Selection and Purchase of Leopard Geckos
Sometimes it is possible to come across a healthy leopard gecko in a pet store. But it is not easy to recognize what you are buying? Some leopard geckos are imported from their natural habitats such as the hot and rocky parts of Asia and exported to the United States. This is not good because leopard geckos that were given birth in the wild should remain there. Going to a breeder to purchase a leopard gecko is a best option because it ensures that you are going to be purchasing a lizard that is healthy and of good stock. The breeder will also be able to give you an accurate age of the lizard and an animal that can live up to twenty years, which is very beneficial to you. But finding a leopard gecko breeder is not always easy and ensuring that they are reputable is a challenge as well.
In order to purchase the best leopard gecko, you must be familiar with what you are buying. Handle the gecko before you buy it and make sure that you observe it thoroughly. It is very important to be able to tell the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy leopard gecko. A healthy leopard gecko will have clear eyes, clear nose and a vent. They will be active and alert with a full body and tail. Leopard geckos store their fat in their tails which they rely on when food is scarce. If the gecko has a full tail, it shows it has been fed properly. The leopard gecko should also have healthy looking skin. They should show a healthy appetite and eating regularly. A few red flags of a non-healthy gecko are swelling, bumps, sores or abrasives on their skin. You should also make sure that there is no paralysis of any of its limbs or tail and they should not have mucus on their mouth or nose. Other signs of an unhealthy leopard gecko are that it might be lethargy, have labored breathing or abnormal faces.
When handling the leopard gecko, good breeders should take time to tame their geckos so they will be friendly when they are purchased. An unfriendly leopard gecko is a good indicator that this breeder is more interested in making money and a good turn over rather than supply pet owners with the long life time of a good pet. Before you purchase leopard gecko make sure you find out what sex it is because each gender requires different care needs. If the breeder has not taken the time to sex the lizards, they are unlikely to offer their animals the best care while knowledgeable leopard gecko breeder will have no problem identifying the sex of each lizard.
A good way to find a leopard gecko breeder is to go to reptile shows that have become quite popular. Very knowledgeable leopard gecko lovers, breeders, suppliers, and more attendants of reptile shows are reasonable to choose and find the right leopard gecko for they will include the kind of color pattern that they are looking for.
The Fascinating Leopard Gecko
The Leopard gecko is a very beautiful nocturnal animal, which generally live in the ground. They have very attractive color and pattern and normally can be found in the deserts of South Asia, from the northwestern parts of India, through Pakistan, to the southern parts of Afghanistan. In recent days, adopting an exotic animal like Leopard gecko has becoming one of the most popular hobbies all around the world.
Nomenclature and Species
In 1854, a British Zoologist Edward Blyth first described Leopard geckos as a species and he named it Eublepharis macularis. Leopard geckos are like all the normal geckos, which are familiar to us including the African Fat-Tailed Gecko. It has five subspecies, counting the nominative species: Eublepharis macularius montanus , E. m. macularius, E. m. montanus and E. m. smithi.
Physical Description
These geckos are naturally small in size. An adult gecko’s length can be 20.5 to 27.5 cm and weight can be about 45 to 65 grams. Where as a baby gecko can be 6.5 to 8.4 cm and weight can be about 3 grams. The skins of leopard geckos are very nice and have beautiful colors and patterns. Their skins are very durable, which act as a safeguard from the coarse sand of the desert and rocky territory of their dry surroundings.
Nature of Leopard Geckos
Generally leopard gecko likes to live in dry grassland, rocky and desert areas of south-Asian Afghanistan, north-west India, Pakistan and some areas of Iran. In winter the temperature in these locations become quite low, which force the Leopard gecko to become underground into hibernation. Generally they like to spend their daytime by hiding under the rocks and come out at end of the day to search any insects to eat. Generally they have a have a province in the animal world, and usually they don’t like to live with other animals.
Diets of Leopard Geckos
Leopard geckos are Insectivores, which feed on worms, spiders and insects. These geckos like to have their meal by hunting. Crickets are their favorite food source and they can easily hunt them in their surroundings the way they would in the natural. Sometimes food is inadequate in the desert, so in that situation they sore additional fat in their tails. However, they can eat their own discard skin for protein and extra nutrition. It is noticeable that an adult leopard gecko discards its skin one time in a month, but young geckos may shed in so far as twice.
