NEWS105
41
Equipment
During thedayaheat lamp shouldbeused
to provide an air temperature of 25-26°C,
while immediately beneath the lamp it
shouldbe around 30°C.The lighting should
beon for around14hours,andat night the
temperature shoulddrop to 20-21°C,which
should happen automatically in normal
living-roomswhen the lamp is switchedoff.
Even though Leopard Geckos are
predominantlynocturnal and–asdozensof
generations of captive-bred individuals
demonstrate – can get by completely
withoutUV light, it isneverthelessadvisable
tochooseaheat lampthatalsohasamildUV
component, as it seems that UV light has a
psychological as well as a physiological
effect in reptiles. Many individuals quite
simply feelbetterwithUV light.
Water–avexedquestion
In the wild these geckos only very rarely
comeacrosspuddlesor the like fromwhich
to drink. Instead they mainly use the
morning dew to satisfy their water
requirement, which is in any case low and
largely supplied by their food. In the
terrarium too they greatly enjoy the tank
being sprayed briefly in the morning and
drink thewater indrop form. It is important
that the amount of spray is calculated such
that the terrarium is completely dry again
withinaroundanhour at the latest.Leopard
Geckos do, however, also like to drink from
waterbowls.Theonlyproblemwith these is
that they rapidly become dirty, and dirty
water ismoredangerousthannowateratall.
So if youwant toprovideawaterbowl then
you shoulddo soonly for 2-3hours during
the periodwhen the geckos are active and
then remove it from the terrariumagain.The
relativehumidity in the terrarium shouldbe
about 40%during thedayand rise toup to
80%atnight.LeopardGeckosdon’tbathe. If
they are kept toodry for longperiods then
this can lead to molting problems, in
particular affecting the toes. For this reason
there shouldalwaysbeabox for egg-laying
intheterrarium,even ifyouhavenodesireto
breed (seebelow).Thisslightly (!)dampspot
will be sought outby theLeopardGeckos if
thingsget toodry for them.
Breeding
Leopard Gecko males are extremely
territorial andwon’t tolerateasecondmale
in the vicinity. The sexes are fairly easy to
distinguish. Males have clearly visible
DDesigner LeopardGecko.“SnakeEye”
Designer LeopardGecko.“Tangerine Jungle”
Designer LeopardGecko.“Tangerine”
