Goldsmith Gecko Care


PET FACT: The Leopard gecko in captivity can live up to 30 years with the proper care.


What Should I look for in a Leopard Gecko?

The key things to look for in a leopard gecko are:

  • Clear eyes, and nostrils
  • Look for a nice fat tail
  • Look for nice shedding and clean toes
  • If you can look at it's fecal matter make sure it isn't too watery and you can't tell what they've eatten.
  • It's always a good idea to adopt as well, most of the time they are more kid friendly than juvenile geckos.
  • Look for a Leopard Gecko that peeks your interest otherwise you may not be too interested in your gecko later.

Cool facts about Leopard Geckos:

  • Hatchlings develope their patterns as they grow with each shed.
  • Leopard geckos as they get older will also change their patterning.
  • Leopard geckos have an instinct to hunt their prey.
  • No two hatchlings are exactly the same.
  • Leopard geckos are known to deficate in only one area of their tanks.  They don't even need to be trained!

 

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship!

When taking a gecko home you want to make sure you don't stress it out too much.  You want to set up about a ten gallon tank for one gecko, for every gecko added add another ten gallons.  You always want to make sure you never house two male geckos together or you will have a death match on your hands, ALWAYS SEPARATE A MALE FROM ANOTHER MALE.

Here is a list of items you will need:

  1. A tank or terrarium
  2. a heating pad meant for Leopard geckos and the tank you are getting (DO NOT get a heating rock as it can kill them)
  3. Housing, either a cave or log they will be happy as long as it provides a place of peace and rest.
  4. water dish
  5. food dish
  6. Calcium dish
  7. calcium dust and vitamins
  8. A lamp
  9. spray or mist bottle
  10. cage carpeting
  11. Humid hide ( can easily be made out of paper towels and a glad container with a cut hole in it)
  12. Temperature Strip

 When setting up your terriarium you want to make sure that you have the heat pad away from the light so that your tank doesn't over heat.  Your terrarium temperature should be about 90 degrees during the day and can go down to the low 70's at night. With a small ten gallon it's a little difficult, but you should never put housing, food or water over the heating pad.  Geckos do not have a sense of when they have had enough heat like a snake or desert lizard who lays out in the sun, heat rocks can kill your leopard gecko.  You want to make sure your heating pad doesn't get wet as it could crack the glass on your tank, when misting once a day mist away from the heating pad.  You should place your temperature strip away from the heating elements in your gecko's tank. You want to place your humid hide with a wet paper towel inside of it in the tank nearer by the heat pad.  If you have a juvenile gecko it's best to use cage carpet, or paper towels, it provides a nice medium and is less likely to cause compaction in your gecko like sand and it will provide great humidity.  You want to provide a nice variety of food, meal worms, crickets, roaches, calcium, and vitamins. Dust all food with Calcium dust to ensure your gecko is getting calcium.

Compaction can kill a leopard gecko. Stay away from walnut shell bedding, big chunky sand and non-shpirical sand for ANY LEOPARD GECKO.  You may want to wait on getting sand until your gecko is approx 6 1/2 inches long from head to tail.  If your gecko is on sand and developes a purple color on it's underbelly, is looking scarely skinny, not pooping and not eatting you should take him to the vet immediately.  It is important your gecko gets alot of Calcium other wise it can get metabolic bone disease and crawl around on it's elbows. 

While your Gecko is young you want to feed him about once every other day, and remember he has a small stomach so don't over do it.  ALWAYS PROVIDE FRESH WATER to your leopard gecko to prevent dehydration, you can see dehydration as the skin starts to get saggy by the stomach.  You always want to leave their light on for about 8 hours a day, if your gecko doesn't get the correct amount of lighting and heat it requires you will see the eyes get sunken in and it will loose it's appetite, which could kill your gecko by starving itself. 

When you handle your Leopard Gecko remember it is a reptile and like all reptiles it's not like a puppy or a cat and doesn't need so much touchy attention.  You should handle them about once a day to keep them friendly. Things you shouldn't do while handling them is pick them up by the tail, grab onto their tail, grab their mid bodies because you can crush them and cause death. You want to scoop them up in your hands very carefully.  You want to leave your leopard gecko alone for at least 3 days before you handle him in a new environment.


