General Information
Leopard geckos belong to the family Eublepharidae, the scientifice name for the leopard gecko is Eublepharis Macularius which means Eu = good or true; blephar = eyelid; macularis = spotted. They are terrestrial lizards found in Afghanistan, northwestern India, and Pakistan that rest in burrows and crevices during the day and are active at night when they hunt for food. With the exception of males these geckos show a high level of social tolerance and females will generally live quite happily together.

Adult leopard geckos can grow to a maximum length of just over 8 inches, hatchlings having a total length of around 3¼ inches to 3½ inches. A genetic mutation now sees a 'Giant' leopard gecko morph with sizes reaching that of 50% larger in weight than a normal genetic morph. The rate of growth in a leopard gecko is minimal compared to that of some larger lizards, adult size is usually obtained by around eighteen months of age. Their life span averages that of 10-15 years, with females showing signs of age at around 10 years. Current records for males is around 29 years and females 21 years.

Quarantine
Quarantine is an essential practice when purchasing your new leopard gecko, house the new gecko in it's own seperate enclosure and where possible away from the rest of your reptile collection. We reccomend that this is for a period of at least 30 days, this is to ensure that your gecko is fit and healthy, as although it may look healthy from the outside reptiles are masters of disguise and often hide the symptoms of disease until it is too late to treat.

During this time you will be able to monitor your new purchase and collect fecal samples for analysis at the vets to be sure your gecko is free of parasites. Quarantined geckos should be cleaned, fed and watered after you have seen to the rest of your collection to prevent the risk of contamination. Whole collections have been wiped out by not following this simple practice, never assume, no matter where you buy your gecko from that it is 100% healthy.

Sexing
To sex a leopard gecko you need to examine the area in front of the vent and between the back legs. This can be done by firmly and securely turning your gecko over, a less stressful way to achieve this is to place them in a see-thru container that will allow you to view the underside of the gecko when held above your head. In adult males you will clearly see a bulge towards the vent of the tail called the 'hemipenile bulge', this will not be present in adult females. However in hatchlings or juveniles this bulge may not yet have developed, in this instance male and females can be distinguished by the preanal pores, males will have a row of preanal scales dotted in their centres by preanal pores. Experienced leopard gecko keepers can normally tell the sex of a young gecko at around 3 months of age, 6 months is the average age to be sure when identifying in this way.

It is important to remember when buying one of each sex as babies that the male will grow and mature much faster that the female and will need to be seperated at 4 months of age to ensure that premature breeding does not occur. At this young age the female will not be developed enough to deal with the stress of egg laying and production, this could lead to egg binding and the subsequent loss of your female. Even if copulation does not occur the mere presence of the male may naturally trigger egg prodcution. Always house males and females seperately until they are the minimum requirements in both age and weight for breeding, some will breed at weights as low as 40g, we do not personally reccomend this, we prefer 8 months and 50g for a male and 12 months 50g for a female.
        
On the left is an adult males vent area, you can clearly see the hemipenile bulge and preanal pores
On the right an adult females vent area, there are no preanal pores nor hemipenile bulge present

Housing
There are two types of reptile enclosures that you can choose from, there is the all-glass tanks with screen tops, alternatively there are wooden tanks with glass front doors which slide open. We personally prefer to use the wooden tank as reaching down into the tank from above can sometimes scare your gecko. That is however personal preference and both types are acceptable housings for this species.

The size of housing you use will depend first and foremost on the quantity of geckos you wish to house. We recommend as a bare minimum for a single leopard gecko 24 x 18 x 18 (W x H x D). Leopard geckos like to climb, rocks, shelves and pieces of wood can all be used to up the level of activity of your geckos at night. Use pieces of rock as ramps onto shelves or on their own, ensuring that all items are secure and are not able to topple over or crush your gecko if they dig underneath, aquarium sealant can be used to make structures secure. Leopard geckos are nocturnal creatures it is therefore essential to provide them with places to hide and sleep in during the daylight hours, with hides in both the warm and cool ends of the enclosure. You will find different types of shelter, or hides as they are also known at your local reptile shop. Remember the more geckos you have the more hides you will need.

