Gecko

Pay special attention to the tail in the pet store; a healthy Leopard gecko will typically display a fat tail since this is where Leopard geckos store their energy reserves. The digits should also be thick all the way true and selecting a specimen that still have all its digits intact in naturally a good idea. Just as with many other animals, poor appetite is usually a sign of poor health in Leopard geckos. Visit the pet store around feeding time or ask the store keeper to give the geckos some food while you are watching.

If you want to keep several Leopard geckos, the terrarium must of course be larger than for one single Leopard gecko. A 20 gallon terrarium is enough for a single Leopard gecko, but 30 gallons or more is to be preferred since this will improve the life of the Leopard gecko and make it easier for you to maintain a stable environment.

Two male Leopard geckos should not be housed together since they will fight each a lot and injure each other. It is not uncommon for one, or both, to end up dead. Females can be kept together, but if the terrarium is too small they will become stressed and try to dominate each other. If you want to keep males and females together, the ratio is important. If you house a male with one single female, he will try to mate with her all the time and eventually the stress will kill her. A male should therefore be house with at least three adult females, preferably more. You can also keep him in his own terrarium and only occasionally place him in the female terrarium if you want to breed Leopard geckos.

A Leopard gecko must have access to at least three good hiding spots in the terrarium. The first one should be located at the warmest part of the terrarium, the second one in the coolest part, and the third one should be a damp and humid hiding spot. The humid hiding spot will be used when the gecko sheds its skin and female geckos are found of laying their eggs in humid sheltered spots. If you house several Leopard geckos together, they will need more hiding spots.

Leopard geckos will need live insects such as crickets, locusts and mealworms. You can also give your Leopard gecko occasional treats in the form of fatty butterworms and waxworms, but these worms should not be used as staple food since they are very high in fat. If you have a gravid Leopard gecko, she will probably appreciate small baby mice (so called pinkie). To make sure that your Leopard gecko receives all necessary nutrients you should provide it with a varied diet. You can also dust the insects in calcium powder and leave a small cup of pure calcium in the terrarium. Leopard geckos should naturally always have access to fresh water.