The classic first lizard — docile, ground-dwelling, easy to handle and famously hardy. One of the most popular pet reptiles on earth and superb for handling sessions.
🟢 Beginner-friendly🖐 Great for handling🌵 Ground-dwelling · Crepuscular⏳ 15–20+ years
Care difficulty
Easy
Animal cost
£25–£250+
Full setup
£200–£400
Adult size
8–10 in / 20–25 cm
Lifespan
15–20 yrs (up to 25)
Min. enclosure
90×45×45 cm
📋At a Glance
Leopard geckos are terrestrial desert geckos that are calm, slow-moving and among the easiest lizards to tame. Unusually for geckos they have eyelids, and they store fat in their thick tails. They need warmth and a dry setup but no complicated care, making them a superb beginner and handling animal.
Best for: first-time keepers, families and handling sessions wanting a docile, robust ground-dwelling lizard.
💷Costs & Getting Hold of One
The animal
£25–£70 for standard morphs; designer morphs (e.g. tangerine, bold stripe) £80–£250+.
Low — live insects, supplements and electricity, roughly £10–£20/month.
Availability
Very easy. One of the most widely bred reptiles — every shop and expo has them.
These are minimums, not budgets. The low end still has to meet the animal's needs — proper UVB, a heat gradient, space and filtration are not optional extras. A vivarium alone can cost £250–£300+, and a tortoise's UVB lamp alone is often ~£100. Price the whole setup before you commit to the animal.
Buying tip: Look for a plump tail (not thin/stick-like), clear eyes, no stuck shed on toes, and an alert animal that stands up on its legs. Avoid so-called 'enigma' animals prone to neurological issues.
🏠Enclosure & Where to Keep It
Leopard geckos are terrestrial, so floor space matters most. Use a low, wide, front-opening vivarium.
Single adult
Minimum 90×45×45 cm (3 ft). Bigger is better; height is unimportant.
Hides
At least three: a warm hide, a cool hide and a humid hide (moist moss) to aid shedding.
Furnishing
Flat basking rocks, low branches and cover. They like to explore at ground level.
Where to keep it
Stable room out of direct sunlight and draughts.
Provide a proper thermal gradient — a warm end and a cool end — so the gecko can regulate its own temperature.
🌡️Temperature, Lighting & Humidity
Temperature
Warm end surface 28–30 °C (basking spot up to ~32 °C), cool end 22–24 °C, night drop to ~20 °C. Use a heat mat or overhead heat on a thermostat.
Lighting / UVB
A low-level UVB (T5 5–6%) is now recommended for health, even though they were long kept without. 12-hour cycle.
Humidity
Low overall (30–40%), but always provide a humid hide for shedding.
Bedding / substrate
Best: tile, slate or lino for adults — hygienic and safe; or a bioactive arid soil mix. Avoid loose sand for young or unwell geckos (impaction risk), and avoid reptile/cage carpet — it snags claws and teeth, traps bacteria, and loose fibres can be swallowed.
🍽️Diet, Supplements & Feeding
Leopard geckos are strict insectivores — no plant food or CGD. Feed a varied diet of appropriately sized live insects.
Staple
Crickets, dubia roaches and locusts. Mealworms/waxworms as occasional treats only (fatty).
Frequency
Juveniles: daily. Adults: every 2–3 days, offering as many as eaten in ~10 minutes.
Supplements
Dust insects with calcium (no D3) most feeds, calcium + D3 and a multivitamin 1–2× weekly.
Water
Fresh shallow water dish at all times.
Feeder insects should be no longer than the width of the gecko's head. Gut-load insects for 24 h before feeding for better nutrition.
✨Grooming, Shedding & Additional Needs
No grooming needed. They shed every few weeks and usually eat the skin. A humid hide is the key to clean sheds.
Check toes and tail tip after each shed. Stuck shed can constrict and cause toe loss — gently soften with the humid hide, never pull dry skin.
🖐️Handling & Interaction
One of the best lizards to handle — slow, tolerant and rarely bites once tamed. Excellent for supervised sessions with children.
How to handle
Let a new gecko settle for 1–2 weeks. Scoop gently from below and let it walk across flat hands. Keep sessions calm and short (5–15 min), close to a soft surface.
✅ Do
Wash hands before and after handling.
Support the body on a flat palm.
Move slowly and stay low.
Handle in the evening when they're active.
Supervise children at all times.
⛔ Don't
Never grab or lift by the tail — it drops (it regrows, but lumpy).
Don't handle during a shed or in the first fortnight.
Don't restrain tightly or move fast.
Don't house two adults together unless a proven pair (males fight).
Don't keep on loose sand if impaction is a risk.
🦎Fun Facts
Unlike most geckos they have movable eyelids and can blink.
They store fat in their tails — a fat tail is a sign of good health.
A dropped tail regrows, but shorter and smoother (a 'regenerated' tail).
They were among the first domesticated lizard species.
They 'talk' with chirps and squeaks when excited or defensive.
⭐Overall Verdict
The benchmark beginner lizard: hardy, calm, long-lived and easy to handle. Give it warmth, a dry setup with a humid hide, dusted insects and a thermostat, and it's close to foolproof.