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CHAPTER 2

Your Pet Leopard Gecko

If you are reading this book, you are likely already interested in keeping a leopard gecko as a pet. You have already been charmed by the leopard gecko’s bright colors and cute face that seems to be perpetually smiling.

If so, you are in great company. Leopard geckos are one of most popular of all reptile pets. They have earned their popularity by being hardy and easy to care for as well as by being docile and having beautiful coloration. Additionally, they are not noisy and—as long as you clean the cage—do not smell. They will even tolerate some handling. If you think you ever want to breed reptiles, leopard geckos are ideal as your first breeding project.

In order to successfully keep a leopard gecko, you need to know where to find leopard geckos, how to pick out a healthy one, and how to handle one safely.

Many adult leopard geckos, especially males, will remain calm with regular but brief periods of handling.

Leopard Gecko Sources

Leopard geckos are popular pets, but if you’ve never kept a reptile before, you might not know where to find one. The obvious source is a pet store, and, indeed, that can be a great place to get a leopard gecko. There are also some other options that you might want to consider.

Pet Stores

Local and large chain pet-supply stores frequently offer leopard geckos and other small reptiles for sale. Before buying your pet from any store, make sure it’s a reputable place. It should be clean and well lit, and not have an offensive odor (within reason—when dealing with live animals, it’s nearly impossible to be odor-free). All of the animals should be kept in clean conditions appropriate for their species. If the store does not meet these standards, don’t reward them with your business.

It is a sound idea to browse the store to see if it carries all the supplies you will need going forward. You will need a source for your food, vitamins, substrate, and more. You may want to see if the store can special-order the particular items or brands you want.

Before buying your gecko, inquire about the store’s animal guarantee and return policy. Most stores will guarantee their animals for two days to two weeks. Make sure you understand the store’s policy—get it in writing if you can—so that if you end up with an unhealthy gecko or have some other issue, you will have some recourse.

Cage before Lizard

Always buy the enclosure and other accessories before you bring a leopard gecko home. Set everything up at least a day in advance and make sure all of the equipment works. Check that the enclosure’s temperature falls in the correct range. Arrange the landscape to find the look you want.

Having the vivarium ready before you bring your new pet home lowers the stress it will experience. As soon as you get your gecko home, you can introduce it to its new digs instead of making it wait in a box while you scramble to set up its enclosure.

Reptile Shows

In many areas of the United States, there are semi-regular reptile shows, also called reptile expos. These are one- or two-day events that bring together many vendors selling live reptiles, supplies, and related items. One of these shows can be a great source for your leopard gecko. You can find out about reptile shows online or in reptile publications.

At a show, you will likely have many geckos to choose from, and you will be able to see them all up close—but don’t just buy the first nice gecko you see. Visit several vendors and be sure to make note of the vendors who have geckos that catch your eye.

Because reptile shows attract both big-name and hobbyist breeders, it can be easier to find specific color varieties—usually called morphs—at shows than in pet stores. Shows can also offer good opportunities to talk directly to breeders or other experts about gecko care. Remember to be considerate. While most will perfectly happy to talk to you, they are there to sell animals and supplies. For some, reptile shows may be a significant part of their income. If a vendor you’d really like to talk to is busy with customers, ask for his or her contact information and reach out at another time.

Some of the same rules for buying a gecko at a pet store apply here. Make sure you are getting a healthy gecko. Ask to hold the gecko in which you are interested to get a closer look. If you see someone selling dirty, underweight, or otherwise unhealthy animals at his or her table, choose a different vendor.

Some vendors will offer a guarantee at the show; others will not. It’s not necessarily a sign of a bad vendor if he or she won’t offer a guarantee. After all, how does the vendor know that you didn’t leave the gecko in your hot car for a few hours while you went for lunch? If your chosen vendor does offer a guarantee, be sure that you understand the details and get his or her contact information before you complete the sale.

The leopard gecko’s distinct looks and behavioral qualities make it a popular reptile pet.

Online Sellers

It’s becoming more and more common to buy reptiles and other animals via the Internet. Usually this means buying directly from a breeder’s website, but you could be buying from a retailer who did not produce the geckos him- or herself.

Buying online might be the best method of obtaining a leopard gecko if you want a specific morph or want to purchase from a specific breeder. Most breeders have photos of their stock on their website. You can select the exact gecko you want and pay via credit card, and the seller will ship the gecko to your door.

The downside of buying online is that you cannot inspect the gecko for health, nor can you check out the breeding facility. It’s a good idea to research the vendor’s online reputation and avoid those sellers who have many negative reviews. Again, be sure you understand whatever guarantee the seller offers. Most online vendors guarantee only live arrival; that is, they guarantee that the gecko will be alive when it reaches you, but you are on your own afterward.

Leopard gecko lines developed by David Nieves: tangerine (top) and high-contrast with orange tint (bottom).