Sexual Dimorphism of Leopard Geckos
The differences between females and males of a species are generally known as Sexual dimorphism. It commonly found in wild animals, such as leopard geckos and it appears in adult females and males, but it is quite difficult to determine in baby geckos. The sex of geckos can be truly determined from the underside of the geckos. Male geckos can identify the sex of other geckos by smelling their pheromones on the skin. Male geckos respond to other male geckos with desperate behavior while they show a courtship behavior with females.
Recently leopard geckos become good pet and it becoming very popular to adopting a wild animal like it, especially for its beautiful colors and patterns and for the cheap cost of its maintenance. These geckos don’t have an awful odor, they have need off quite small space and slight supervision, very cheap to maintain, are very easy to care and most of all they can be a great project for children.
Albino Leopard Geckos
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As soon as leopard gecko hatched by its first designer in 1991, breeding these geckos with attractive new patterns and colors has become a great interest. Among the all types of leopard geckos, albino, high yellow and leucistic are the most demandable and exciting types. Moreover, albino leopard geckos are sorted into three different types: Two of them are Rainwater and Tremper. Bell, Nevada and Las Vegas are also defined as albino leopard gecko. All the three types of albino come from genetic researches. It means that, if a Bell albino makes a sexual intercourse with a Tremper albino, all the production will be usual looking but not albino.
Particular developmental problems in animals can be outlined as certain genes, and when mutated, generally described as a “recessive trait”. A new and superior recessive trait is discovered accidentally and there is no way that can be applied to achieve an excellent recessive trait. A huge destiny is required to get a specialized breeding like albino leopard gecko.
Generally it is a very complex matter to distinguish between these three types of albino leopard geckos. Tremper stain is well known of the three. To identify, there are the former of albino strains. If an albino gecko contains A “Mocha Strain”, then it will be brown. Their color can be white or pink as well. Albino leopard gecko’s color may vary from bright red to slightly lighter color than a normal leopard gecko. Moreover, geckos may differ in shade on their skin together with their eye color depending on the heat during hatch. Normally, the geckos which born in a hot temperature are darker in color.
From the three kinds of albinos, Rainwater albinos are secondly well recognized and the rest one is the Bell strain. Generally they contain high contrast and they are much darker than the other albino strains. Also Bell albinos have more red eyes as compared with the other three strains. Usually the red color of the eyes of young animal changes with its ages, but the eye color of Bell albinos do not change and stay pinkish or red even in adult geckos. All the albino leopard geckos are sensitive to the bright light and they have disturbed and close their eyes strongly if they are subjected to bright light. Even, they don’t eat in daytime due to their high sensitivity to light.
In recent days Albino Leopard Geckos are becoming famous due to their simplicity in nature. I think its popularity will increase in future.
Proper Care For Your Leopard Gecko
In recent days adopting and exotic animal like leopard gecko had becoming a great interest all around the world. If you are looking for an extra ordinary species to add your reptile list or desire to own a reptile pet, then Leopard Gecko can be a great choice for you. Leopard gecko is different from other reptiles and it gains it reputation as pet for its wonderful colors and patterns and mostly for its criteria on different stages on their life. But if you want to become a Leopard Gecko owner, you may require special care of it. It is a high responsibility to rake a proper care of your pet which may include proper shelter, food, love, attention, and security.
Kinds of Reptile Bedding and Substrates
There are varieties of reptile substrates that you may apply for your pet. Conversely, if you fail to choose a good substrate, it may cause a victim to your beloved pet. That’s why a judgment of substrate is really very important. You may find many debates in several reptile forums about the appropriate substrate for your gecko. The substrates may be newspaper, paper towel, peat moss, outdoor or indoor carpet, etc. However, only the perfect substrate can ensure a fit leopard gecko.
If you really want a healthy leopard gecko and want a nice bedding decoration, paper towel may be a good choice for your pet’s welfare with the minimum risk and I would like strongly suggest this as proper bedding. But for an adult gecko you may use outdoor or indoor carpet for flooring.
