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Leopard gecko

The leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, comes from the rocky dry grassland of Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-west India.

Unlike most geckos it has movable eyelids and no toe pads, so it walks rather than climbs and can blink.

It reaches 20 to 27 centimetres and commonly lives fifteen to twenty years, which is longer than most new keepers expect. It is nocturnal and crepuscular, ground-dwelling, calm to handle and slow-moving. Leopard geckos store fat in the tail, which they can drop if seized — the tail regrows, but never in the original shape.

Origin
Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-west India
Adult size
20–27 cm including tail
Lifespan
15–20 years
Warm end
30–32°C floor temperature, with a cool end near 22°C
UVB
Low-level UVB is now recommended, though long kept without it
Diet
Live insects only; calcium and D3 supplementation

Related: African fat-tailed gecko

3 leopard gecko photos, newest first

Leopard gecko feed
  • Nacho, a leopard gecko

    Nacho

    Nacho waves one foot at me from the warm rock and does not otherwise move all evening.

    FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

  • Semolina, a leopard gecko

    Semolina

    Semolina runs the parcel office and has a foot on the last one out. The bowls are stacked that high on purpose.

    FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

  • Semolina, a leopard gecko

    Semolina

    Somewhere under all that is Semolina.

    MerryBadger · 2 weeks ago

Living with a leopard gecko

Give belly heat. Leopard geckos digest using warmth absorbed through the abdomen from rock, so a heat mat or radiant panel producing a floor surface of 30–32°C at one end matters more than air temperature. Always on a thermostat.

The UVB advice has changed. These were kept for decades under no UV at all, and they survive it, but current research shows low-level UVB improves bone density and behaviour, and the modern recommendation is a low-output tube.

Provide a humid hide — a box with damp moss — because shedding failure around the toes and eyes is the commonest problem, and retained shed on a toe can cost the toe.

Feed live insects dusted with calcium. Never house two males together.

A dropped tail is a stress response, so support the body and never grasp the tail.

General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual reptiles vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.

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