Although leopard geckos are one of the easiest lizard to take care of, but this is still important to prepare their habitat properly. You should know that they come from unique environment that they need to be adapted into identical habitat to make them stay healthy as well. So, you should know that they need unique housing requirements that you should fill if you want to maintain their well-being and overall health. There are many tips below that provide your leopard gecko get healthy and save home.
Right tanks for leopard gecko
Since leopard geckos were ground reptiles and seldom climb up, then the tanks should be long and wide. You should ensure that your leopard gecko cannot climb easily from the tank, hence the tank with glass side can be your best choice because leopard gecko cannot climb the glass.
Most of the gecko owners recommended rectangle glass aquariums since they can meet all of these requirements easily. You cannot use wire cage for you gecko. The wire cage can keep heat very well, easier to escape from and you have a bigger risk that your gecko getting stuck on the wire as well. For one gecko you can choose tank size around 10 gallons, two geckos around 20 15 gallons and 3 to 4 geckos, you can choose 20 gallons.
Lighting
Since your leopard gecko was naturally come from middle-east regions, you should ensure that they get same light cycles as their natural habitat. It means that in the summer, they should get 14 hours of light and 10 hours of darkness. In the winter, they will need 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness as well. When you want to start this transmission, then you can try it gradually at 15 to 30 minutes per week, then in total of 4 to 8 weeks.
For best solution, you can use automatic timers for lighting because it sometimes difficult or you might forget to turn off/ on the light. Automatic timer can save up our time as well. Because of natural geckos are nocturnal animal, they should not be exposed by bright lights or UV lights as well. Even, too much bright light can make them feeling stress.
Temperature
Since leopard gecko cannot produce the body heat, then they relied on to temperatures from their environment in order to keep them stay warm. Therefore, this is very necessary to ensure that your leopard gecko’s tank has ideal and proper temperature. Keep in mind that improper temperature can cause digestion issues and other serious issues.
In the daylight, the basking is should be at 87 to 90 degree Fahrenheit. This is also necessary because they need higher temperatures’ in order to digest their food properly. Then the cool side from their tank is around 74 to 80-degree Fahrenheit. In the nighttime, the leopard gecko being more active and when it’s not hot enough than they will lay on the warm rocks which been heated by sun all the day. Then you should lower the tank’s temperature around 70 to 75-degree Fahrenheit.
The Diseases Caused by Unsuitable Surrounding
The way you keep the container are the most important thing to keep the leopard gecko healthy and live longer than their life expectancy. The key is set the house close to the natural habitat. If it is not, they will be suffered from various diseases.
– Impaction
This is considered as a common disease and it is a life-threatening disease for the leopard gecko. The cause is various and it is strongly related to the foods. For example, the leopard gecko is eating the substrates, especially the sand. This substrate is hard to digest and if it stay in their body, it triggers impaction problem. It is better not to use calcium sand, to prevent such kind of problem. Moreover, you also need to make sure not to give too big foods. An adult leopard gecko can eat around 1-inch meal worms. If it is necessary, you can cut the foods into small pieces before giving it.
– Egg Binding
Laying egg is an important process and it might life-threatening process for the female leopard gecko. The main health problem is egg binding or known as dystocia. This problem happens when the eggs don’t want to leave the body. The common cause is because of their diet. There is a possibility that the leopard gecko lack of calcium. Stress is also a cause of egg binding. Just notify their diet and the surrounding of the container, especially in their laying eggs period.
– Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD
This disease is also caused by the lack of calcium. That’s why it is necessary to add a specific supplement contains of calcium. Indeed, calcium-sand is not an option because it is dangerous for the health of the leopard gecko. The sign of this disease is when you see something wrong with the way they walk. The walking problem is caused by the broken limbs. It is a hard disease and most of the leopard geckos die because of this disease.
– Parasites
Parasite is also the disease caused by wrong type of feeding. The parasite stays inside the body of the leopard gecko. Most of the owners don’t realize and it keeps the parasite for a few months without treatment. As the result, it attacks the immune system and the vital parts. To check whether there is a parasite or not, just take the feces and bring it to the vet for further diagnosis. If they are suffered from a parasite, the doctor will give a specific medicine to kill it.
– Burns
Installing the right lighting is also an important consideration. Too bright lighting leads to burn disease. This is because the increasing of the temperature and it is too hot for the leopard gecko. Just fix the light and control the temperature to prevent such kind of problem. It is also a serious problem which might leads to the death. Just bring the leopard gecko to the vet if they are suffered from burns. The doctor will give you a specific antibiotic for your lovely leopard gecko.