What Does a Leopard gecko eat?

Leopard geckos need a varitey in diet.  Most people offer them crickets and mealworms, which is nice, but they can eat more than just that.  Mealworms have a hard shell as well as crickets, which can be hard for your gecko to digest.  It's best to offer something with not as much shell.  You should always make sure that the food is half as big as their head so they don't choke on it.  Wax worms are good as they don't have a shell but should be fed sparingly as they are high in fat and not so much in nutrients.  You can also offer your leopard gecko a better feeder which has become better known in 2008-2009 called Dubia feeder roaches. They offer more meat to shell ratio and can be found in a bigger range of sizes than mealworms and crickets.  Bigger Leopard geckos can eat Baby pink feeder mice (with no fuzz).  Feeder mice are high in calcium, but they are also high in fat.  If they have fur, it is harder to digest and  they can cause gout in males.  It has been heard that live baby pink feeder mice can scratch or tear the stomach of a leopard gecko.  If you feed your gecko baby pink feeder mice only one should be fed at a time, and leopard geckos should be fed separately, if one gecko were to digest two baby pink feeder mice it can tear the stomach and cause death.  This has happened, it's not a myth.  You should always dust your feeders before feeding them to your Gecko.  Make sure that your feeders are well fed.  Hungry feeders have been known to bite, trying to feed off of your pet.

Sexing a Leopard Gecko

When sexing a Leopard gecko you will want to look at the base of the underside of the tail to see if it is a female or male.  Males tend to have hemi-penal (ball) sacks more toward their tail  and a v-shaped row of enlarged penal pores above their opening.  Females are nothing special, just a vent.  You can determine the sex of your gecko by six months of age.

 

Females have no bulges, no pores and are flat.

Males have the hemipenal bulges and an upside down V of brownish pores above the opening.  Hard to see with this blurry picture.

 


A little history on the Leopard Gecko


Your Leopard Gecko has some common as well as unique characterisitcs.  One of them being their spots, in the wild you won't see a designer gecko on purpose, it is more common in captivity that you will see designer breeds.  As much as your Gecko is a Gecko, it will not crawl on the glass out of the cage or sell you car insurance, it has similar movements like a snake, and will lick it's eye balls from time to time to keep them moist.  Leopard Geckos are one of the geckos which have eye lids, claws and a usually a great temperment toward humans when kept in captivity and handled properly.   Your Leopard Gecko could live as long as 20-30 years with proper care compared to a Gecko in the wild.  Leopard Geckos originated in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India.  The majority of Early captive Leopard Geckos were imported from Pakistan.  It is usual that people buy Leopard Geckos from a Petstore, and buy from breeders now a days.  Back in 1998 the leopard gecko became the lastest overnight sensation with herp owners.  Since 1998 there have been alot of different designer breeds, these designer breeds usually come from inbreeding, however, not all designers breeds do. 

My Gecko is getting very pale...

If you're gecko is mostly getting pale, it could be ready to shed, and you want to provide the right humidity so it sheds properly. A humid hide assists in helping the gecko become prepared for each shed. A Leopard gecko eats it's own skin for nutrients, you will not have to worry about cleaning up after their shedding.  It is important after your gecko sheds that you check it's toes and any other places it could have missed.  You want to immediately remove the skin it has missed on it's toes and other areas.  If you keep that skin on it's toes as the gecko grows the dry skin will cut off circulation to it's toes and they will rot and fall off.  Geckos who do not have help with shedding around their toes loose their toes and have nubbs left, which makes it difficult for them to climb on rocks and other climbing accessories you may have purchased.  It is important their toes get help shedding because they do not grow back their claws and will need more help when you hold them or let them crawl on you and makes it more difficult for them to crawl around in certain areas.  To help your gecko out get a shallow dish of warm water and place your gecko in it feet down first, when he tries to walk away hold onto the dead skin on his toe, this is the easiest way to get the skin off the toes.  We recommend using a lid from a plastic container to dip the toes in.

