Leopard Gecko Care Guide: Setup, Diet, and Handling

Leopard geckos are widely recommended as starter reptiles, and with good reason: they are hardy, handleable, and live fifteen to twenty years with proper care. But starter-friendly is not no-maintenance. These lizards need a specific heat gradient, three hides, calcium-dusted insects, and a shed cycle that goes wrong without humidity. The failures are all predictable and all avoidable.

This guide covers the enclosure, the diet, and the care routine that supports a two-decade lifespan.

The Enclosure

• Size: a 20-gallon long tank is the adult minimum; 40-gallon breeders are better. Floor space matters more than height — leopard geckos are terrestrial, not climbers.
• Substrate: paper towel, tile, or reptile carpet for beginners. Loose substrates like sand cause impaction if ingested during feeding — the classic gecko emergency — and are best avoided.
• Heat gradient: this is the most commonly botched element. Create a warm side around 90 degrees Fahrenheit and a cool side in the 70s. Use an under-tank heat mat on one side or a ceramic heat emitter overhead, both controlled by a thermostat. A thermometer on each side verifies the gradient.
• Heat rocks are dangerous — they cause severe burns. Leopard geckos absorb heat through their bellies from below, so a mat on one side of the tank works.
• No special UVB is strictly required if calcium is supplemented, but low-level UVB is increasingly recommended for long-term health. It is a genuine improvement, not a gimmick.
• Lighting: a simple day-night cycle — twelve hours on, twelve off — supports their rhythm. Nocturnal by nature, they do not need bright lighting.

The Three Hides

Hides are not decoration — they are stress management. Provide three:

• A warm hide over the heated side, where the gecko digests meals.
• A cool hide on the unheated side, for thermoregulation.
• A moist hide — a enclosed box with damp moss or paper towel — for shedding. Without it, geckos retain shed on toes and tail, which constricts and can cause loss of digits.

Each hide should be snug — a gecko wants to feel the walls. Commercial hides, half coconut shells, or plastic containers with an entry hole all work.

Diet: Insects and Supplementation

Leopard geckos eat insects, and the supplement routine is what separates thriving geckos from metabolically broken ones:

• Staples: crickets, dubia roaches, and mealworms. Variety beats any single insect.
• Treats: waxworms and superworms in moderation — high fat, low nutrition.
• Gut-load insects with nutritious food 24 hours before feeding — the insects carry the nutrition to your gecko.
• Dust every feeding with calcium with vitamin D3, and add a multivitamin supplement two to three times a week. Skipping supplementation causes metabolic bone disease, which deforms skeletons and is irreversible once advanced.
• Feed juveniles daily, adults every other day, offering as many insects as the gecko eats in 10 to 15 minutes.
• Never feed wild-caught insects — pesticide exposure risk.
• Water: a shallow dish, changed daily. Leopard geckos drink by lapping and often also absorb moisture from the environment.

Shedding: The Telltale Routine

Healthy leopard geckos shed in one piece, usually eating the shed afterward — completely normal behavior. Problems to watch:

• Retained shed on toes or tail means humidity in the moist hide is too low, or the hide is missing entirely.
• Patchy shedding signals the same humidity issue.
• Solution: keep the moist hide genuinely damp, not soaked, and add a warm soak in shallow water for stuck shed.

Handling

• Give a new gecko two weeks to settle before handling — stress from a new environment suppresses appetite.
• Support the whole body; never grab the tail — leopard geckos drop their tails as a defense, and the regrown tail never looks the same.
• Short sessions at first, five to ten minutes, building gradually.
• Wash hands before and after — reptiles can carry salmonella, and hand hygiene protects both directions.
• Watch body language: a raised tail with a slow wave often means excitement or hunting mode; hiding or fleeing means put it back.

Health Problems to Know

• Metabolic bone disease: rubbery jaw, limb deformities, tremors — from calcium or D3 deficiency. Prevent with dusting; advanced cases need vet treatment.
• Impaction: from ingested loose substrate, often fatal without treatment. Loose sand in the tank is the usual cause — avoid it.
• Retained shed: constricts toes and tail. Humidity fix prevents it.
• Stomatitis (mouth rot): pus in the mouth, swelling, appetite loss. Needs a vet.
• Weight loss and tail thinning: the tail is the fat store. A thin tail means something is wrong — parasites, temperatures, or diet.
• Egg binding: females can have trouble laying without a suitable laying box. Provide a humid laying area.

Find a reptile-savvy vet before you need one — not every small-animal clinic treats reptiles, and reptiles hide illness until it is advanced.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do leopard geckos live?

Fifteen to twenty years with proper care. The setup that supports that lifespan is a 20-gallon-plus tank with a heat gradient, three hides, and dusted insects.

Do leopard geckos need UVB lighting?

Not strictly with good calcium supplementation, but low-level UVB is recommended by many keepers and vets for metabolic health. It is an improvement worth making.

Can I house two females together?

Sometimes, with adequate space and monitoring, but cohabitation often causes stress and one gecko dominating food. Single housing is the safer default.

Why is my gecko always hiding?

Some hiding is normal — they are crepuscular and secretive. Constant hiding plus refusal to eat usually means temperatures are wrong, the setup lacks security, or the gecko is stressed. Check the gradient first.

The Bottom Line

A 20-gallon-plus enclosure with a real heat gradient, three hides including a genuinely moist one, paper-or-tile substrate, and calcium-dusted varied insects — that setup supports a fifteen-to-twenty-year lifespan. Supplementation is not optional; metabolic bone disease is the most common killer of poorly fed geckos and it is preventable. Skip loose sand, never grab tails, and give new geckos quiet settling time. The leopard gecko is the right starter reptile — as long as the starter setup is actually right.