Leopard Gecko care sheet

Warning very long so get comfortable

Housing:

Housing a leopard gecko is a pretty straightforward task, although how it's actually setup depends on several factors. The most important being that of the age of the animal. Other factors will include things such as the number of leos you're purchasing, if you already own any other leos, the relative health of the gecko, etc. So, this article is being split up into a small number of sections for each situation.

Housing hatchling and other young leopard geckos
Housing adult leopard geckos
Housing multiple new leopard geckos
General tips common to all situations
Each of the situations outlined above always has exceptions, usually based upon the health, size and appetite of your new companions. So, let's start at the beginning.

Housing lone hatchling and other young leopard geckos
Aside from housing a sick leopard gecko, this can be the toughest of all. While there are several advantages to owning a young leopard gecko, such as the fact that they see you as a food source, and therefore a friend, at a younger age, and grow up being generally more at ease with you, there are one or two disadvantages which you will want to know about in order to ensure you are giving your leo the best possible life you can, and that you get the right age of leo in the first place.

While young leos will generally take care of themselves, only requiring you to make sure their enclosure is clean, and that you provide them food, they still require a lot of attention. Or, rather, observation. This is just to check that everything's ok, that they're not becoming dehydrated, and they're not being bullied by other youngsters in the tank (if you're housing multiple youngsters).
They will need more attention paid to them when they're feeding, so as to not become food themselves. As with any reptiles, when you're feeding crickets, crickets can hide, and nibble on the leos while they're asleep. I've seen this happen in pet stores, and it's not a very nice thing to witness.
Youngsters, especially hatchlings, are pretty weak compared to their adult counterparts and may require more "hands-on" physical help than adults. As said in the previous article, dehydration is probably the biggest killer of young reptiles. Especially desert animals where people incorrectly assume that they don't need a lot of water. So, you may need to be there every night with an eye dropper full of pedialyte to get some fluids and nutrients into them.
You have to watch the temperatures and humidity levels much more carefully due to the potential dehydration problems too.
If this is your first leo, it's probably best to go with an adult, as they don't require as much specialised attention as youngsters. But, I shall outline the youngsters housing requirements here.

A lone hatchling or youngster can be kept in a relatively small tank. If you feed your leo inside the enclosure, then it's probably good to go with something like a 5 gallon. Hatchlings don't have much energy, and will often run out of it before catching enough food in a larger enclosure. Older youngsters could go in a half-height 10 gallon (which is as it sounds, the same floor space as a 10 gallon, except half the height). You will need to give them a paper towel or newspaper substrate (the kind of newspaper you get at art stores that doesn't have print on it - some of the drying aids used in commercial newspapers can lead to deterioration of health in your leo should he lick the paper, and he probably will). This is to help prevent the possibility of impaction. NEVER put a hatchling or other youngster on a sand, or other loose structure, substrate.

As well as the substrate you will need a couple of hide boxes. A dry one in the cool area - you can pick these up yourself at a pet store, in the form of a rock, or a hollow piece of grape vine or driftwood - and a moist one in the warm end. A moist hide will do two things. It will aid in shedding - something which youngsters do fairly often - and it will help prevent dehydration. All of my leos, whether young or old, will immediately go into a freshly sprayed hide to lick water off the sides of the hide. A moist hide is probably best made yourself. There are very few of these actually on the market in pet stores that can do the job very well. Here is a tutorial on making a moist hide box that you could use, although you'd make a smaller one that's easier to get into for youngsters and hatchlings.

As well as the hides, you'll need a shallow water bowl inside your enclosure. You'll want something that'll allow the youngsters easy access, yet you want it shallow enough so that if the leos fall in, they can easily get out and won't drown.

That's essentially it. Youngsters don't have very big needs, except for the extra attention they require.

Housing lone adult leopard geckos
Adults are just as easy to house as hatchlings, except on a slightly larger scale. A single adult leopard gecko will live quite happily in a 10 gallon tank for is whole life, although I would personally go for something a little bigger. They're not big arboreal creatures, although they are known to climb rocks if they're available. Having a larger enclosure will allow you to keep a better heat gradient offering both a warm and cool end to the enclosure. As well as the regular dry hide, which in a bigger tank can be a more elaborate rock or cave system, or a larger piece of driftwood or grapevine under which they can burrow, they also require a moist hide. Again, see the tutorial on making hide boxes. In a larger enclosure it's much easier to make a more active setup. Adults can be very active, especially at night. But, be carefully, too many tank accessories and food can often hide, meaning your leo doesn't eat as much as it should.

If you go for a more "natural" look, you can go with sand when they're older. I wouldn't put one younger than 12 months, or smaller than about 8-9" (including the tail) on sand. Larger than that, I keep mine on sand and have never had problems with impaction. If you go with sand there are a few safeguards you may want to put in place.