Below is a picture of our Blizzard ready to shed. Gecko's with spots will have their spots turn greyish, you can see the difference between the end of the tail and the tip of the nose compared to the main body of the Leopard Gecko. Geckos usually shed more when they are younger, as adults they slow down on shedding.


Introductions anyone?

When introducing a Leopard Gecko to another leopard gecko you want to make sure of three things:

  1. Your new Leopard gecko isn't stressed from being moved ( leave him alone for about 2 hours or setting up tank)
  2. You have one male and one female OR two females.  MALES SHOULD NEVER BE INTRODUCED TO ONE ANOTHER.
  3. They are fed before meeting each other.
  4. They both are about the same size visibly.
  5. You have ten gallons for both of them. (ie 20 gallon for two leopard geckos)
  6. You are introducing them on mutual territory.
By mutual territory it is a place that both geckos are not familar with and by feeding them before hand you are insuring that they will not try to think of one another as food.  If you see a tail go up in the air it's a territorial issue.  Most people who introduce Leopard geckos to each other into the first gecko's tank have territorial issues and fighting. You do want to keep a close eye on your geckos to insure they are great tank mates, remember they will need more food  and water as well as more poop pick ups.

Breeding Leopard Gecko Tips

It is most likely people try to mate their leopard geckos as soon as they show eggs, however, females are not as responsive to mating while gravid.  It is important to check them for folicles during their ovulation cycles, they are much more responsive to mating.  Folicles look like little pinkish circles in their bellies that can be seen much like an egg but are smaller and range in different sizes.  It is always best to keep an eye on your geckos in the first few hours of mating as males can be "excited" or aggressive when meeting a new female and the female could possibly be fatally injured depending on the male.  Some leopard geckos for this reason should be kept separate and do not mate with other leopard geckos for their safety.  Leopard geckos can be one of the more affectionate geckos when it comes to people but it does not necessarily mean they will get along with every female or male that they come across.  
My Leopard Gecko is Gravid?

It's normal that a leopard gecko will carry eggs or become "gravid" from about late January to late October as this is their breeding season.  If you have a male in the tank with her they could be fertile if they have mated.  During this part of the season you want to offer lots of food and calcium because her eggs are made of calcium and take all the nutrients out of her body to give to her eggs.  After a month your gecko should lay her eggs, sometimes it takes a little longer, but there is no way of making it quicker.  I learned this as I took my gecko to the vet to get shots and it didn't work to only read online it doesn't work for Leopard Geckos.  When she lays the eggs she will most likely leave them, although I have had a gecko bury them and stand on top waiting for something to get them which is unusual, even after her eggs were gone she continued to try to bury them. Don't be surprised if they lay them by their water dish and dig up the sand making the water come out of the dish and into the sand for their eggs. They will somtimes bury their eggs in the sand and you have to carefully dig up any piles to make sure you got their eggs otherwise they will dry out or die. If you want to incubate them it is important you mark the top with a sharpie very lightly, and keep this side up and put it in an incubator at about 85 degrees, which is set for both male and female temperatures. You have to get the eggs before they become hard or deflated, or with in two hours.
Above: You can see pink on her side where her egg is.

To the right: You can see two visible eggs and guts.  This female is due any day now. She will shed a couple of times and then lay her eggs shortly after shedding within the week.


What to do when expecting Leopard Gecko Eggs.


Before your Leopard Gecko sheds you already have a humid hide with paper towels, but this will not suffice when it comes to a gravid Leo female. A leopard gecko will not lay her eggs until she has the correct place to hide them, don't think you can get away with it as they can hold them longer than they should.  An expecting leopard gecko MUST have some moist substrate to dig in to bury her eggs.  We use peat moss, pearlite, vermicculite, and you can use coconut bedding.  You can find this at gardening centers, and big box stores.  Be careful when searching for eggs, you will have to dig, but dig carefully as to not roll over or squish the egg while searching.  It is possible they will only lay one egg and hold on to the other egg for a few more days, or that they lay up to 3 eggs at a time.  Some geckos will lay an egg due to stress like a change, like moving from one house to another.