Rescues and Shelters

The leopard gecko’s popularity means that sometimes geckos are purchased by owners who decide that they no longer want their geckos. These geckos may end up in animal shelters or reptile rescues. If you don’t mind starting with an older leopard gecko, or you like the idea of giving an animal a chance at a better life, consider adopting from a shelter or rescue. The best way to find leopard geckos in need of adoption is to go to Petfinder.com, which will direct you to the closest sources of adoptable leopard geckos.

Selecting a Leopard Gecko

Most of the leopard geckos sold in the trade are captive-bred juveniles. Subadults (those of nearly adult size but not yet able to breed), retired breeders, and imports are sporadically available.

Wild Imports versus Captive Bred

Relatively few wild-collected leopard geckos are now imported into the United States, and they are primarily of interest only to breeders who want to diversify their gene pools. Compared to the captive-bred leopard geckos offered in the pet trade, wild imports typically appear dull-colored, beat up, and thin. Captive-bred and captive-raised animals are best for aspiring leopard gecko owners because they are generally more attractive and healthier than wild forms. Captive-bred geckos are already adapted to living in captivity, so they will not be overly stressed by the move to their new owners’ homes. Given the huge numbers of captive-bred leopard geckos available and their advantages over wild-caught ones, there is no reason for anyone other than large-scale breeders to purchase wild-caught leopard geckos.

Kids and Leopard Geckos

It is often a child in the family who wants a pet leopard gecko. There is nothing wrong with getting a leopard gecko for a child, but an adult has to be responsible for the lizard’s care. No matter how much a kid wants a leopard gecko, there is a good chance that his or her interest will wane over time as new things attract the child’s attention. Therefore, to make sure the gecko doesn’t suffer from neglect, an adult in the household will need to make sure it is properly cared for.

All interactions between children and leopard geckos must be supervised.

Size

If your interest is captive breeding or having a long-lived pet, then the best choice is an immature leopard gecko less than 6 inches long. You can reliably assume that a gecko of this size is younger than one year old. For beginners, animals at least 4 inches long are better choices than small hatchlings, which tend to be more delicate.

If you are attracted to a particularly large and robust adult, probably a retired breeder, remember that it may be old and, in the case of a female, probably not capable of producing many more eggs. This does not mean that an older gecko will not make an excellent and long-lived pet. The mother of one of the authors adopted a leopard gecko when it was estimated to be five years old, and that lizard was still going strong at the age of twenty-three.

Sex

Male and female leopard geckos make equally nice pets. If you plan to breed leopard geckos, you will need only one male for every ten or so females, and males cannot be housed together when mature. If you want to introduce a new mutation, such as albinism, into your colony, a single male is a better investment than a single female. If your goal is to beat existing longevity records for the species, a male is also a better choice.

The jungle morph is characterized by an irregular dorsal pattern and an unringed tail.

The striped pattern was derived from selectively breeding jungle phase leopard geckos.

Morphs

There are many varieties of leopard gecko, and every year seems to bring some new variation. The primary criterion for selecting a morph should be the aesthetic appeal it has for you. If your interest is primarily in the financial benefits of breeding one morph or another, research your market carefully before investing.

A lavender and yellow leopard gecko.

Health Considerations

The following guidelines will help you select a potentially healthy leopard gecko. However, careful examination prior to purchase does not always guarantee good health. Diagnosis of illness may also require veterinary examination and testing, such as fecal exams. On two occasions, one of the authors bought what appeared to be relatively healthy animals that were later diagnosed with coccidiosis (a parasitic infestation). On the bright side, most of the captive-bred leopard geckos sold in the pet trade are healthy.

1. The body outline should be smooth, the outline of the hip bones not visible, and the tail rounded without wrinkles that give it a shrunken appearance. In the case of imports, a wrinkled tail may simply mean that a leopard gecko has not been fed for an extended period of time.

2. The mouth, when closed, should appear even, with no jutting upper or lower jaw.

3. Examine the digits (fingers and toes). They should appear even without swelling. No toes should be missing.

4. The eyes should be equal in size. Avoid leopard geckos with small eyes or with large, protruding eyes.

5. If fecal matter is present in the enclosure, examine it for consistency. The feces of healthy leopard geckos are semi-formed and somewhat pellet-like in shape. They are dark with some whitish urates (urine in solid form). Pale, light-colored, or yellow-orange feces; patty-shaped pasty feces; and runny feces are all signs of possible disease.

6. Ask the seller to let you see your chosen leopard gecko up close. It should appear bright-eyed and alert when in your hand. Look at the belly area of the leopard gecko; the vent area should appear flush and clean without swelling, fecal smearing, or caked material.

Don’t Buy a Sick Gecko

If you ever see a sick, injured, or otherwise debilitated leopard gecko for sale, you may be tempted to buy it so you can nurse it back to health, but this is a bad idea. Once a reptile is sick enough to show symptoms, it’s already very sick and it’s likely already too far gone to save it. In trying to save it, you will likely have to expend a significant amount of money and time—to say nothing of the emotional investment. Buying a sick gecko in hopes of saving it is the road to heartbreak. Only experts in the care and rehabilitation of reptiles should attempt to rescue sick geckos.

