Life with a leopard gecko.

They can be a good first reptile if you are comfortable caring for live insects and checking a measured habitat every day. Their small size does not make the care casual.

Most adults are about 17–25 cm (7–10 in) from nose to tail. Individual size varies with sex, line, body condition, and tail length.

RSPCA gives a 10–20 year range, and RVC says they can live up to 20 years. If you choose one, plan your home and care around the longer end.

They are crepuscular, so you will often see the most activity around dusk and dawn. A comfortable gecko may still come out at other quiet moments.

Many accept brief, gentle, fully supported handling once they are settled. Let handling stay optional, keep it low to the ground, and never grab the tail.

Plan one enclosure per leopard gecko. Sharing space can lead to stress, food competition, injury, and health problems that are easy to miss at first.

They are insectivores. Offer varied, appropriately sized live insects, prepare the feeders well, and follow a calcium and vitamin plan suited to your gecko.

Set up and test the full adult enclosure, find a reptile veterinarian, choose a healthy captive-bred gecko or reputable rescue, and make sure live insects and safe hygiene fit your household.

For one adult, plan about 91 × 46 × 46 cm (36 × 18 × 18 in) or larger. That footprint leaves room for a warm hide, a cool hide, and a humid hide. It is planning guidance, not a universal legal minimum.

Use guarded, thermostat-controlled heat; digital probes; an infrared surface thermometer; a hygrometer; secure hides; a humid hide; fresh water; and a gentle UVB/daylight setup with shade.

Begin with about 28–32°C at the usable warm retreat and 24–26°C at the cool end. Check whether each reading is air or surface temperature, and measure where your gecko actually rests.

Use a gentle UVB/daylight gradient with real shade rather than assuming a crepuscular gecko needs no UVB. Lamp distance, mesh, and light sensitivity all matter.

Keep the enclosure dry overall—about 30–40% at the cool end—then give your gecko one properly maintained humid hide for shedding.

The humid hide gives them a small place to support normal shedding without turning the whole enclosure damp. Check it regularly and keep it clean.

For a juvenile, a gecko in quarantine, or a setup you are still learning, use a simple surface you can inspect easily. A healthy established adult can use a well-run organic soil and play-sand mix; avoid calcium sand, walnut shell, corncob, and wood chips.

Yes. Keep a shallow bowl of fresh water available and refresh it daily, washing it whenever it is soiled.

Let skin release on its own—never pull it. Check toes, tail tip, and eyes, maintain the humid hide, and call a reptile veterinarian for persistent retained shed or swelling.

Call for weight or tail loss, appetite loss with lethargy, abnormal droppings, repeated retained shed, swelling, twitching, weak or misshapen limbs, or suspected egg binding. These are reasons to call, not a diagnosis.

Yes. Wash your hands after the gecko, insects, waste, water, or enclosure equipment, and keep reptile supplies away from kitchens and food-preparation areas.