How do I keep my Gecko eggs?

Before moving your eggs mark the top of the egg with a sharpie to keep from rolling it and killing the egg if it is fertile. You can use a plastic container and put in hatch rite or perlite with some water and nest the eggs in after you have made a groove with your finger.  Place this container in your incubator, if you don't have an incubator this won't work.  You want to check on the eggs daily and mist them when needed.  The eggs should never be hard or deflated because they are not viable.  You want to check for mold, if you do get some mold get a q-tip and scope and wipe it on the eggs where the mold is.  It will take off the mold and not kill your egg.  You always want to be extra careful when handling an egg/s.  If you're lucky in about a month you will have a hatchling, it is perfered you keep the hatchling in the incubator for about 8 hours before taking them out.  Taking them out early can cause more stress and is most likely to shock them as a big hand is now coming at them after coming out of an egg and the switch in temperature.  You can take them out, but you're most likely to get hissed at either way and you'll probably notice they've moved the other eggs a little.   Hatchlings normally don't eat for about two weeks because they have eatten the yolk in their egg.

If you look at the picture below here is a perfect example of Leopard Gecko Eggs, the one brown one at the top was laid in coconut bedding substrate, but it is still viable.

Hatchling questions

My hatchling puked up some mucus with red in it is it normal?

Normally hatchlings don't do this but in my experience it has happened.  What it is is the yolk they have up chucked from the egg.  You can offer it food (small mealworms in calcium) and water, hopefully it will eat it.  Mine survived this little bit and turned out fine.  He just had a big belly and a small tail, he reminded me of a gecko that resembled a beer bellied man.

My Leopard gecko hatchling is hissing at me with it's tail up what do I do?

Most hatchlings do this, it's a way for them to defend themselfs, some will try biting as well.  It isn't as effective as they hope for, but just continue to handle them daily and they should become more docile as they get older.  You could also be stressing them out by handling them too much.

My Gecko is not eatting and is very skinny

This is not an uncommon problem with leopard geckos.  Leopard geckos can become stressed to a new environment or a change and not eat.  You can give your gecko an appetitte increaser sold over the internet containing vitamin B12 which will naturally stimulate hunger in an invertabrate.  You can also try feeding them a meat based baby food, they seem to like it once they know it is food, I've used chicken.  Just put the baby food on the outside of their mouth and they will start to lick it up, never put it in their mouth or down their throat as you can put it into their lungs.  The first time I did this they instantly ate from the small syringe after they discovered it was food.  It seems to be more helpful than the appetite increaser did, but you feed this to them several times a day every day, and eventually they will eat on their own.  You can also mash up a wax worm and add nutrients to it, this didn't really work for me but for some it may as wax worms are like leopard gecko candy.

If your gecko doesn't fatten up they could also have a bacterial virus, or perasite and should be seen by a vet.

How do I know if I am underfeeding my gecko?

 
It's possible to over feed as well as underfeed.  Your gecko stores fat and nutrients in it's tail, so if its a nice size you know you are feeding him well, if your geckos tail is bigger than it's body you may be over feeding him.  You generally want the head of the gecko to be the same width as the tail or a bit bigger.   If your gecko is not eatting you can crush up mealworms and force feed it in his mouth not down his throat as you can put food into his lungs.  You do not want to see a very small tail like the gecko pictured below:

 

This Gecko is not eatting because of impaction, and there is no fat or nutrients stored in his tail. This is also a good example of how a severly underfed gecko would look. 

My Gecko Losts it's tail, what should I do?

