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By MK Geckos at 12/14/2007 - 04:31
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Leopard Gecko(Eublepharis macularius)
Size and Weight
Full grown female Leopard Geckos will range from 8 to 10 inches from snout to tail tip and weigh anywhere between 50 grams and 100 plus grams. Full grown male Leopard Geckos will range from 8 to 10 inches from snout to tail tip and weigh slightly more than females.
Geographical distribution
Leopard Geckos can be found in the wild in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and India.
Specie Description
Leopard Geckos have been captive bred for over thirty years and are bred by many people today. There are currently 11 different genetic morphs which has diversified the look of Leopard Geckos. They range in colors from white with red eyes to bright orange. Although they may seem hard to care for, they are one of the best beginner reptiles currently offered on the market.
Sexing
Males will have a distinct "V" alignment of pre-anal pores and two bulges below the vent. Females will not have either.
Natural Habitat
Leopard Geckos are from the low mountain areas of the Middle East. The majority of the substrate they encounter in the wild is hard packed clay.
Longevity
Leopard Geckos on average live between 10 and 20 years. Some Captive Bred Leopard Geckos have lived to be 27 years.
Temperature
The best way to provide heat for Leopard Geckos is through an under tank heater. An under tank heater gives Leopard Geckos the heat they need. Since they are nocturnal animals, Leopard Geckos do not get their heat from the sun, but from the rocks that have absorbed the heat from the sun. With that said, one might think a heat rock would be the best source of heat. It is not; heat rocks tend to get hot spots which can burn your Leopard Gecko. As for temperatures, Leopard Geckos are best kept with a hot side of the tank between 87° F and 92° F with a cool side between 70° F and 78° F.
Food
There are a few different options when feeding Leopard Geckos. The two best ways to offer food to your Leopard Geckos is either a bowl of gutloaded mealworms or offering gutloaded crickets. First off, both food options need to be gutloaded. It is best to offer the crickets fresh carrots, lettuce, and bread. For mealworms, potatoes and wheat bran is sufficient. Cody's Pro Geckos also sells a gutload called Cody's Pro Gutload which many breeders including MK Geckos uses.
When offering mealworms to your Leopard Gecko, it's best to do so in a bowl. Simply refill the bowl as needed. The Leopard Gecko should be allowed to eat as much as it wants. For crickets, put the crickets into the cage, and give the gecko time to get the crickets. After about an hour or so, take the crickets that have not been eaten out. If they are not taken out, the crickets will nibble on the geckos body.
Supplements are also needed for your Leopard Gecko. A multivitamin and calcium are a necessity. A Gatorade cap worth of calcium should be offered at all times in the cage. Along with the cap, the food source should be dusted with calcium about once a week. The multivitamin should be used to dust the food source two to three times a week.
A water dish must be available for the gecko at all times. You might not see your gecko drinking, but they are using it.
Captive Environment
There are a few basics to housing Leopard Geckos. For tank size, generally a 10 gallon tank is perfect for one Leopard Gecko. When you get into having more Leopard Geckos, generally it is about 10 gallons per gecko. So if you have two Leopard Geckos, a 20 gallon tank is preferred.
Inside your tank, you will need to provide a few basics for your Leopard Geckos such as a dark hide, humid hide, water bowl, supplements, and food dish. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal animals, meaning they are active at night rather than the day. They need a hide that will stay dark while it is light outside or in the room to reduce stress.
Although Leopard Geckos are from the desert, they still require a source of humidity. The easiest way to provide this is to create a humid hide. A humid hide can be as simple as Tupperware container with a hole cut into it for the gecko to enter. Inside, you will need to have a moist substrate. At MK Geckos, we use Bed-A-Beast for all of our humid hides; moist paper towel can be used too.
For a substrate (what goes on the bottom of the tank) many breeders prefer paper towel. Lots of Leopard Gecko owners use Repti-Carpet or Slate Tile. One thing to keep in mind when choosing a substrate right for your Leopard Gecko is to stay away from loose substrates. Loose substrates lead to impaction which usually results in death.
Breeding
Leopard geckos are easy to breed under the right conditions. Females need to be at least 50 grams and males should be at least 45 grams.
There are a few different methods to introducing the male with the female(s). The first method is to put the female in the male's tank. Another is to put the male into to female's tank. Either method works.
When the male is ready to breed, he will make a buzzing noise with the end of his tail and then bite the female. The female will either allow him to proceed or she will tell him she is not ready. If the female does not want to mate she will usually bite back or run away; she may also wave her tail in the air.
After the male is done with the female, he will turn to clean himself. This should take no longer than 10 minutes. While doing this, he should not be disturbed. After he is finished cleaning himself, make sure his hemi-penis retracts. If it does not, you might be dealing with a prolapse.
The gestation period for the eggs are about two to five weeks. If she has not laid her eggs in the given time frame, it is possible she could be egg binding. Please contact your local Reptile Vet if this is the case.
Females will generally lay clutches of two eggs. Rarely clutches of three eggs will be found. Most first time females will lay one egg clutches. The number of clutches each female will lay depends on the female. Many first time breeders will not be as productive as proven breeders.
Although Leopard Geckos can retain sperm, to maximize the fertileness of the eggs, it is best to reintroduce the male to the female once every two clutches if the male and female(s) are being housed separately.
