and other key leopard gecko facts.

There will be a lot more information about each topic on individual posts, but perhaps this will give a useful general overview.

If you are the type of person who is fond of caring for unique and gentle pet, then you have come to the right place. I truly believe that Leopard Geckos make a fantastic pet, one that will bring great enjoyment to you and also the rest of your family including kids.

Eublepharis macularius is the scientific name for the Leopard Gecko. Leopard geckos have become one of the most common geckos that are being kept as a house pet. If you want the full scientific classification, here it is: Animalia (Kingdom), Chordata (Phylum), Reptilia (Class), Squamata (Order), Geckoida (Family), Eublepharis (Genus), E. macularius (Species).

You can read this earlier post on why they are called leopard geckos in the first place.

The Leopard Gecko is a generally docile animal. Actually, I should clarify that, the leopard gecko is generally docile, friendly and gentle ONCE they have reached a certain level of maturity: baby leopard geckos are feisty teeny tiny little things..snarling mini-devil-geckos my friend calls them.

Over recent years, Leopard Geckos have gained popularity and are rapidly moving up the list of commonly-owned pets such as cats, dogs, fish and birds. Have you people seen the mascot of that famous automobile insurance company in those TV ads? Yes, all geckos have English accents, don't you know!

Here is a little background on leopard geckos and their origin

The Leopard Gecko is a native of Southern Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iran and Iraq. They lived there in harsh conditions, often under the blazing sun. So they slept by day to escape the heat and woke up at night.

To date, almost all of the Leopard Geckos that are being sold in the United States and most other places have been hatched and raised in confinement (captivity). This procedure eliminates the stress of shipping a gecko long distances. Leopard geckos aren't good with stress and it can cause illness and sometimes death.

How Big Does A Leopard Gecko Get?

Most Leopard Geckos grow to 10 to 12 inches (total length). They can be happy enough to live in an aquarium with 10 to 15 gallon capacity. Anything too small and again, you have to be aware of causing stress. No Gecko owner would want to own an unhappy Gecko as an unhappy gecko can create a sick gecko. That being said, if you are just starting and your Gecko is still young, you can then use a smaller vivarium and later move to a bigger habitat as your young reptile pet grows.

Taking care of a leopard gecko

Are you afraid that you may not be able to care for your Gecko properly? Then, worry no more. The Leopard Geckos are very easy to take care of. They are to be frank, clean animals (isn’t that amazing or what?). Unlike other household pets, Leopard Geckos are known to select a specific area of their habitat or place that they can exclusively use for their litters. That makes it easier for the owner to clean up. You can also place a toilet roll or paper towel in the specific spot that they choose, so cleaning up will be a breeze.

In a Leopard Geckos natural habitat, they actually live on soil (land). They are not into climbing trees, it is imperative that they are given or provided with a housing that gives them a lot of surface area. The aquarium’s bottom should always be covered with artificial turf, newspapers (can be used too), or paper towels. Please note that, you cannot use sand, “this is highly not recommended”. Your leopard gecko will ingest the sand when it actually captures its food.

Leopard gecko food

“Insectivores” that is what Leopard Geckos are. They are fond of eating live food. The likes of butter worms; crickets; cockroaches; wax worms or mealworms. A lot of Leopard Gecko owners chooses to raise crickets on their own even mealworms, specifically for the purpose of feeding their pets. Another must known fact is, if you are to feed your Leopard Gecko a cricket, you should place a stone in the middle of its water tray incase they fall in. That would actually prevent your Leopard Gecko from dirtying up its water.

Leopard geckos lifespan

For a lot of different reasons, a Leopard Gecko can be just the perfect pet for you. After reading this post, you will definitely want to rush and look at your local pet shop for a Leopard Gecko. Although, your decision to obtain a Leopard Gecko should not be done based on 'impulse'. Leopard Geckos are known to have a long life span (this is as far as pets go) so if finally you decide to get one for a pet make sure that you are more than willing to make the commitment to take care of it (for a very long time to come). Leopard Geckos can and may actually live for 20 years and sometimes even longer. There is one Leopard Gecko owner, who has written a letter addressed to the chief editor of the Reptiles Magazine, and actually state that their Leopard Gecko lived for almost thirty years!

These and more other facts about Leopard Geckos are to come, so read on!