Keep a shallow bowl of calcium powder in their enclosure. Make sure it's the vitamin D3 free stuff. They can overdose on D3, so it's generally best advised to use the D3 calcium supplement just when dusting crickets or other prey items for feeding.
Make sure the sand doesn't get wet. Wet/damp sand can play havok with their respiratory system leading to infections or other breathing difficulties.
Don't go with all the hype. Some sand in pet stores is labeled as "reptile safe", and "digestible". There is no sand on this planet which is digestible, and larger grains of sand are more likely to lead to impaction. The best sand to go for, in my experience and the experience of many others, is "washed playsand", available at your local home store for as little as $2.50 for a 50-60lb bag. As well as the obvious cost advantage, playsand is a lot finer grain than most sand available in pet stores. Smaller sand gives a lesser chance of impaction as it's easier to pass through their system and poop out. Although, I would still suggest sifting the sand through some porch screen or some other fine screen to weed out the larger grains of sand. Usually in a 60lb bag, about 3-4lb is too large for leos. The rest is fine. In a 10 gallon setup, a 60lb bag should last you about 6 months, if you replace the substrate once a month or so.
Again, they will want a water dish available at all times, and the water should be replaced daily. This prevents the water from becoming stagnant. It's usually best to use bottled spring water than tap water, but check your local water supply, it may be safe enough for them to drink. Often water companies put too much chlorine and other chemicals in the water for their sensitive tummies.

Housing multiple new leopard geckos
Whether your new companions are your first leopard geckos, or whether they are to introduce to an existing colony, the same basic procedures apply - especially if you're introducing to an existing colony, or have purchased your leos in separate locations (or from different tanks within the same store).

If you've bought several leopard geckos from the same location, and they are all of similar size then you can set them all up in a single enclosure, although you will have to watch and make sure none are being bullied. If you've purchased several leos and do house them together, it's a VERY good idea to have at least one backup enclosure spare in case there is any bullying going on or one becomes sick. The setup for housing multiple new leos together, and the backup tank, is pretty much the same.

Providing you followed the suggestions in the "purchasing your leopard gecko" article, you should have some nice healthy leopard geckos, and as they've already been housed together in the pet store, they should be ok to remain housed together - providing they are all of similar size. There are some exceptions to this, and some strict rules you must follow.

If the leopard geckos you have purchased are adults, NEVER put two males together. Even sub-adult and juvenile males can fight for territory, food or females, often leading to death.
If the leopard geckos you've purchased are mixed sexes, if you don't want to risk them breeding, setup one tank for the females, and one tank for each male.
The main enclosure should be large enough to hold all its inhabitants. I usually go with 10 gallons for the first leo, and 5 gallons for each leo thereafter. So something along the lines of..

A quick clarification - these are QUARANTINE enclosure sizes. Minimalist for easy checking up on new additions. For permanent housing, I would suggest a minimum 20g Long for up to 2 leopard geckos, + 10G for each female thereafter.
10 Gallon - 1 lone animal
20 Gallon - 1 male and 2 females (or 3 females)
30 Gallon - 1 male and 4 females (or 5 females)
etc.
You need to make sure there are separate hiding spots available for each of the inhabitants, and you will need to go with a paper towel or newspaper substrate. These steps are part of the initial "quarantine period" just to make sure everybody is ok, and is not harbouring any unknown diseases or other infectious problems.

The recent outbreak of the adenovirus in Bearded Dragons has meant that several people who've ignored quarantine procedures have lost up to 50 other dragons (and sometimes more), due to one infected animal working its way into the colony. If you're looking into breeding, quarantining new animals is your top priority in ensuring the health, safety and integrity of your existing colony.

Even purchasing multiple animals from the same location, housed in the same enclosure, one animal may be infected with something, and the others aren't. This is why I, personally, even if I bought them together, wouldn't house them, through their quarantine period, together. While only one may be infected at the time of purchase, by the end of the quarantine period, all the animals may be infected.

I would house each of them alone with a full tank to themselves. Given the prices of 10 gallon tanks, this is not a big problem. Setup identical tanks for each animal.

Paper Towel or newspaper substrate
Moist Hide (to help with shedding and to prevent dehydration)
Dry Hide (so they've somewhere to sleep out of the light in the daytime)
Water Bowl (appropriately sized for each of your new additions)
They will need to be in this environment for about 3 months or so to ensure they have a clean bill of health. Having each of them in separate enclosures will also allow you to know who is the owner of any poop that is produced. After acquiring any new reptile, the first thing you'll want to watch out for is when the animal poops so you can take it down to the vet and have a fecal check done to ensure there are no parasites, and if there are, how to treat them. Again, as I said, one animal could be a new inhabitant of the tank at the pet store, and not yet have infected the other animals. Separating them now, and treating that one individually, is going to be a lot easier (not to mention cheaper) than treating all your leos for the same thing in a few weeks time.

Aside from being able to test the poop for any problems, you know that your leo is not impacted, and should be eating healthily.

When the 3 month quarantine period is about to conclude, just to be safe, get another poop test done on each of your leos, just to double check. If they are clean, go ahead and introduce them to your existing clutch, using a little common sense, and try to introduce them all together on neutral ground to see how they get along with each other, rather than placing them in an already established enclosure. If they get along ok, then change out the substrate (or part of it and mix it up) in the existing enclosure, if you use sand as the subtrate, move all the enclosure accessories (hides, etc.) around a bit, then put them all back in at the same time, along with the new additions. Again DO NOT HOUSE TWO MALE ADULTS IN THE SAME ENCLOSURE! If any poops come back containing coccidia or other parasites, treat them as necessary, as your vet instructs, get another poop check after the treatment is complete, and if it's safe, put them in their final homes - again, using the same guidelines as above when introducing a new animal to an existing colony.

