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Having a well-designed enclosure for your leopard gecko is crucial to both their health and overall happiness in your care. From correct lighting to temperature to humidity and decorations, creating a habitat for leopard geckos can be a confusing process, especially for novice reptile keepers. If you’re struggling with setting up your habitat of leopard geckosCheck out our guide to leopard gecko tank setup ideas here!
We’ll cover everything you need to know about perfecting your new reptile friend at home. In addition, we’ve included five great tips to improve your gecko’s tank setup from simple to something truly extraordinary!
Setting Up a Leopard Gecko Tank: The Basics
Before you start playing with elaborate setups and decorations, it’s best to first understand the basics your leopard gecko’s tank needs. Although leopard geckos are low-maintenance pets, they still have many unique care requirements that must be met to truly thrive in captivity.
The main things you will need to provide your gecko’s tank with are:
- Adequate heating. The housing needs a slight gradient from the warm side (the tanning bed) to the cooler side. Below the solar area, temperatures should be between 85 and 90F, while the cooler end should be between 75 and 80F. Temperatures between the cold and warm sides should range from about 80 to 85F.
- Lighting and a 12/12 photo cycle. Housing lighting should mimic natural sunlight: 12 hours on, 12 hours off. This can be easily accomplished with a simple white sun bulb (which will also provide warmth to your gecko’s habitat).
- Good humidity. Since leopard geckos are desert dwellers, in captivity they need low humidity, or around 30% to 40% at all times. Keep moisture to a minimum. Move your gecko’s water dish away from the solar bulb to prevent evaporation (which adds more moisture to the air).
- Dry and damp skins. A shelter is simply a small, covered shelter that your gecko can sleep in or find privacy in if they are shy. The moist skin should be placed towards the center of the enclosure, filled with moist substrate and misted daily. The dry skin should be towards the cooler end of the case and have a dry substrate.
- Safe ground. Substrate forms the floor of your gecko’s enclosure. Avoid “loose” substrates, or those consisting of small, indigestible particles. For example, sand, gravel, and wood chips are unsafe substrates because your gecko could accidentally ingest them and get hit by them. The safest options are tile, flat rocks, reptile carpet, or paper towels.
- Food and water dishes. Keep it as clean as possible. Position the water bowl towards the cooler end of the housing to prevent the water from evaporating and increasing the humidity of the tank. Keep substrate away eating your gecko and water dish, especially during meals.
- decorations. From plants to bridges and signs and other fun decorations, your gecko’s aquarium needs some clutter to make your pet feel sheltered and safe.
Now that you have a better idea of the basics your scaly friend’s habitat needs, let’s take a look at some fun ideas for setting up a leopard gecko tank. These tips will elevate your pet’s tank from simple to beautiful in just a few easy and inexpensive steps!
Tank Setup Ideas: Experiment With Skins
As we briefly discussed above, your gecko’s enclosure needs two skins: dry skin and moist skin. Fortunately, you have a lot of room here to experiment in terms of size, shape and style. The skins of both geckos should be small enough to be cozy yet large enough to fit comfortably over the lizard’s entire body. Aside from that though, you can choose which skins you love or even make your own!
Some examples of hides on the market include hollowed-out coconuts, wooden logs, rock caves, or even those with built-in humidifiers if you don’t feel like spraying your gecko’s moist skin every day.
Tank Setup Ideas: Plants, Plants, Plants!
Leopard geckos are terrestrial and don’t climb much of course. In captivity, however, they still benefit from a generous amount of plant cover in their enclosures. It doesn’t really matter if the plants are real or artificial. Be warned, however, that real plants can raise humidity levels to unsafe levels.
Another good reason to use artificial plants instead of real plants is that they last longer and are easier to set up, care for and move, especially for first-time reptile owners. Your gecko is also not at risk of eating them, as leopard geckos are strictly insectivorous.
The best part is that you can get pretty creative with it! Try using plants of different shapes and sizes (drooping tendrils, large, sturdy plants with lots of leaves, etc.) to give your gecko a little more privacy. Plants also provide enrichment and encourage your gecko to explore and interact with their environment.
Tank Configuration Ideas: Customize the Wallpaper
Most basic enclosures have transparent glass or mesh walls, which can be a bit boring for you and your gecko to look at. Being able to see out of their enclosure may also make your lion feel exposed or stressed, which is why plenty of decor and plant cover is beneficial for them.
There’s a lot you can do when it comes to customizing the wallpaper in your gecko’s enclosure! Many brands and online retailers even sell ready-made desert landscape backdrops that mimic your gecko’s natural habitat. Just roll out the sheet, cut it to size and glue or stick it to the back of the case!
Tank setup ideas: experiment with substrates
Substrates can also brighten up a reptile home in a pinch, especially if you’re on a budget. Of course, the use of a safe surface is crucial. Many loose substrates contain small indigestible particles. These substrates, such as sand, gravel and wood chips, pose a risk of impaction.
Fortunately, there are just as many safe substrates that look and feel great for your gecko to walk on, such as:
- Flat stones or tiles
- Stick-on linoleum
- Reptile carpet
- Reptile sand mats
- Bioactive substrates (not recommended for novice reptile keepers)
Experiment with these different substrates to discover what suits you best! Sand mats look very natural and are much safer than real sand, because the sand particles and pebbles are securely attached to the mat.
Tank setup ideas: experiment with height variation
If your leopard gecko’s enclosure doesn’t have much height to speak of, why not give it a little more dimension? Although leopard geckos don’t climb as much as most others lizards, they appreciate housings that aren’t completely flat. We love this one in terms of leopard gecko tank setup ideas because there’s so much room for customization!
Remember, ideally you want to mimic your pet’s natural habitat as closely as possible (within reasonable limits, of course). In the wild, leopard geckos live in hilly, sandy deserts and scrubland, which have a lot of variation in height and terrain. Try stacking flat rocks, adding bridges, hammocks, or other platforms, or even small ramps here and there!
Not only will it make your gecko’s enclosure look better, but your gecko will enjoy the added enrichment of exploring a more interesting-looking, authentic habitat.
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