 
Most likely due to stress a Leopard Gecko will lose it's tail, but don't worry it will grow a new one!  After a gecko has losts it's tail it's a good idea to separate them from other geckos and keep it on clean paper towels.  It is recommended by many Leopard gecko owners to put a little neosporin on the end of what is left of the tail or you can use Repti Wound Care found in big chain Pet Stores. Veteranians do not recommend putting Neosporin on a leopard geckos tail as it can most likely lick up the neosporin and digest it. The new tail will look a little rounder and fat, almost resembling the head and will be cartildge like and not move the same as the original tail it had before.  You will need to feed your gecko more often, as it has lost it's tail it has lost all of the nutrient and fat storage it kept in it's tail.  Make sure you always keep mealworms covered in calcium dust and mineral dust in the tank to ensure your gecko is getting the nutrients it needs.  You can also offer some Wax worms as they are high in fat.  While your gecko is healing it is always important to make sure it is eatting to get the esstential engery and nutrients it needs to heal.


 My Gecko has a half detached tail


DO NOT put neosporin on it.  DO NOT cut the tail off, or make her drop the tail yourself.  If you catch it within the first 6 hours it can be sewn back together by the vet, but if you catch it after six hours they will be unable to sew it back together because of the fear for bacteria growth. If your Leopard Gecko's tail is half attached treat it as you would any wound or the stub of a dropped tail.  Make sure it gets cleaned and keep it clean. Put your gecko into a separate container by themself with paper towel substrate, clean humid hide, clean water, food, heat and light. We recommend Repti Wound Aid 2 times daily, morning and night, you can find it at Petsmart. Keep crickets out of the cage as they can be messy and most likely give a nice infection to your gecko's wound.  Offer mealworms, dubia roaches and wax worms.  Clean the cage frequently to prevent any spread of bacteria or infection to the tail and other wounds.  Make sure that the area is nice and pink at all times it shows that your gecko is still in good shape. Keep an eye on their stools, if they are irregular see a vet.

  Our Gecko Chanel had this happen to her the beginning of breeding season 2009, the day before she was about to shed and the inside of the tail wound got a little dark greyish, after she shed her wound was pink.  We took her to a vet after two weeks and were told everything looked fine but they wanted to put her on anti-biotics and did not recommend putting Neosporin on the wound because she could lick it up and digest it.  We were told the tail didn't have to be cut off and it was healing back together.  For this I highly recommend taking your Gecko to a vet if you have any immediate concerns or if the wound turns dark in color and they are not about to shed. 

I have noticed this is a very hard topic to find on the internet or in forums on the web.  Most people will tell you to put neosporin on it, and to cut the tail off, or make her drop the tail yourself.  If we were to catch it within the first 6 hours it can be sewn back together by the vet, which was too late for Chanel. We were told pink is good, when the skin heals it doesn't look black or yellow but pink (like a little pink baby mouse)and if it is pink where she was wounded it was good because that is a sign of healing.  After 2 weeks her small wounds were pink and healed but her tail was not fully healed.  We were told to keep a close eye on her to see  if she ate any food, she hasn't eatten anything but part of her shed skin for the past 2 weeks, bought her some wax worms it took her a while but she ate them up! I've been offering her food daily and keeping a nice clean humid hide.  Right now she is gravid and separated from all the other geckos.  Chanel is so big boned that we aren't sure if she is due any day now or still has some time to spare as you can see in the pictures below.

You can see the tail trying to form back together.

As you Can see Under the old skin it is pink.

In both pictures above you can see the tail is starting to form back together and heal itself.You can see the pink inside the tail, it is not infected and  trying to heal back togeher on both sides of the wound.

When should I take my Leopard Gecko to the Vet?

 

Like all pets from time to time you should get your animal a check up with the vet.  It can be costly but there are companies who provide pet insurance which makes it more affordable to have your pet see a vet. 

Believe it or not Leopard geckos can get worms from their food in crickets, mealworms, etc.  There is a medication for this to get rid of the worms which will be needed to be forced fed.  They generally do not like this.

If your leopard gecko has sunken in eyes, is not  eatting, is lazy compared to it's normal activities, not drinking or has any unusual behavior.

 

 WE ARE NOT AUTHORIZED OR LICENSED TO SEE YOUR LEOPARD GECKO IF IT IS SICK.


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