Incubation
Once a Leopard Gecko lays eggs, there are a few different routes to take to hatch healthy Leopard Geckos. The information below will give an accurate description on how to do it. Before the eggs are laid, it is best to have the incubator set up at the appropriate temperature.
The first is the substrate to incubate in. The best options are Hatchrite, Perlite, and Vermiculite. When using Perlite or Vermiculite it takes a little math to get the right mixture of Substrate to Water. The ratio is .8 parts of substrate for 1 part of substrate. The best process is to weigh the container, then zero the scale. After the scale has zeroed out, add the enough substrate for the egg to have 1/2 inch under it with the egg halfway covered. After this, get the weight and multiply it by .8. This is the amount of water, weight wise, which should be added. After this process has ended, the eggs are ready to go in.
Once the container is ready to hold eggs, your next thing to worry about is temperature. Leopard Gecko eggs are best if incubated between 80°F and 89°F. Pending on the temperature you incubate at, you will receive different ratios of males to females. When incubating between 80°F and 83°F majority of the hatchlings should be female. Anything between 84°F and 86°F an even ratio of males and females will be produced. Between 87°F to 89°F, males will be produced. Anything above 89°F can produce "hot females" who will be more aggressive, like males, and have a possibility of being infertile. Keep in mind, this formula is not fool proof. There is always a chance a male could be produced at female temperatures and vise versa.
The Mack Snows seem to be the only major acception to the rule. As of right now, they have not proven to be consistently Temperature Sexed.
The temperature also plays a role in how long eggs will incubate for. The length of incubation can range between 40 days to 80 days, pending on the temperature. The higher temperatures will result in eggs hatching sooner. Generally the lower end of the spectrum, 80°F will result in 60 days. There are always eggs that will take longer though. Do not throw the eggs out, trust the process.
The most common incubator in the Leopard Gecko community is the Hovabator. The Hovabator is a quality incubator which must be used with a thermostat. If not used with a thermostat, the incubator could fluctuate in temperatures, resulting in possible birth defects.
A general rule when it comes to bad eggs is not to throw the egg out unless it is obvious the egg is bad. One of the leading indicators is a horrible smell. Other signs could be massive denting.
A way to determine if your eggs are fertile or not is to candle the eggs. The easiest way to candle the eggs is to take your eggs into a dark room and hold a flashlight at 1 end of the egg. Once the flashlight is turned on, the end of the egg will turn a pinkish color or a yellowish color. If it turns yellow, it is a sign the egg might be bad. Pink means the hatchling is growing in the egg. If the egg shows a yellow color, do not throw it out until you are 100% sure the egg is bad. There have been reports of some bad looking eggs hatching into beautiful Leopard Geckos.
Juveniles
Generally, hatchlings are housed in either a 6qt. to 7qt. shoe box tub or a 14qt. to 16qt. shirt tub. If housing in a shoe box tub, up to two hatchlings can be housed together until they reach approximately 15 grams. If housing in a shirt tub, up to 4 can be housed together until they reach 15 grams.
In the tub, regardless of the tub size, there are some requirements for the hatchling to thrive. First is a hide. Meat Trays or PVC Pipe cut in half seem to be the most efficient. Both are cheap and are perfect in size.
Next is a source of water. At MK Geckos, we use caps from water bottles. These seem to be perfect, they are not too deep, but are not too shallow.
Lastly, pending on how you feed your hatchlings is a mealworm dish. We have found Gatorade caps work the best. They are hard for the mealworms to crawl out of and the hatchlings can see over them. In the dish, regardless of the feeding, you will want to put the calcium powder in it to prevent MBD in the hatchlings.
There are two ideal substrates for Leopard Gecko hatchlings, either a bare tub or paper towels. This will prevent impaction and allow the hatchlings to thrive.
When feeding hatchlings, there are two routes most people take, crickets or mealworms. With crickets, Pin-Head crickets are the best route. If mealworms, small to mini mealies are the best route. With the hatchlings, they will not want to eat until their first shed, or even after their first poop. The best time to offer food for the first time is after the first shed.
With Leopard Gecko hatchlings to enable proper shedding, it is best to mist the tub daily. This will give the proper moisture and allow the hatchling to shed properly.
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I agree. And the answer to that is, if you can't fit all of the required needs into a certain size housing, then that size is probably not truely big enough.
Just a couple things i would like to add:
1- vary the diet. use silkworms, butterworms, and for adults, super worms, goliath worms, and hte ocasionnal pikny mouse.
2-you shouldnt house a make and female together because excessive breeding will stress the female. just introduce her once and she will have enough sperm to go through the breeding season.
but overall its a good basic caresheet, just a bit more info is needed and some corrections to be made.
I still enjoy my lizard but feel confident enough to take on another and would like to know if there are any other species compatible with mine.
thanks.
-Soalersystem
The real problem is he can't see! I don't event think he has eyes. I can't tell because the jerk that had him just let him suffer and his eyes are all crusted over with this green hard crust and he can't close them!!!! He has a vets visit coming up on monday but I'm wondering if there is anything else i can do. I have snakes and have had them for many years but never a lizard, so Im not sure what I can be doing for him.
He has a vitiam mixture that i'm mixing with water and drop watering him in my hand. I have force feed him to crickets and he has some mealworms in his bowl. But he can't see to find them and I'm wondering if something might be wrong with his sense of smell as well.
Can anyone help me to ease this little guys suffering????
-Soalersystem