do leopard geckos need light?

Leopard gecko habitat setup

So you have purchased your new pet leopard gecko for sale and you need to know do leopard geckos need light (do leopard geckos need uv light? ) and you now need to setup his/her home!  We have some great information on how to setup your new baby leopard geckos habitat properly and really do answer whether do leopard geckos need light or not..

Since leopard geckos are nocturnal, they don’t bask in the light like other reptiles. However, keeping proper heat in your tank is important. If you are able to maintain the proper temperature levels in your tank with under tank heaters, then you can use any standard light bulb as a light source.

The best terrariums for Leopard Geckos are those that are long and shallow. The minimum size for one Leopard Gecko is 10 gallons, and you will need to increase the size of the terrarium if you have multiple lizards. A pair will need a 15-gallon tank, and three or four lizards will need at least a 20-gallon tank.

Wire cages are not acceptable. Leopard Geckos must be housed in glass terrariums for their safety and to prevent them from escaping. Unlike some other geckos, Leopard Geckos cannot climb glass very well. The terrarium should have a wire lid, which  provides proper ventilation and allows light through.

The leopard gecko substrate that you use should be non-abrasive and non-irritating to your Leopard Gecko’s sensitive skin. It should be something that you can easily clean and replace, and it should not create any type of dust. Improper use of substrate can result in infection, respiratory problems, and toxic reactions. Substrates to avoid include cedar, pine, hardwood chips, gravel, cat litter, sawdust, and corncob bedding. Safe substrate that you can use in your Leopard Gecko’s enclosure includes artificial turf, paper toweling, and newspaper. Many people use sand as well, but there have been some instances of problems, including ingestion of the sand and sand in stools. If you are using sand and you see any problems developing, switch substrates immediately.

For heating your enclosure, you have several safe choices. While some herpers recommend never using “hot rocks” for heating, the newer ones have built-in safeguards to prevent overheating and hot spots. The electronic heat stone (by Exo Terra) has an electronically controlled heating element that automatically shuts off when a certain surface temperature is reached, which will prevent burns and overheating. The heating element is fully encased in the stone, which prevents hot spots, and the resin it is made of ensures even heat distribution.

However, I don’t think that one hot rock is going to provide enough heat to create the temperature gradient from 90 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit that is appropriate for leopard geckos. At night, the temperature can go as low as 64. To provide the correct temperature gradient, you can utilize an under the cage heat strip designed for desert terrariums. These substrate heaters are also designed to be very safe and also provide even heat distribution. Some herpers also utilize a 40- or 60-watt incandescent light bulb in a reflector fixture as a means of providing a focal heat source for the habitat. A red bulb can be used to provide some heat and also allows you to observe your nocturnal lizard (meaning that they are active at night) without disturbing their normal sleep-awake cycle.

You can use a heat strip, heating stone or incandescent bulb, or any combination thereof, to create the correct temperature gradient for your particular habitat. Make sure that you have several accurate thermometers/hygrometers in strategic locations around the habitat so that you can monitor the temperature in the different zones.

• Leopard geckos for sale get their name from the leopard-like spots that cover the backs of adult leopard geckos.
• Pet Leopard geckos can grow up to nine inches and live for 10 or more years with proper care.
• all leopard geckos are nocturnal, keeping out of the heat of the day and coming out at night to forage for food.
• A baby leopard gecko’s gender is determined by its incubation temperature. At 90° F, virtually all the eggs are male; near 80° F, most of the eggs will be female. An incubation temperature of 85° F will produce about an equal number of males and females.
• Leopard gecko tails are used to store fat; they can use this reserve in times of famine when food sources are sparse.
• When hunting, mating and defending territory, male leopard geckos shake their tails.
• Leopard geckos have little claws instead of sticky pads like other types of geckos. They are rarely found off of the ground.
• Leopard geckos don’t just eat crickets—they love all kinds of insects, including mealworms, superworms and waxworms and should be fed a varied diet.
• Leopard geckos can see better than other gecko species. Their vision is comparable to that of a cat.
• Leopard geckos are indigenous to the Middle East and parts of Northern India.
• The most notable trait of leopard geckos is their unusually gentle disposition.
• Many geckos lack eyelids, but not leopard geckos! They can even blink and close their eyes while sleeping.
• Leopard geckos have a tail that can detach if grabbed by a predator, giving them time to escape.
• Leopard geckos are available in many different colors and patterns.
• Nearly all geckos have a voice. Leopard geckos have a small “bark” they use if agitated but are not as vocal as other gecko species.