Another thing to consider is that by paying for a sick animal, you are rewarding the seller for not caring for his or her livestock. If vendors can sell sick animals as well as healthy ones, they have that much less incentive to use their resources for keeping their animals healthy. You may actually encourage the cruel behavior.

As hard as it is to turn your back on a suffering animal, buying a sick gecko is not the way to help. It is best to politely inform the seller that the animal is sick and hope that they respond appropriately. If they do not, take your business elsewhere and inform the seller why you are doing so.

A reverse-striped pattern shows a white neck ring and tail with dark markings.

How Many?

Leopard geckos, like many reptiles, do not require the company of cagemates to fare well. A single animal will thrive when kept by itself. If you want more than one leopard gecko, remember that adult males cannot be kept together or they will fight. Most of the animals sold in the pet trade are females, which can safely be kept together. If you want to breed leopard geckos, it is best to keep one male with several females. As a general rule, animals kept singly tend to maintain more weight and be more brightly colored than those kept in groups.

Did You Know?

As a general rule, closely supervise children when they are handling leopard geckos.

Did You Know?

If you are looking for a pet lizard that can tolerate longer periods of handling and more interaction, better choices are the blue-tongued skinks (Tiliqua scincoides and T. gigas) and the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps).

Patternless leopard geckos are born with a spotted pattern that fades with maturity.

Handling Your Gecko

Leopard geckos, even though they are among the most easily kept lizards, are not necessarily the best lizard pets to be handled and interacted with frequently. They should be thought of as display lizards that will tolerate occasional handling.

Still, leopard geckos seldom bite and, if they do, the bite is of little consequence. Also, after a little handling, leopard geckos don’t scurry but instead move in a relatively slow and deliberate manner. As with all animals, the degree to which your leopard gecko interacts with you depends on the animal’s genetic propensity and the amount of interaction you invest in it. If you don’t spend the time getting your leopard gecko accustomed to gentle handling, it will remain skittish.

Leopard geckos that are regularly handled for short periods are usually calmer than animals that do not have such interaction. Extensive and long-term handling, however, is generally not recommended because it causes the animals stress. Hatchlings and juveniles are smaller and more nervous than adults and should not be unnecessarily handled until they become subadults of at least 5 inches long.

When picking up an adult leopard gecko, the best approach is to scoop your hand under the body behind the front legs and gently close your hand. This will restrain the gecko without allowing it to bite and without causing harm—as long as you don’t squeeze too tightly. Once a gecko gets used to gentle handling, it may be willing to just crawl into your palm.

You can cup a small juvenile or hatchling in your hands when you need to move it someplace, such as when cleaning the cage. An even better method is to coax it into a clean cup or other steep-sided container from which it cannot escape.

Be warned that if a leopard gecko falls from any height, it can be injured, perhaps fatally. Hold the gecko firmly and handle it only over a table or counter so if it does squirm out of your grasp and fall, the fall will be only a few inches and unlikely to cause harm.

Bringing Home the Gecko

No matter where you buy your leopard gecko, be prepared to transport it home safe and sound. This is fairly easy, but if you are a first-time gecko buyer, there are a few things to remember.

The seller will put the gecko in some type of container with air holes punched in it, such as a shallow cup or a small box. If the weather is particularly cold, you can put the gecko’s container inside another bag for better insulation. If the trip home is going to be a long one, consider bringing a small, insulated cooler with you to place the gecko in for the trip home. If you have someone else with you, it is a good idea to have that person warm up the car for a few minutes before taking the gecko out to it.

If it is particularly hot, run the air conditioning in the car, but don’t put the gecko near the vents. Your new lizard will be fine if kept out of direct sunshine.

No matter what the weather is like, drive straight home without stopping if possible. Once home, put the gecko in its new home right away.

Leopard Geckos and Human Health

As long as you keep up with cage maintenance, a leopard gecko is a fairly clean animal. Of course, this does not mean it is totally free of germs.

Reptiles, birds, and other animals can carry salmonella. It is part of the normal bacterial flora that lives in their digestive tracts. While the chance of contracting salmonella or any other illness from a leopard gecko is remote, take sensible precautions.

Always wash your hands with soap and water after handling the gecko as well as after handling any items from its enclosure, such as the water bowl or hide box. Don’t allow items from the cage to come in contact with anything—including countertops—that is used for human food preparation. If you need to use a sink or bathtub to clean the gecko’s cage or accessories, clean the sink or tub with a 10 percent bleach and water solution afterward. As an extra precaution, do not let a child handle a leopard gecko unsupervised (for both the lizard’s and the child’s sakes).

If you follow these guidelines, you will not have to worry about any health issues resulting from keeping leopard geckos or other pet reptiles.

Notice the lack of dark markings on this adult patternless gecko.