Introduction
I have kept Leopard Geckos for nearly 10 years but have only recently started breeding them. Leopard Geckos make great pet lizards and are very easy to care for. This article discusses how to raise your hatchling Leopard Gecko from a tiny baby to a breeding size adult.
Just Hatched – 1 Month Old
Wait till your Leopard Gecko has fully emerged from the egg before you remove it from the egg incubating container. I house my newly hatched geckos in plastic terrariums in a rack system. You can house more than one baby per cage, just don’t over crowd them. I use a simple cage setup consisting of paper towels as a substrate, calcium bowl, water bowl and a hide made from the cardboard inside of a toilet roll. I spray the cage with water before putting the newly hatched geckos in it to provide extra drinking water and moisture to help them shed. The baby geckos will shed for the first time 5-7 days after hatching. I offer them food after they have had their first shed. I put the baby geckos in a feeding tub and give them small crickets as their first meal. By using a feeding tub I can monitor how much each baby gecko is eating. After a few feedings of small crickets, I begin offering small mealworms in a shallow bowl. I count out the mealworms before I put them in the bowl so I can tell how many mealworms the geckos are eating. Provide a bowl of calcium or put the calcium powder in the bowl with the mealworms. Once your baby gecko is a few weeks to 1 month old and is feeding and shedding you can start moving it to a bigger cage.
1 Month-3 Months
Your Leopard Gecko should be growing nicely and eating a lot at this age so you will have to move them to a bigger cage. They will also be shedding frequently so make sure you spray their cage or place moist sphagnum moss in their hide box to help them shed properly. You can continue feeding them on mealworms and make sure to provide them with lots of calcium powder to assist in proper bone growth.
3 Months-6 Months
You should be able to tell the sex of your Leopard Gecko from the age of 3-6 months. Separate males from other males at this age to avoid serious injury from fights. You can move your Leopard Gecko into the cage you will keep it in as an adult from the age of 6 months. Continue to offer mealworms as food and provide calcium powder.
6 Months – 1 Year
Your Leopard Gecko is now on the way to adulthood. All males should be kept separate at this age and you may want to keep females away from males to avoid them breeding too early as this can be harmful to a young gecko. Male Leopard Geckos are sexually mature at around 8 months of age and females are sexually mature at 1 year of age once they weigh 50-60 grams. Continue feeding them well and providing calcium powder.