Reptiles · Geckos
Leopard Gecko
Eublepharis macularius
Ground-dwelling desert gecko with eyelidsBeginner
- Lifespan
- 15-20 years
- Size
- 20-25 cm
- Social needs
- Solitary; house singly
- Time
- Low-Medium; daily checks, evening feeds
- Cost
- Medium
- Diet
- Insectivore (live insects)
Overview
What is this animal?
- The leopard gecko is a ground-dwelling, crepuscular lizard from the rocky scrublands of Central and South Asia.
- It is hardy, slow-moving and tolerant of gentle handling, which makes it a reasonable first reptile for a committed keeper.
- Unlike most geckos it has movable eyelids and lacks adhesive toe pads, so it cannot climb smooth glass.
- These geckos are long-lived, often reaching their late teens, so acquiring one is a real commitment.
- They are quiet and low-odour and need only modest space, but they still require precise heating and a properly furnished terrestrial vivarium to thrive.
Temperament
- Leopard geckos are calm and generally tolerant of handling once settled.
- They are most active at dawn, dusk and into the night, so expect a quiet animal during daylight hours.
- With patient, regular short handling sessions most become confident and rarely bite.
- They are solitary and should be housed singly.
- Males will fight, and mixed or same-sex groups frequently lead to stress, injury or competition over food and warm spots.
- Keeping one gecko per enclosure avoids these problems.
A good fit for
- First-time reptile keepers
- People wanting a hardy, handleable lizard
- Keepers with limited space
- Those who can commit 15+ years
Common mistakes to avoid
- Loose sand substrate contributing to impaction
- Skipping UVB and calcium supplementation
- Housing two together, causing fights
- Over-feeding fatty waxworms leading to obesity
Enclosure
Minimum 4,050 cm² of floor (628 sq in) · 90 × 45 × 45 cm
Must be housed alone. Solitary; house singly
- Provide a vivarium of at least 90x45cm floor area for one adult, larger if possible, with a tight-fitting lid and good ventilation.
- Establish a warm zone with a basking surface of about 30-33C and a cool end around 22-24C, all controlled by a thermostat.
- A low-output UVB tube (around 5-7%, T5 in a suitable enclosure) supports vitamin D3 synthesis and bone health and is now recommended despite older care advice.
- Offer at least three hides: a warm hide, a cool hide and a humid hide with damp moss to aid shedding.
- Use a solid or fine, particle-free substrate such as a bioactive soil mix or tile, especially for young animals or first setups, since deep loose sand alone can contribute to gut impaction.
- Spot-clean daily.
Supplies
Setup
- Enclosure
- Heating and thermostat
- Low-output UVB fixture and bulb
- Thermometers and hygrometer
- Substrate, hides including a humid hide, decor
Ongoing
- Complete powdered fruit-gecko diet (for cresteds, gargoyles, chahouas, mourning geckos)
- Live crickets, dubia roaches or black soldier fly larvae
- Plain calcium powder without D3
- Calcium with D3 plus a reptile multivitamin
- Feeder gut-load and a ventilated feeder tub
- Shallow ledge-mounted feeding cups
- Blunt-tipped feeding tongs
- Shallow water dish
Safe substrate: Topsoil and play sand mix for arid geckos · Coco fibre and orchid bark for tropical geckos · Paper towel
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperatures and humidity
- Fresh water bowl
- Look the animal over
- Mist the enclosure
- Spot-clean waste and uneaten food
Weekly
- Feed insects or prepared dietevery 2 days
- Check toes, tail tip and eyes after a shedevery 3 days
- Short handling session, species permittingevery 3 days
- Re-damp the humid hide
Monthly
- Weigh-inevery 2 weeks
- Deep-clean the enclosure
- Test thermostats, lamps and guards
Less often
- Refresh the substrateevery 3 months
- Replace the UVB lampevery 6 months
Vet: Annual exam and faecal check — every 12 months (every 6 months from 10 years old)
Top resources for more info
Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-09-19.
YouTubers
Leopard GeckoLeopard and crested gecko care, setups and healthReptiles and ResearchEvidence-led husbandry: enclosure size, UVB, thermal gradients, enrichmentClint's ReptilesWhich reptile suits you, with honest care and handling verdicts
Sites
Go deeper
Diet
- Leopard geckos are strict insectivores.
- Feed a rotation of appropriately sized live insects such as crickets, dubia roaches, locusts and black soldier fly larvae, reserving waxworms as an occasional treat because they are high in fat.
- Gut-load insects and dust them with calcium and a vitamin/D3 supplement on a regular schedule.
- Feed juveniles daily and adults every two to three days, offering insects no longer than the space between the eyes.
- Always provide a shallow dish of fresh water.
- Obesity from over-feeding fatty insects and metabolic bone disease from poor supplementation are the two most common diet-linked problems.
Health
- A healthy gecko has a plump tail (its fat store), clear eyes, alert behaviour and a good appetite.
- Watch for retained shed on the toes and around the eyes, which can constrict and cause infection; a humid hide and correct husbandry usually prevent it.
- Tail loss is a defensive response, and the regrown tail differs in shape and colour.