Apply Sand as Substrate
You will find a lot of comments on different reptile forums about applying send as a substrate for geckos. Many hobbyists have a good interest to make a comfortable house for their geckos by applying send, because it provides more natural appear and nicer in decoration. There is a little risk in applying send as substrate, but there is a good way to diminish the risk.
The first way is that; ensure to choose the appropriate send for gecko. There are some sands in pet stores which are solid. Just remember that silica is the real send and the larger the size of the sand, the more possibility to lead your gecko to impact with these. Second way is that; don’t allow the sand to get wet. And thirdly, ensure your gecko’s supplements are completed. The most important fact is that you must confirm that your leopard gecko’s length is more than 6 inches before applying sand. Sand might give a good natural look, but you must have to apply it with care.
Health Concern of Leopard Gecko
You may find a lot of questions in gecko forum about “why leopard geckos take substrate as a food”. In my view, this occurs due to our faults. Generally gecko owners did not give enough concern on its food supplement. If you are a gecko owner and like the natural appear of the substrate, it is extremely important to give them a plate of calcium powder. It will be fine if you give them suitable and adequate food supplement. However, please never forget to check the leopard gecko very closely to ensure that everything is perfect.
Gecko Tank for Your Pet
Creating a better house for a baby leopard gecko is the most critical task in the field of leopard gecko care. You must have to give a lot of concentrations for your pet in this stage because they are very helpless when they are baby. However, you can make a good relationship with your pet if you take a proper care when they are very young.
At first you have to ensure that their tank is moderately clean. You should give a good attention and observe its situation every day. If your gecko is very young, you should keep it in a 5 gallon tank. Setting up a tank with a perfect substrate is really an important fact, because improper substrate can cause the death to your pet.
Breeding of Leopard Geckos
Like all other animals, Leopard Geckos also need one female and one male to start the breeding. You may also keep a few female geckos with a male gecko. A male leopard gecko can identify the sex of other geckos very easily by smelling the pheromones on their skin. A Male leopard gecko shows a very courtship behavior with a female, while respond a very rough behavior with male geckos. So it will be better to keep one male will a few females. If a male gecko contacts with other male, it would rise up itself from the ground and extend its limbs to arch its back with the inflammation of its tongue in aggression. Then it makes a quick vigorous bite and often lacerates the skin to injure its opponent. Male geckos behave the same with females when they shed their skin. But male geckos express a very courtship behavior with the females before and after the shedding of their skin. So it can be suggested that, every gecko owners will separate the male geckos from the females during the time of their shedding skin.
Reproduction of Leopard Geckos
Reproduction of leopard gecko is also known as TSD (Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination). Because it has been proved from the research that more female geckos are produced in cool temperatures (about 26-30˚ C) and some of them in warm temperatures about (about 34-35˚ C). But male geckos are produced at medium temperatures (about 31-33˚ C). The female gecko that born in high temperatures is behaviorally and hormonally different from those who were born in low temperatures. The females who born in high temperatures are generally expressed aggressive behavior. These geckos are defined as “hot females” and they are unable to reproduce.
The sexual maturity between leopard geckos occurs in 8-9 months of age. They can be breed as a single pair or in a group containing several females with just one male. Female geckos may need to cooperate with a male gecko and judge him before she selects him as her companion. In the time of breeding, the male gecko will tap its tail, which expresses that he is prepared to mate. He will run before the female and when will catch her male gecko will rise on the female for mating. Then he will frequently bite in her head.
Generally leopard geckos breed during the months between January to September. Female geckos can stock sperm over the time of their breeding season, so that, reproductive success is not essential for the male geckos after the first or second sexual intercourse. To calcify the eggs of gecko, she needs a lot of calcium when she is pregnant. Normally they lay two eggs just after 21 to 28 days of their mating. Droplets of moisture will come into view on the shell after 45 to 60 days and shell will start to get smaller and partially reduce, which indicates that the eggs will hatch very soon. Baby geckos contain an egg tooth, which help to fracture their egg shell. Within two days of hatching their egg tooth may fall off. As well, the skin of baby leopard gecko will shed within 24 hours.