Leopard geckos fair well with a moderate amount of humidity, there are two ways in which this can be provided, if you are using sand as a substrate then simply wet the substrate underneath the shelters once or twice a week this will provide enough relative humidity to facilitate dehydration and aid in the shedding process. The other way in which this can be done is to use a container with moist coconut husk fibre or a sand and vermiculite mixture, this is commonly known as a 'Humid Hide', both of these methods work well and again is just a matter of personal preference.

Substrate
Substrate is a long battling debate between all leopard gecko keepers and breeders alike. In the wild leopard geckos can be found in rocky areas with clay-gravel soil covered by sand. In captivity keepers like to use a substrate which imitates as close as possible to the natural environments. The preferred choices are fine-grade sand, calcium sand or a mix of sand and soil. There are many commercial types of sand available, do your research and make your own decision about what substrate you think is best for your gecko, do not be fooled by what is written on the packaging, remember the company's are there to make money. The main issue when choosing a substrate is the risk of impaction, this is where the substrate is ingested by the gecko, this can cause problems if it is not digested properly, resulting in the need for veterinary treatment. Whichever substrate you choose, it is recommended that hatchlings and juveniles are kept on newspaper or paper towels until they are at least 6 inches long, this is inexpensive and easy to maintain, but most importantly prevents impaction of the small organs.

Heating & Lighting
The decision as to whether to supply your gecko with a light source to determine a night and day body clock is a personal one, many keepers believe that provided the enclosure is in a well lit room during the day then this provides sufficient light, other keepers however prefer to install a light source into their enclosures. This is fine, however there are a few thing to take into consideration, firstly and the most important, geckos do not need UV unlike other reptiles, if you are using a UV light source ensure that it is of the lowest percentage, studies have shown that using UV can enhance the colouration of your gecko, however studies have also revealed that UV can cause skin and eye damage, so preferably use a strip light which radiates no UV or alternatively a normal household light bulb both of these can be found for a reasonable price at you local DIY store. Secondly light sources also radiate an amount of heat, so you must allow for this when setting your temperatures.

Leopard geckos are cold-blooded and therefore need to be provided with a heat source, they must however have a warm and cool area to ensure that they can regulate their own temperature, they should be provided with a basking temperature of 30-32°C (86-90°F), with a background temperature of 24-26°C (75-79°F). The size and type of your enclosure will depend on what heat source you use. If you are using an all-glass tank with a thin layer of substrate then a heat mat placed underneath of the tank with a small breathing gap will be sufficient, however a heat mat would not be able to penetrate the thickness of a wooden tank, therefore an alternative heat source such as a ceramic bulb screwed into the top of the tank can be used. Both heat source must be used in conjunction with a thermostat to ensure temperature control.

Feeding
A leopard gecko diet typically consists of live moving insects, food items should not be no more than the length and less than half the width of the lizard's head. Food items such as commercially raised crickets/locusts and mealworms are all suitable, with the occasional pinkie and wax worm. Wax worms are a good additional food item for pregnant females as they are fatty and help to sustain weight during the breeding season, pinkie's are also good for this reason but also have additional vitaminary benefits, both should only be offered once or twice a week due to their high fat content.

It is very important to ensure that you prepare your food before it is offered to your gecko, you can feed your insects commercially prepared insect food or alternatively you can provide natural items such as carrot, apple, orange, cereal flakes, bran or even fish flake. Feed your insects overnight so that they are full of goodness when fed to your gecko the next day. This is called gut-loading and plays an essential part in the nutritional value of the food, if you do not gut-load your insects then you are feeding your gecko an empty shell.

In addition to this you will need to provide you gecko with vitamin/mineral supplements. The most important of these is calcium, to ensure that enough calcium is readily available keep a small jar lid of pure calcium (e.g. calypso) in the vivarium at all times, this allows your gecko to top up their calcium as and when they need it. In addition to this when feeding your gecko you should dust your insects with a D3 vitamin supplement (e.g. nutrobal) twice a week. Clean water should be readily available, water dishes should be cleaned and changed every other day to prevent bacterial growth.

Leopard Gecko's are an ideal first step into reptile keeping they are relatively inexpensive to keep and easy to care for. We have been keeping Leopard Gecko's for over 3 years and have spent countless hours being entertained by these gentle, yet cheeky lizards, each with their own individual personality.