Leopard geckos are one of the most popular pet lizards around the world and are native to Southeast Asia.
Being native to Southeast Asia, common leopard geckos are one of the most popular pets among reptile lovers around the world.
Lizard lovers love these geckos not only for their leopard-like colouration but also for their friendly temperament that allows them to become good pets.
But are leopard geckos suitable pets for families or households with children and elderly individuals present? Let’s find it out:
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Are Leopard Geckos Suitable Pets For Households?
Leopard geckos are one of the most popular lizard pets around the world but you need to be familiar with these lizards perfectly to prevent any kind of problem in the future.
Temperament:
Leopard geckos, affectionately known as Leos, are one of the easiest to take care of lizards. These lizards are not very high-maintenance pets; just a bit glimpse of their natural environment and attention will be enough to keep them healthy and happy.
The nocturnal and ground-dwelling lizards are generally considered docile and easy-to-tame geckos. Leopard geckos are not able to climb trees or walls due to a lack of sticky toes, unlike other lizards. However, they also have eyelids that other geckos rarely have.
Leopard geckos can be very vocal at times, especially when they are hungry. They make chirps and squeaks sounds to inform the owner that they want food.
As soon as you bring a young leopard lizard to your home, try to socialise it with gentle care and handling. The slow-moving lizards can tolerate a certain amount of human contact. Too much handling may cause stress among them.
You can easily keep multiple leopard geckos at your home as they are very social animals. They often communicate with each other through the movements of their tails.
If they raise their tails often, it means they are threatened and about to attack; hence keep them apart from each other to prevent fights. Also, if they rattle the tip of their tails rapidly, it signifies they are eager to mate.
Are Leopard Geckos Dangerous For Humans?
Generally, Leopard geckos are not dangerous for humans and other animals. They are not poisonous at all. They seldom bite and whenever they bite it is not painful for adults.
Most lizards don’t prefer human contact, unlike leopard lizards. Leopard geckos can tolerate a significant amount of human touches but overdoing it can cause stress among them and the lizards may bite or attack with their tails.
Just like other lizards, when leopard lizards are threatened, they self-amputate their tails as a part of a defence mechanism.
Habitat:
Leopard geckos are generally found in dry regions such as dry grassland, rocky regions, and deserts of central, south and southeastern Asia. The lizards prefer habitats where temperatures are very high during summer and as low as 10 degrees Celsius during winter.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India, China, and parts of Myanmar are their natural habitats. During winter, leopard lizards go underground into a semi-hibernation state called brumation and live off their fat reserves.
Feeding Habitats:
Leopard geckos are generally insectivorous. They feed on worms like mealworms, wax worms, crickets, and baby mice. Apart from that, snails, centipedes, spiders, bird eggs, and smaller lizards are also their favourites.
Video Credit: Wild Diary
Health Issues:
Similar to other pet lizards, Leopard geckos often suffer from metabolic bone diseases in the absence of enough calcium and vitamin D, armpit bubbles, dysecdysis due to lack of enough moisture and nutrition, and respiratory infections including pneumonia.
Life Expectancies:
Leopard geckos are one of the longest-living lizards with a lifespan of 15-17 years in the wild. With proper care and nutrition, they can live up to 20-22 years in captivity.
Conclusion:
Considering all the pros and cons, we can confirm that Leopard geckos are suitable pets for households, even perfect for first-time owners. Below we provide an entire care sheet for leopard geckos that will help you to keep them healthy.
Care Sheet For Leopard Geckos:
Leopard geckos are one of the low-maintenance pets for first-time owners. They can easily adjust to houses, even if you are living in small flats. These lizards don’t require their natural environment to thrive.
Enclosure:
The thumb rule for any enclosure is that the bigger, it is the better. A 10-gallon tank is suitable for one adult leopard gecko. However, it is advised to keep one male and one female leopard gecko in a 15 or 20-gallon tank, especially during mating seasons.
Leopard geckos are solitary animals and thus if you keep them alone inside a cage, they won’t miss their partners or friends. Commercial reptile caves, hideaways, rocks, simple cardboard, and wooden logs that work as hiding places must be placed inside the enclosure.
Cleaning:
The cage must be cleaned every day to remove faeces and prevent bacterial and fungal growth. A full cleaning of the tank is necessary including substrates twice a month. Also, scrub and use disinfectant while deep cleaning to avoid any bacterial growth.
Substrate:
The sand substrate must be avoided because Leopard geckos can ingest the sand and suffer intestinal blockage. It is advised to use reptile carpet as a substrate because it is easy to clean and comfortable for the geckos to move.
Also, you can avoid wooden substrates because they can hurt lizards’ tiny feet. If you opt for natural substances, you can try substrates similar to their natural environments.
Heat:
You may use a regular low-wattage white light incandescent bulb to provide them basking spot during the day which needs to be turned off during the night.
Under-tank heating pads are used by many owners but in our opinion, it is not a good idea. If your lizard burrows down to the bottom of the tank, then the heating pad may cause them to burn.
Being cold-blooded creatures, leopard geckos require environmental temperature to regulate their body temperature.
During the day, the ideal temperature for leopard geckos is 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit or 24-31 degrees Celsius. At night, the temperature must be in the range of 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit or 22-24 degrees Celsius.
Light:
Being nocturnal animals, Leopard geckos don’t need a lot of light. They are most active during dawn and dusk. 2-7% UVA and UVB lights for 12 hours a day are enough for them. It will also help them to synthesise vitamin D which they cannot receive from direct sunlight.
Humidity:
Despite being desert lizards, Leopard geckos may face problems in shedding at very low humidity such as 10-20%. It is advised to keep the humidity level between 30-50% at your house.
You may also use a hygrometer or humidity gauge for the cage. Automatic hygrometers can track the humidity level and if necessary a fogger can automatically spray some water to increase the humidity level.
Food And Water:
Leopard geckos are insectivorous and you may feed them varieties of gut-loaded crickets, wax worms, super worms, mealworms, and other insects. Sometimes you may treat them with pinky mice.
24 hours before feeding them, gut-loaded the insects to ensure full nutrition. You also need to add calcium and vitamin D supplements to their diets once a week.
Juvenile geckos must be fed in a small amount every day whereas the adults should be fed only two-three times a week. Change drinking water daily otherwise bacterial growth can make the lizards ill.
Grooming:
You don’t need to groom the lizards often. Leopard geckos shed periodically. Don’t forget to skin and litter from the enclosure whenever necessary.
Price of A Leopard Gecko:
Leopard geckos are probably among one of the most popular pet lizards around the world. Often they are readily available to reputable breeders.
Depending on location and availability, Leopard geckos may cost around 20-45 USD. However, some rare morphs may cost around 80-100 USD.
Avoid wild-caught lizards from illegal pet markets and search for a reputed lizard breeder in your area or online to ensure the good health of your pet geckos.
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