Answer

Hello,

Leopard geckos, are usually nocturnal and you are lucky to have a very active one. You can leave a dish of Meal Worms in for your Leopard during the day. If it is a young Leo. it will eat more than an adult. Never feed prey that is bigger than the space between their eyes. You are best with a solid substrate for juveniles since they have a tendency to lick everything. Joan Jav917

Here is a copy of my care sheet for you to use.

Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

1. Natural Habitat

The leopard geckos wild habitat ranges from Afghanistan to Pakistan into western India. They do come from a desert environment, but that DOES NOT mean it is sandy. Desert means under 25 cm of rain per year. Leopard geckos live on rocky outcroppings that contain some plant life (small shrubs and trees) and harbor insects.
The soil that they live on is clay, with a very thin layer of
super-duper-fine sand. So if you want to give your Leo a "natural" habitat
don't use sand, as they do not hunt on sand and their isn't much in their
habitat to begin with. Try using air-dry clay and make a landscape with
different "hills," "valleys," "mountains," etc.

2. Size

The maximum size is around 1 foot for males and slightly less for females.
The "Tremper Giant" leopard geckos get over 1 foot in length and can
weigh of up to 200 grams.

3. Life-Span
Leopard geckos are a very hardy and long lived species. Most live past the
age 15, some past the age 20.

4. Behavior and Temperament
Leopard geckos are Nocturnal, meaning they are mostly active at night. They
also do accept being handled. You can handle them but lots of handling can result
in stress which might cause Them to go off feed. The good thing about lizards
is that in the wild they sometimes form "colonies" of one male and multiple
females. So if you want to keep multiple Leos together make sure there is
at most 1 male. If there is more than (1 ) male, the two males will fight for
"territory" and breeding rights. If You do keep Females with the males expect overbreeding which can shorten the females' life span.

As far as temperament leopard geckos are one of the most docile and sweet lizards
available today. A majority will not bite if frightened, they will try to
run and hide. However, that does not mean they won't bite. I have been
bitten more by my Leo than all my other herps. But luckily their bite is not too bad.

5. Shedding
Leopard geckos will shed just like all other herps. A good way to make sure
the shed goes good (you know it goes good if you cannot find a piece of
shed skin on your Leo or in the cage) is to make sure its humid
hide is moist. And to mist the Leo once a day with some water.
Leos will eat their shed skin so you will most likely not find any shed skin
to show your friends or family.

6. How to treat a stuck shed

Stuck Sheds. Stuck sheds are almost always the product of to low
humidity during shedding time (the cage humidity should be low, but your Leo
should have a humid hide and have been misted). To cure put the gecko in a
ventilated container with wet paper towels on the bottom. The paper towels
should be filled with warm water and the gecko should "soak" for 30 minutes.
If it still has stuck shed "soak" the next day for 30 minutes also. If
the sheds don't come off continue "soaking" every 5-7 days until the next
shed when it will come off. If there is shed on your Leos toes, DO NOT try
to pull it off. Get a q-tip, wet it and rub the water along the shed twice
a day for 5-10 minutes.

7. Caging

Hatchling Baby (up to 3 months of age)- Use plastic shoe boxes for caging.

Juvenile (up to 6.5" long)-Use a 10 gallon aquarium or equivalent.

Adults (over 8" or 12 months)-Cage in at least a 10 gallon. You can keep
2-3 in a 20 gallon long, 3-4 in a 30 or 40 gallon breeder. If you do house
one Leo in anything larger (floor space wise) make sure it has many hides,
calcium dishes, water dishes, and humid hides.

8. Setting up the cage

-Equipment needed-2-Dry hides (for 10-20 gallon Long size)
1-digital thermometer with probe (a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer)
1-Water dish (for 10-20 gallon Long size)
1-calcium dish (for 10-20 gallon Long size)
2-humid hide (for 10-20 gallon Long size)
1 or 2- Heat sources (heat pad or heat lamp)
1-Thermostat...

Hides. Position one of the hides on each end of the cage. One
directly over or under the heat source (heat source should be at one end)
and one at the other side of the cage. Try to not use the hides you buy at
a pet-store as a majority of those are very poorly made. If you are using a
cage larger than 20 gallon Long for a single make sure there is at least
double the amount of everything (except thermometer and heat source/s). If
housing multiple Leos in one cage make sure there is at least 1 hide per Leo
and that hides are large enough to fit 2 Leos.

Digital thermometer with probe. Place the base unit of the
thermometer in the cool side of the cage and place the probe inside the warm
side (side with heater) hide. The analog thermometers you find at pet
stores are very inaccurate which is why you must use digital. Temp. guns are another great option they are about $25.00 online. Aim and shoot to get a reading.

Water dish. Position the water dish near the middle of the cage.

