Last updated December 29 2001: added Care Summary and some details and updated Bibliography.

My experiences with and observations of

Leopard Geckos

Eublepharis macalaris

In 1996, a month or so after we had moved to our first house, my wife started getting a bit broody about pets. She had already acquired a chipmunk six months previously, who was certainly an interesting and fine addition to our household, but she and a friend now began to hang around pet stores. One day she came home and started talking about some "geckos" that she had seen in PetWorld.

Now, up to this point, the only reptiles I really knew anything about were dinosaurs, plus the few snippets of information I had read in Robert Bakker's Dinosaur Heresies. I knew that living reptiles were cold-blooded, but wasn't sure what that meant in practice. So to educate myself, I borrowed a good number of books from the library and we bought the video on lizard-keeping by Chris Mattison. After two or three months of consideration, we took the plunge and went down to PetWorld.

There were two leopard geckos for sale at that time, both sharing the same tank. They were juveniles, but some of the staff there seemed to think they were a pair. Both were quite attractive and small (they were probably about three months old at the time), and when handled seemed quite calm, walking slowly along the forearm supporting them. In the end we succumbed to their appeal and bought them both. (Time was to show that we overlooked something in doing this - see below).

Initially we housed both Genghis and Kubla, as we named them, in a 24x12" glass aquarium with a vivarium lid. We also bought a UV light (which I later found that we didn't need), but not a thermostat (which we did). We also purchased sand for the substrate, a couple of rocks for basking, a bowl for the water and a long cork bark hide, plus a heat mat and a heat bulb. After the tank was set up and the heat bulb and heat mat got working, the temperature rose to an alarming 90 degrees, at which point we rushed back to PetWorld who advised us to try a thermostat. With hindsight they ought to have advised that before we took our pets home, but anyway this did solve the problem. So, first lesson: always purchase a thermostat for your pet reptile.

Food was another interesting area that I had to get used to. We knew that the geckos would mainly, if not exclusively, feed on insects, so we took the standard path and bought a plastic container of crickets. Fortunately they seemed to have an avid appetite for these, so we fed them about six each every other night. As they grew older, we dropped back to feeding them six larger crickets twice a week. We did experiment with offering chopped fruit and veg or baby food, but they completely ignored this: leopard geckos seem to be totally insectivorous. They did very much appreciate waxworms on offer, however, and would make a greedy lunge for one as soon as they saw it wriggling on the floor of the tank. It was quite fascinating for the first year feeding them together, because you could observe the strategies adopted by each lizard. Genghis, who ultimately grew to be slightly fatter than Kubla, was more of a stalker and hunter, creeping cautiously up on a cricket before striking. Kubla would adopt more of a blitzkrieg approach, raising himself bolt upright on his front legs, tail quivering with excitement, before lunging swiftly to dispatch his prey. Interestingly, both of them at this time would often display a quivering tail (rather like a cat or chipmunk does) just before striking, but after the first 18 months they seemed to drop this behaviour.

Their general behaviour was quite interesting even when not feeding. Strictly nocturnal creatures, they would normally be back under their hide by the time we left for work in the morning, but about eight o'clock in the evening, regardless of the season or light, they would appear. Normally they would then each lay on one of the rocks under the heat lamp to warm up for an hour, and after a lot of activity they would return to their rock for presumably an energy renewal session. They were very active as youngsters, and although they had a lot of space in the tank they could often be seen in a corner standing on their back legs, trying to climb up the glass side (and presumably out to freedom). They always seemed to be curious, inquisitive little lizards. Once Genghis was sitting on top of the hide and I was watching him. He suddenly turned as if he had only just noticed me for the first time, and then slowly padded forward as if approaching me, pushed his way through a plastic plant and pressed himself up against the glass to get a closer look, as if fascinated by the sight of a human. On another night I was sitting on the floor of the study and turned to see them both standing near the glass, looking down as if watching me. For the first time I was struck by that certain "alien" quality one can sometimes perceive in reptiles.

As far as cleanliness and hygiene goes, leopards are ideal pets. They do not defecate much, and they have the endearing tendency, like some mammals, to mark out one corner of their habitat and use that as the toilet. Their faeces tend to be soft pellets that dry out quickly, leaving white or black chalk-like cylinders that can easily be scooped up and disposed of. Nor do they spill water everywhere like some lizards. When shedding, leopards do so in large sheets of skin that come away. I have noted that as they have grown up, our specimens have learnt to eat their shed very quickly, so nowadays I never see any of it. The idea of eating shed skin may sound repulsive, but in fact it is beneficial for the lizards as it contains protein. Should a leopard gecko appear to be having trouble with shedding, eg the skin is not coming off, then a light misting of the gecko and/or its burrow with a plant spray will usually help.

The only time we ever really had trouble with the leopards was when they entered what I suppose you could call adolescence, or sexual maturity. We had had them for about a year when we noticed that Kubla did not seem to be eating so well, and that both of them seemed to be getting small pockmarks on their skin. I took them to a well-known reptile vet who suggested it might be cricket damage (ie crickets left in the tank overnight and biting their would-be predators while asleep). I took this at face value, but a few days later caught them fighting, each sinking his jaws into the other as they grappled and thrashed around in the substrate. It happened a few days later again, this time while I was at home during the day, and belatedly I remembered the warning that adult male leopard geckos kept together would fight to the death. I was so horrifed by the viciousness of their fighting that I immediately phoned a friend and picked him up in the car, then drove down to Beaver Water World to buy a separate glass aquarium tank for Kubla. Together with the necessary fittings this was a sudden £100 bill to save their lives, or at least their health. So, second lesson: never try to house two adult males together. Some adult male lizards will live together, or at least tolerate each other, but leopard geckos will not.

