Attractive to lizard lovers for their ease in care, leopard geckos have become one of the most popular geckos in the world.  Both novice keepers who first fall in love with how easy they are to care for soon become experienced handlers who have found joy and excitement in these amazing animals.

One thing that makes the leopard gecko so popular with those interested in the world of lizards is the vast amount of unique and vibrant colors available to the buyer.  Through generations of breeding new and unique colors and patterns has happened over several years.  Some of the leopard gecko morphs include tangerine, carrot-tail, tremper albino, bell albino, las vegas (rainwater) albino, stripe, reverse stripe, red stripe, jungle, giant, APTOR, RAPTOR, mack snow, line bred snow, patternless, enigma, eclipse, and blizzards just to name a few.  Breeders have successfully bred these morphs together creating so many different variations.  Leopard geckos all have such unique looks and markings it is easy to see why the leopard gecko one of the most majestic species of lizard in captivity.

Leopard geckos originated from the Middle East – Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan area.  Adult leopard geckos can grow to be lengths of 8 to 12 inches long and weigh 60 to over 100 grams in captivity.  The baby leopard geckos are around 3 inches and average 3 grams in weight.  These lizards are a terrestrial animal which means they prefer to live in the ground.   They are also nocturnal meaning that they are most active at night.  With proper care from their owners leopard geckos can easily live up to 20 years.  But in order to keep them happy and healthy, leopard gecko’s owners must provide their lizards with a few essential things.  Leopard geckos shed their skin regularly.  For this they need a humid of habitat which aids in them being able to properly shed their skin.  Owners can provide their lizards with a shed box.  A shed box is essentially a hide box with damp sphagnum moss.  This aids the leopard gecko in the shedding process.  Leopard geckos also must maintain a healthy diet.  They store the extra fat within their tails.  This provides them in times of scarcity.  A leopard gecko with a fat tail is a healthy gecko.  Leopard geckos should also be provided with a light and a heat source. It is important to provide a temperature gradient for the animal.  A temperature gradient is basically having a warm end and a cool end of the enclosure that will allow the animal to regulate its own body temperature.

Like many reptiles all leopard geckos are potential carriers of infectious diseases and salmonella.  Owners should always wash your hands before and after handling your leopard gecko and/or the habitat contents to help prevent the potential of spread of these diseases.  As time goes on leopard geckos are gaining in popularity and will continue to be one of the most kept reptiles in captivity.  As their popularity grows breeders will continue to breed ever more unique and interesting specimens.