Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 29, Number 5;   May, 2002

Leopard Geckos: Their Care and Breeding

by Jason Patterson, Orrington, ME

A survey of the rest of this gecko's body reveals some other unique characteristics. The leopard gecko's ear is unusual in that when you hold them in a well-lit space you can see clear through their head! As far as the rest of their body goes, the tail is a food storage center and will get nice and plump if the lizard is in good health. The leopard gecko can also drop its tail if it gets scared; it will regenerate but will look more bulbous and smooth the second time around. The body is relatively low to the ground and their skin is bumpy, except for the very smooth belly. The head is triangular but this can also vary; I have some with big heads and some have a narrower profile.

The typical color and pattern of wild leopard geckos is a background of yellowish-brown. I like to say it looks like "Grey Poupon" with lots of interconnected spots. The tail has rings of color that are light purple to black. These geckos come from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and reach a total length of 8-9 inches.

Due to the growing variety of colors and patterns available, the leopard gecko has become the "corn snake" of the lizard world. The corn snake has many, many different colors and patterns, most of which are simple recessive traits. The leopard gecko has had many new colors and patterns emerge in the last ten years. To give you a sample, here are a few names of these morphs: Jungle, High-Yellow, Tangerine, Hypo-Tangerine, Hyperxanthic, Patternless (leucistic), Ghost, Banded or Lavender, Melanistic, Tremper Albino, Rainwater Albino, Blizzard, Snow, Striped, Reversed Striped, Golden, Carrot-tail, and Midnight!!

So why leopard geckos? Why do I enjoy them so much, and why do I breed them? The colors that these geckos can attain now through selective breeding is amazing, and that is what really has caught my eye. I really like the juvenile color and pattern stage of "jungles." I love to see the babies go through their color and pattern development. Leopard geckos, when born, are typically banded and, as they get older, the banding fades and turns to spots.

Breeding leopard geckos is fun, but it's also a lot of work. Seeing what the offspring are when you look into the egg incubation box is exciting. It could be something totally new, something really weird, or just the new hatchling that you helped to produce.

1. NO sand or particle substrate
Most care sheets say to use play sand or the "new" calcium sands. The problem is that these substrates can cause blockages in the intestines of leopard geckos. Sure, some people use sand and have no problems; I choose to use newspaper or paper towels and not take the risk.

The problem with the sand substrates is the way leopard geckos feed. They are very aggressive when they eat and end up eating the sand along with their prey. In time, the sand builds up in their intestinal tract. A blockage can occur and the gecko can die. The calci-sands say "100% digestible" but when keeping leopards originally on this, their stools were full of sand, so how is it 100% digestible? Some people ask me what they do in the wild. Well, I think the earth/landscape they come from is most likely more compact and not loose, so they don't ingest much, but I could be wrong.

2. Humidity box
I believe this is very important because it aids in the shedding process. If the gecko is too dry, unshed skin will adhere and not come free. When this happens on the toes, it cuts off circulation and the toe(s) die. The geckos will do fine without their toes but who wants a toeless leopard gecko? The head and neck area often encounters this trouble with skin shedding also.

The size of the humidity box depends of course on the size of the animals using them. I use mealworm containers with a hole cut in the lid for hatchlings and various Tupperware containers for the juveniles and adults. For substrate I use coconut bedding and long fiber sphagnum moss. The humidity box also is used by the females to lay their eggs in. I mist the boxes down as needed to keep them moist.

3. Supplementation of calcium/D3 and other vitamins
This is a must and my brand preference is Miner-All. For hatchlings, I apply it to their food with every feeding. For juveniles and adults, it is used in the "off season" every second or third feeding. During the breeding season, I apply it every feeding especially for the purpose of egg production. Also, a dish of the calcium/D3 is in the cage at all times. The geckos will lick the calcium if they need more in their diet. This also doubles as a good bowl for superworms or mealworms. A vitamin (Herptivite) is used two times a month.

4. Temperatures
I maintain the temperature from 77 degrees at night to 80-85 degrees during the day with substrate heat. I use Flexwatt heat tape controlled by a thermostat set at 90 degrees. Since I use the shoebox/sweaterbox system with these geckos, the heat will dissipate through the boxes and a temperature of 88 degrees is accomplished. They can tolerate 64 degrees at night.

5. Feeding
This can vary with every animal. I use the following variety for my geckos: crickets, mealworms, super worms, waxworms, and pinkie mice. Some of my leopard geckos are picky and won't eat mealworms or pinkies. It is a matter of finding what they prefer as you work with them. In the breeding season females are fed at least one pinkie a week or more if they need to gain weight for egg production.

6. Breeding
With a lot of reptiles, a cooling period or brumation is required to condition your herps to successfully breed. For the leopard geckos, I have found that this is not the case with my set-up. I believe photoperiod plays a more important role than brumation

I put males together with females in December after a heavy feeding schedule. After I'm sure copulation has occurred and eggs are forming, I separate the sexes. Leopard gecko females will retain sperm for the season and produce multiple (4 - 8), two-egg clutches each year. When I notice the females getting nice and plump, I know eggs are going to be laid, usually within a week. The eggs can easily be seen on the underside of the gecko. It is then time to check the egg laying/humidity boxes regularly, once in the morning and then at night. If the eggs sit in the boxes too long they can dry up, get over heated, or drown.

7. Incubation
For incubation containers, I use Rubber Maid Servin' Savers which have two thumbtack sized holes at each end. Each female's eggs are kept in a separate incubation box. Perlite is my choice for incubating medium. A ratio of 1:1 (water:Perlite) by weight is fine. It is all right to use slightly less water. The eggs are half buried in the perlite.

Since my herp room stays at 77-80 degrees, I don't need to use an incubator to produce mostly females. The reason for this is that the sex of the developing animal is determined by the temperature. This is true for leopard geckos as well as crocodilians and most turtles. Lower temperatures (75 to low 80's) produce more females: middle temperatures (mid to high 80's) produce males and females, and high temperatures (90-95) produce mostly males. This year I will incubate for albino males and albino x patternless hets. The duration of incubation will vary dramatically with this range of temperatures also. At 90°F, hatching will occur in 36 days. At 75°F, hatching may require 107 days!

8. Care of babies
After the babies hatch, they are set up in shoe boxes. I raise them separately for a minimum of two weeks before selling them. They normally shed a few days after hatching, and feeding begins soon after. I start them on 1/2" crickets for normal sized babies or 1/4" for any "runts." It is amazing how fast they can grow in a few weeks. They will usually eat four to five crickets in a daily feeding.

.I held back a gorgeous female "jungle" that I plan to breed to a "high-yellow jungle" this year. If all goes as planned, it will be exciting to see the babies. Last season I produced some nice female hypo geckos, and they are hot! I should be able to breed them next season, and the parents, I hope, will produce more so I can hold back a nice hypo male.

I mentioned the albino project earlier: I have a Rainwater Albino group, 1 albino male and 3 het females. I will also be crossing the albino male with a patternless female to produce double het for patternless albino. There are so many morphs, I can't have them all but I would like to get a group of the "Blizzards".

As far as what the future of leopard geckos holds, there should be more exciting morphs coming out in the next few years. An "all-blue" gecko is in the works and also, "extra-large" leopard geckos are being bred now.

If you don't have any leopard geckos, they are a wonderful, fun, and exciting gecko to keep, raise, and breed. They are my favorite gecko and I plan on selectively breeding them for years to come.