Once they were living singly, the demeanour and eating of both Genghis and Kubla seemed to pick up. Genghis became a little less active, preferring to sit for long periods in one spot during the night, but he remains more of the hunter. Kubla, unfortunately, then started to have trouble catching his food, which seemed to stem from eyesight problems. In a word, he was long-sighted - he could see something moving about in front of him, but would lunge at the wrong spot and miss it. Whether this was due to unnecessary exposure to UV light at a young age I do not know, but Genghis has not exhibited this problem. After a while it seemed that the only prey Kubla could catch unaided was relatively immobile waxworms, so for about a year now I have fed him by hand. This is not without risk, as he still tries to lunge at his prey, but often seizes part of my finger in his jaws instead and clamps down as hard as he can, presumably hoping that he can overpower whatever it is resisting his bite. After a couple of attempts he seems to realise his mistake and releases his grip. He normally gets it right second time around.

After a while our thoughts turned to breeding. Obviously we needed some females for our pair, but for a while none came along, and anyway I was reluctant just to buy two females and bung one in each tank with their prospective partners. In the end we went to the Kent Herp Show at Gillingham in April 1998, where we bought a separate vivarium at a good price and two females to go with it. It is difficult to establish the true age of Timogen and Kim, since females tend to be slightly smaller than the males, but I do not think they are that old. However, once I saw an egg in their cage before we introduced them to Kubla and Genghis, I knew they were fertile and ready. So after a 21-day period of isolation to make sure they had a clean bill of health, we introduced one per tank for the night. Mating took place almost immediately, the two males sniffing at and then badgering the females until they submitted to their overtures. Fertilisation was successful and eggs followed within days. Unfortunately I had not taken reasonable precautions to ensure the safe delivery of the eggs within the vivarium itself, so of the four or so produced (two per female), one ended up in the water bowl and the other three dried out before they could be rescued. Third lesson: prepare a suitable receptacle for a gravid female, such as an inverted yogurt pot with a substrate of sand in itI should mention that another one failed in my somewhat inadequate incubator, which despite several attempts has never worked as well as I hoped. I have since purchased a commercial incubator, and having given the girls some breathing space, hope that mating will resume after April. The breeding season for leopard geckos is January to September, but not all are ready at the start, nor do all finish at the same time. .

Timogen and Kim are interesting personalities in their own right, apart from being breeding stock. As females they obviously cohabit a lot better than their partners, showing little aggression even when both chasing the same prey item. They also display the tail-quivering behaviour that the males once did, but it is too early to tell whether this is a sign of gecko youth. They seem to observe a regular cycle of behaviour, sleeping under the hide during the daylight hours and being quite active at night. One habit they do have that is somewhat disconcerting is the tendency to suddenly rush the sliding front glass panels when one is opened, upon which they then climb over the threshold of the vivarium and gingerly tread forward as if sensing freedom. As the vivarium is already about four feet off the ground, this is something I obviously discourage. Back in the tank, girls! And glass panel closed tight.

Despite being terrestial geckos and not possessing the adhesive lamellae of true geckos (such as the Tokay, which can climb sheer glass), leopard geckos are good climbers and enjoy climbing. They will scrabble up any rock or piece of hide, and if placed on a human body (either the shoulder or the arm) will proceed to cautiously explore, even if they have to climb up the arm or around the collar. All of our geckos have displayed this tendency. The ultimate is Genghis: if you stretch your arm into his tank and point it down at 45 degrees until the tips of your fingers are resting on his hide, he will come and investigate. After licking your digits to get a cautionary taste of you, he then often proceeds to begin climbing up your hand, carrying on up the arm (shirt sleeve or bare skin), until he reaches the shoulder or the top of the tank. A gecko will walk across a flat surface, but like rats, whether or not they have good eyesight they always seem to sense when they have reached the edge of a precipice. I have never had any one of our geckos throw itself off a great height, even though within the safety of their homes they will fling themselves almost violently at prey from a vantage point, often seeming to invite a bashed snout.

Are they tame lizards? I would say yes, with a qualification. Leopards don't welcome the sensation of being handled involuntarily, nor do they like having their heads stroked (unlike, say, a plated lizard or bearded dragon). In fact an attempt at stroking a leopard's head is normally met by ducking and then a dignified retreat away from your finger. On the other hand, if you let them come to you, or pick one up and place it in your hand or on your arm, they do not seem too troubled and will either sit or carefully explore their surroundings. Obviously you must be careful not to let them fall, nor so expose them that they could be easily stressed, which is why I don't normally take ours out to show off to visitors. Geckos like their own space, but they are models of calm compared to other lizards of comparable size. Final lesson: if you really want a pet lizard to handle, get a bearded dragon, a plated lizard or a blue-tongued skink.

Summary of Eublepharis macularis requirements:

In line with the popularity of leopard geckos there are a number of manuals on their keeping and breeding. TFH publish one by Ray Hunziker, Leopard Geckos: Identification, Care & Breeding. Though I haven't always been impressed by the depth of some TFH manuals, this is a good one and furthermore ends up by covering first the African Fat-Tailed Gecko and then some of the remaining terrestrial geckos, including some you're never likely to see in the trade. Philippe de Vosjoli has also produced a superb manual in the Herpetocultural Library series, The Leopard Gecko Manual. This covers most of the eyelid geckos, especially the Leopard Gecko and the African Fat-Tailed Gecko but also the more obscure species such as Holodactylus and Goniurosaurus, and supersedes the previous version, The General Care & Maintenance of Leopard Geckos and African Fat-Tailed Geckos. which covered just these two geckos. Bartlett and Bartlett have the comprehensive book Geckos in the Barrons series - see the general Lizard Bibliography for details.

Back to Main Lizards Page | Back to HomePage