- Common ailments include metabolic bone disease, impaction, and respiratory infections from cold or damp conditions.
- A wobbly gait, soft jaw or weight loss warrants a veterinary visit.
- Use a vet experienced with exotics, as general practices may lack reptile expertise.
Is your enclosure big enough?
Minimum floor area4,050 cm² (628 sq in) of continuous, unbroken floor
As dimensions90 x 45 x 45 cm
CompanyMust be housed alone. Solitary; house singly
The recognised standards do not agree on this one
90x45x45 cm (36x18x18 in) — Current husbandry consensus. The figure this site uses. Checked 2026-08-30.
20 gallon (76x30 cm) — Legacy pet-trade figure. Still printed on shop care cards. Below what is now considered adequate. Checked 2026-08-30.
Is this urgent?
Small geckos dehydrate and lose condition quickly, and the tail is the fuel gauge.
Go now
Tremors, weak grip, or a jaw that will not close properlyGo now. Calcium and D3 deficiency.
NowToday
Tail visibly thinning in a species that stores fat thereWeigh, then call with the trend. The fat store goes before the body condition does.
TodayStuck shed around the toes or over the eyesRaise humidity, offer a damp hide, and call if it is not clear within a day. Constricting shed rings cost toes. This is the most common avoidable injury in geckos.
TodayRefusing food with weight lossCheck the cool-end and warm-end temperatures, then call. A gecko that cannot reach its preferred temperature cannot digest.
TodayThis is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
Can a leopard gecko eat that?
Geckos split into two diets that share almost nothing: insectivores like the leopard gecko, and the fruit-and-insect species like the crested gecko. Check which one you have.
The full list
Never (13)
AlcoholNo safe amount at any body weight on this site.
neverAvocadoPersin.
neverCaffeineCoffee, tea and energy drinks. Cardiac and neurological toxicity at tiny doses for an animal this size.
neverChocolateTheobromine and caffeine. Small mammals and reptiles cannot clear either.
neverCitrusAcidic, and it blocks calcium absorption.
neverFirefliesLucibufagins. Fatal to geckos.
neverGarlicSame allium toxicity as onion, and more concentrated by weight.
neverInsects larger than the gap between the eyesA recognised cause of impaction and neurological injury in small geckos. Size the feeder to the animal, every time.
neverLeekAllium family. Same mechanism as onion and garlic.
neverOnionOrganosulphur compounds damage red blood cells. The whole allium family is out.
neverRhubarbVery high in soluble oxalate, high enough to cause acute kidney injury. The leaves are worse than the stalks.
neverSalty or seasoned human foodSalt, oil and seasoning. Crisps, chips, seasoned leftovers and processed meat are all out.
neverWild-caught insectsPesticides and parasites.
neverRare treats (1)
WaxwormsVery fatty and habit-forming. Useful to get weight on a thin animal. One or two, rarely.
rare treatOccasional (4)
HornwormsHigh water content; useful for a dehydrated animal. One occasionally.
occasionalMashed fruitFor crested and gargoyle geckos only, and only as a supplement to a complete diet. Never for a leopard gecko. A small amount, alongside the complete diet.
occasionalMealwormsHard chitin and a poor calcium ratio. A leopard gecko fed only mealworms is a leopard gecko heading for calcium problems. A few alongside better feeders.
occasionalSuperwormsFatty. One or two.
occasionalEveryday foods (4)
Black soldier fly larvaeHigh in calcium, and readily taken. Several per feed.
everyday foodComplete crested gecko diet powderFor crested, gargoyle and chahoua geckos only, mixed with water. A complete food and the simplest way to feed those species correctly. Fresh, every other day, for fruit-eating species.
everyday foodCricketsStandard feeder. Gut-load for 24 hours before offering. Sized to the eye gap.
everyday foodDubia roachesThe best routine feeder for insectivorous geckos. Sized no wider than the space between the eyes.
everyday foodThat food is not on our list. Check which kind of gecko you have first — the two diets barely overlap — then ask an exotics vet.
Dust feeders with calcium to the schedule in the species guide, and keep a small dish of plain calcium available for insectivorous species.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Bedding and substrate
Match the substrate to the species' humidity, and never let a small gecko stand on anything it can swallow whole.
Safe
Topsoil and play sand mix for arid geckosPacks firm, holds a burrow, and is what a leopard gecko would actually stand on.
safeCoco fibre and orchid bark for tropical geckosHolds the humidity a crested or day gecko needs.
safePaper towelCorrect for quarantine, for hatchlings, and for any animal whose output you are watching.
safeWith a caveat
Sphagnum mossExcellent in a humid hide, poor as a whole-floor substrate — it stays wet.
with a caveatNever
Calcium sandSold as digestible, which is exactly why it gets eaten. Implicated in impaction.
neverCrushed walnut shellSharp and indigestible.
neverLoose play sand alone for hatchlingsToo easy to swallow at that size.
neverA humid hide is not optional for most geckos, whatever the main substrate is. Most stuck-shed problems trace back to its absence.
Compare with other animals
The same axes for every animal, side by side — the way the guides are written makes that a fair comparison rather than two articles.
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