Leopard Gecko color morphs

Leopard geckos are so fun to breed not only because they are docile and easy to care for, but their genetics allow us to create and work with so many different types of leopard gecko color morphs that we are always excited to see our hatchling leopard geckos come out of their eggs!

Normal (Wild Type)

This is your basic yellow leopard gecko with black spots.

They will be inexpensive and very common in pet stores and photos depicting leopard geckos. Don’t pay a lot of money for a Normal morph seeing as they are readily available (I’ve had several myself).

High Yellow leopard geckos for sale

Before there were over 100 different color morphs there was just High Yellow. You either had a Normal or you had the High Yellow morph of leopard gecko, nothing else. The High Yellow has more yellow and less spots than the Normal morph and you can have a combination High Yellow with another morph such as Jungle.

Aberrant leopard gecko for sale

An Aberrant leopard gecko is one that has a broken pattern, meaning if your gecko has beautiful bands all down its body and tail but there is a break in the pattern where an oval appears instead of a line you have an Aberrant. You can also have a combination Aberrant with other morphs.

Blizzard leopard geckos

This is a completely patternless leopard gecko and is very similar to the Murphy Patternless.

Blizzards can be all white, yellow, or even a purple color with the darker colors being referred to as Midnight Blizzards. Blizzards are one of the three morphs that also have eclipsed, or completely black, eyes.

Hypo Melanistic leopard geckos

To be considered a Hypo a leopard gecko must have 10 or less spots on its body (some on the head and tail are allowed).

If a leopard gecko has no spots on its body at all it is considered a Super Hypo.

Tangerine leopard gecko sale

The Tangerine morph is any leopard gecko that has orange on it. Tangerine is often used in conjunction with another kind of morph such as a Super Hypo Tangerine.

Carrot Tail geckos for sale

This morph description is specific to the tail. A leopard gecko that has at least 15% of its tail covered in orange is described as a Carrot Tail.

RAPTOR (Red-Eyed Patternless Tremper Orange)

The RAPTOR is an albino leopard gecko with red eyes and an orange body. RAPTOR morphs will have no black spots and are considered combination morphs.

Halloween Mask

The Halloween Mask morph has bold head patterns. Their patterns and traits will continue to develop as they mature into adults.

Lavender leopard gecko for sale

As the name suggests, the Lavender morph describes any leopard gecko with the light violet or lavender color on it. Many geckos lose their lavender coloration as they get older which can make breeding for this morph very difficult.

Hyper Melanistic

A Hyper Melanistic is a darkly pigmented, but not black, leopard gecko. This morph has more melanin than the lighter pigmented morphs. It will still have spots and patterns but overall have a much darker coloration than Normal or Wild Types.

Reverse Stripe

This morph describes a leopard gecko that has a stripe all the way down his back, from his neck to his tail. The color of the stripe will vary but the Reverse Stripe description will be used in conjunction with other morph names.

Super Giant

While the majority of morphs describe skin coloration or the eyes of a leopard gecko Super Giant is referencing the size of the gecko. Super Giants are the largest of the leopard geckos with an almost 12 inch gecko holding the record. Giants are bigger than Normals but smaller than Super Giants.

Baldy

This is a type of Super Hypo that has no spotting on its head.

Other types of morphs also exist and while the combinations of them seems endless there are breeders who have this down to an exact science and are currently working on new morphs. Prices will vary from morph to morph depending on how difficult it is to produce but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for some of the more rare morphs.

If you aren’t sure what morph is your favorite a great place to view a variety of them is at your local reptile show.

Leopard geckos are some of the most popular pet geckos for sale online or at the local pet shop.  We highly recommend buying from the actual leopard gecko breeder rather than at a local pet shop.

Looking for top quality leopard geckos for sale including the best leopard gecko color morphs?  Buy leopard gecko for sale online from GeckosGeckos.com!  leopard gecko breeders are available across the country, but GeckosGeckos.com specializes in top genetics and vividly colored, calm tempered baby geckos and adult geckos for sale online.

If you are looking for a pet gecko for sale that does not require live food (insects) to eat, then you should consider the crested gecko for sale, or the gargoyle gecko for sale, as they both eat a powdered gecko diet that needs to be mixed with water.

For more information on geckos for sale, including leopard geckos for sale, crested gecko for sale, gargoyle gecko for sale, or any leopard gecko for sale online, we would recommend you check out our Main captive bred reptiles site showing all of our leopard gecko breeder stock as well as crested gecko breeder stock at CBReptile.com