Leopard Geckos are one of the most popular reptile pets. They are possibly the first domesticated lizard species. Their small size, robustness, and relatively easy care makes them a good "beginner" reptile pet. They breed easily in captivity, so most sold today are captive-bred rather than wild-caught.
The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is a crepuscular ground-dwelling lizard naturally found in the deserts of Asia and throughout Pakistan, to parts of northern India. Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids. It has become a well-established and popular pet in captivity.
The generic name Eublepharis is a combination of the Greek words Eu (good), and blephar (eyelid), as having eyelids is the primary characteristic that distinguishes members of this subfamily from other geckos, along with a lack of lamellae, bumpy skin, and nocturnal behavior.
The native habitat of the leopard gecko is the rocky, dry grassland and desert regions of south-Asian Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-west India, and some parts of Iran. Winter temperatures in these areas can be quite low, below 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), forcing the animals underground into semi-hibernation, called brumation, living on fat reserves. Leopard geckos are crepuscular reptiles; they are limited to the burrows during the day but become active at dawn and dusk when the temperature is favorable. These geckos are solitary, and do not usually live with other animals.
Leopard geckos feed on crickets, roaches, grasshoppers, waxworms, mealworms, super worms, other insects, and earth worms. In captivity, most individuals will prefer hunting food themselves. The majority of captive leopard geckos will also refuse to eat dead prey. Crickets are the most common food source to give them in captivity, as they can hunt them in their enclosure the way they would in their natural environment, though mealworms and certain species of roach are also common. When food is scarce in the desert, they can rely on their ability to store excess fat in their tails. Sufficient calcium and vitamin D3 is also very important for their diet: How they obtain it in the wild is still unknown, although they likely receive this from their varied prey of moths, spiders, ants, and other insects. In captivity, it is near impossible to completely duplicate the diet they will have in the wild, so the most nutritious insects known are offered, usually dusted with a fine calcium powder with added vitamin D3 and sometimes gut loaded by feeding. Their keen sense of smell and sight allows them to search for food in the wild, so they will stalk their prey somewhat like an actual leopard will, moving their tail, and then striking when they are satisfied.
Leopard geckos are large for a gecko. Hatchlings tend to be 6.5 to 8.4 cm (2.6 to 3.3 inches) in length and weighing about 3 grams while the adult geckos are about 20.5 to 27.5 cm (8.1 to 11 inches) in length and weight about 45 to 65 grams.
Those found in the wild typically have a darker, dull, and drab coloration than those kept in captivity as pets. Those in captivity generally have an assortment of skin colors and patterns. The skin of a leopard gecko is very durable, which provides protection from the rough sand and rocky hills terrain of their dry environment. Their dorsal side is covered with small bumps, which gives a rough texture and appearance while their ventral side is thin, transparent, and smooth. Like all reptiles, leopard geckos shed their skin. In the few days before the shedding, the skin will turn color to a translucent whitish gray. Adults shed an average of once a month, while juveniles will sometimes shed twice as much. The gecko will eat its old skin after shedding, revealing a brighter colored one. There are two theories of why leopard geckos do this. One is that in the wild leopard geckos eat their shed skin so there is no trace that the leopard gecko was there. The other theory is that eating the shed skin is a means for obtaining protein and other vitamins for growth.
Leopard geckos are ectothermic. They absorb warmth and energy during the day as they are sleeping, so they can hunt and digest food at night. In addition, they have short legs, which enable them to be quick and agile while their small nails allow them to climb twigs and rocks. Leopard geckos have openings on either side of their head as ears. A tympanic membrane covers and protects it. They use their ears to locate their prey. Healthy leopard geckos have thick, fleshy tails; a thin tail is an indication that the gecko is not healthy and may be lacking nutrition. Although, when in captivity, the tail can be fattened by the feeding of waxworms (wax moth larvae), these worms are typically too fatty for the gecko to get the nutritional value it needs.
Leopard geckos are polyphyodonts and able to replace each of their 100 teeth every 3 to 4 months. Next to the full grown tooth there is a small replacement tooth developing from the odontogenic stem cell in the dental lamina. Leopard geckos have predators such as snakes, foxes and other large reptiles. Their keen sense of hearing and sight help them escape from them during the night. Along with their exceptional sight and hearing abilities, their skin helps camouflage themselves from their predators. Their sense of taste and smell also helps them with survival. The shedding of their skin also removes any scent markers left behind for potential predators to discover. They also stay in underground holes and burrows during the daytime, not only to avoid the heat, but to also avoid the risk of getting eaten.
Leopard geckos also have the ability to voluntarily detach their tails if it is attacked, grabbed by the tail, bitten during copulation, or nipped by another during feeding. This is called caudal autotomy. After autotomy the tail can continue to twitch for as long as 30 minutes, allowing the gecko to escape from its predator.
Captive born and bred leopard geckos do not carry any diseases that are transmissible to humans. Salmonella is not an issue, because they live in a dry environment and the disease usually occurs in aquatic or semi-aquatic species kept in unsanitary housing conditions. However, there are several common diseases that leopard geckos may experience.