Heat sources. For heating you have (2) options, a heat pad or a heat
lamp. I suggest using an under the tank heat pad, as it gives belly heat rather than air
heat, and belly heat is preferable to air heat DO NOT USE HEAT ROCKS. A good heat pad is made by the company known as "Four Paws," it heats to 90 degrees. Most other heat pads heat to 110-120 degrees making a thermostat required or your Gecko
might burn itself. Purchase a heat pad that is slightly less than 1/2 the
floor of the cage in area. Heat lamps provide heat to the air. Only use
heat lamps if you use a "black" or "blue" reptile bulb, a good bulb source is
the Exo-Terra company. You should experiment with wattage's until you find
one that gives you the correct temps (90 warm side, 80 cool side).

Thermostat. A thermostat ensures that your Leopard Gecko will not burn
itself on overly hot heating surfaces. Purchase a thermostat with probe and
plug in your heat source/s into the thermostat and place the probe inside
the warm side hide. Set the thermostat to 90-92 degrees. This will keep
your hot side at that temp. I suggest purchasing a thermostat like the one
here as I (and others) have had great success with it. It does not
have to be that same brand, but it should look like that one (many brands
have a thermostat of that kind).

8. Substrate
A cage is not yet done without the substrate (what you put on the bottom).
For substrate you have several choices. Do Not Use Repti-Sand Or Calci-Sand it
is deadly to leopard geckos, because of impactions.

Newspaper
Astroturf/indoor outdoor carpet
Paper Towels
Tiles or slate

Newspaper. Newspaper is an easy to use substrate. It is cheap, you can
clean it easily (if it is soiled throw it away and replace), and is non
toxic. If you want your cage to look nicer just use the pages with pictures
(the soy ink is non toxic)

Astro turf / Indoor Outdoor carpet. Is one of my least favorite
substrates. It is fairly expensive, looks kinda nice, and is hard to clean.
To clean take the piece out and soak in a 1:10 bleach to water solution.
The Rinse, soak in water, rinse again, and let dry. It is best to have
multiple pieces so you can have a substrate in your cage while
cleaning a piece.

Paper Towels. A good substrate. It is cheap, easy to clean, looks
moderately nice, and molds easily. Paper towels are like newspapers in
every concept except the fact that they mold easily. They need to be
replaced immediately when wet or soiled as they will mold and be a breeding
ground for harmful bacteria.

CeramicTiles are My Personal favorite! An awesome substrate.
It is fairly cheap, easy to clean, looks nice, is non toxic,
mold resistant, and heats well. To clean just take out of the cage rinse,
clean with dishwashing soap, rinse twice,
and dry.

NEVER USE BEDDING MADE OF PINE OR CEDAR. THEY ARE TOXIC AND WILL HARM
YOUR GECKO.

9. Temperatures and Humidity
Daytime Temperatures- 90-92 on the Hot side of the cage, 80-82 on the cool
side of the cage.

Nighttime Temperatures-Your Nighttime temps will drop around 5 degrees as
your house gets cooler at night. Do not try to lower the temps manually as
it will get to cold, keep the heating set up like it was in the day.

Humidity-The humidity should be fairly low (under 40%) if your humidity is
to high move the water dish more towards the cool side or use a very low
wattage (under 20) red/blue heat bulb.

10. Feeding

 

Leopard geckos will feed on mealworms and crickets their whole lives. As
they reach adulthood they can eat superworms/kingworms, silkworms, and
roaches. Make sure that the prey they eat is properly gutloaded. For meal worms and
superworms/kingworms provide oat/wheat bran in a container about 1-2" with
some slices of fruit/vegetable for moisture. For crickets I suggest using
dog food (WITHOUT red dyes) in a small dish and a cricket gel in the other
for moisture. For silkworms you need either silkworm chow, or pesticide
free mulberry leaves. Many people will say that you should feed your Leo
waxworms if they are skinny. I suggest that you feed waxworms very sparingly.
They are very poor nutritionally, hard to gutloaded, and super addicting
(NOT like candy, like nicotine). If your Leo needs fattening up feed it any
of the above mentioned prey items that are properly gutloaded. Make sure
the temps are proper during this time as to low temps might make your Leo
not want to eat.Never feed Pinkies! They can have adverse effects on the Kidneys,
and they carry parasites as well as the cartillage can cause impcation.

Feed a prey item that is 3/4 the length of the head and 1/2 the width of it's
head. Feed it everyday until adulthood where you can continue to feed every
day or every other day. Until your Leo reaches adulthood dust the prey with plain
calcium 6'sx and 1x week w/ vitamin D3. Minerall indoor for is great 1 x a week as a vitamin or Reptivite with D3

11. The leopard geckos as a First pet reptile

Leopard geckos are one of the easiest to keep and maintain of all reptile
species. While not as easy to maintain as a crested gecko, they are still
the most popular pet lizard in the USA. Make sure they have the proper
habitat and they will do great.

 

Expert:	Joan
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:	7/8/2007

Veterinary Technician

I am Vet Tech. for 30+yrs. who works with all animals. I do alot of rescue work with small animals.