General tips common to all situations
These are some general tips you will want to follow regardless of your situation.

Leopard Geckos need fresh water available AT ALL TIMES. Yes, they are desert animals, but they do still require water. Some leopard geckos may not drink from standing water - not all do - so you need to make sure that you have the next item.
A moist hide will be required AT ALL TIMES. This will help them shed, and prevent lost digits or tail-tips, and will also allow those leos who won't drink from standing water to get some moisture. If you're using a sand substrate, your moist hide will be the best source of fluids for your leo.
If you use sand as a substrate, you DO NOT want to get your sand wet. Sand can get stuck on prey items and be eaten, sand can also stick to the mouths and feet of leos and when they clean themselves also become eaten. This can lead to impaction. Something often not noticed until it's too late to treat.
Make sure you have a tight fitting lid on the enclosure. This is as much to prevent possible predators (cats, etc.) from getting IN the enclosure as it is as much to prevent the inhabitants from escaping, and trust me, a leo can escape from a 10 gallon enclosure given enough motivation.
You will need dry hides available in the cooler (and warmer if possible) areas of your tank. This will give your leos somewhere nice and dark to sleep throughout the day, and offer a little security if they become stressed for any reason.
So, bear all this in mind BEFORE purchasing your new leopard geckos. You will need to decide what you're going to get before you get it, and will need to have the appropriate housing available before bringing your new guy(s) home.

Heating&Lighting:

Heating/Lighting:

Before I get into anything more specific. DO NOT PUT A HEAT ROCK IN WITH YOUR LEOPARD GECKO (or pretty much any reptile). While a brand new heat rock may look good to you, within just 3 or 4 weeks of use, it will start to develop "hot spots", which can (and will) cause thermal burns to your reptile. A friend of mine who runs a reptile rescue center has lost count of the amount of Iguanas that have been brought to her with thermal burns from heat rocks. And iguanas' skin is a lot thicker and tougher than the silky soft covering of a leopard gecko's belly.

There are a couple of ways in which you can safely heat your enclosures. One is via the use of heat lamps, the other is with heat pads. The heat pads have a sticky side to them, which is used to affix it to one END of the tank. Never put a heat pad in the center of your tank. Leos need a heat gradient. This means warmer at one end, cooler at the other.

Heat pads aren't usually necessary unless you live in a colder climate, or it's pretty cool inside your house. Some people like having their air conditioning set to sub-zero temperatures

If it's fairly warm in the room, you can usually get by with simply using a heat lamp. Given that they are nocturnal reptiles it's widely accepted that UVB lighting isn't essential to their care, although this is often debated, and still being scientifically studied today. Also, the fact that they are asleep mostly during the day, you don't need to buy two separate day & night heat lamps. You could use a night heat bulb 24/7, and just have the ambient daylight to indicate more natural light cycles - why attempt to simulate a day/night cycle, if you have natural day/night light cycles to take advantage of?

We have our leopard gecko tanks out in the lanai during the spring, summer and fall months here in Florida. So the ambient temperature is usually about right for the cool end of the enclosure, and we use a night heat lamp over the moist hides for the warm end of the enclosure. Unless it gets REALLY hot, we leave this light on 24/7, and mist the hides every day or two as they start to dry up.

When you hang your light over one end of the enclosure, either point it straight down, or toward the nearest end wall of the tank. This will help to ensure a more stable heat gradient. If you find your cool end is getting a little too cool, you can start to point it a little more in that direction, adjusting as necessary until you get correct temperatures. Ideally when you setup your enclosure initially, you'll have got all the lighting setup before acquiring any inhabitants for the enclosure.

As I said earlier, it's generally accepted that UVB is not essential to lighting for leopard geckos. While this seems to hold mostly true, some people have experienced better eating habits when providing their leos with some good UVB lighting or, more commonly, natural sunlight. NEVER put a glass enclosure in direct sunlight. Use a plastic tub that has an open top and plenty of ventilation, or use a mesh screened enclosure when they're outdoors. If you use anything with an open top, don't leave it alone, even for just a few seconds. Your leos could escape, or birds, cats and other neighbourhood predators could come by and wander off with your prized pet.

Under natural sunlight, your reptiles won't require as much exposure than under a UVB lamp. It is said that only 2 hours under natural sunlight is as good as 2 or 3 days under a UVB lamp. So you can just take them outside for an hour or two every few days. Aside from the obvious difficulties of creating day/night cycles in co-operation with the natural light cycles going on outside, natural sunlight is a lot cheaper

So you can use lights, pads or a combination of both to get your temperatures correct. Go with the lights only first, as heat pads are designed to be stuck to the outside of the tank or enclosure underneath, and once stuck on, they don't come off! But, as I said, make sure your enclosure is setup, and has the correct heating and lighting before you put any live leos in it.

is this missing anything?