Pakistani Leopard Geckos: Pakistani Leopard Geckos are found in Pakistan and most of the middle east. Males grow 9 to 10 inches long and females grow 7 to 9 inches long (But of course their is going to be bigger ones in males and females). They live on average about 20 years but the record was 27 years.
Diet: Leopard geckos are relatively easy to feed because they will thrive on insects. A staple of crickets along with occasional wax worms and meal worms make a good diet (Although meal worms are not that tasty). Adult geckos can also be fed an occasional pinkie mouse ( But that sometimes gets expensive). Juveniles can be feed every day and adults every other day. Supplementation is a must for leopard geckos. Two supplements should be used: one that is just calcium/D3 and another that is a reptile multivitamin. Juveniles should be supplemented at every feeding and adults at every other feeding. Gravid females should also be supplemented at every feeding to make up for the large nutritional depletion caused by egg laying. Insects can be coated with these supplements and it's always a good idea to feed the insects a high quality diet so as to "gut-load" them and increase their nutritional value. If your geckos don't mind being handled it may be a good idea to feed them in a separate container. This reduces the chance of impaction from ingesting the substrate in the aquarium and allows for you to monitor how much each gecko is eating.Meal worms do not, nor can they eat the insides of a leopard gecko. Leopard geckos chew the worms, therefore they are dead before they hit the stomach even if it were possible for it to bite the leopard geckos stomach.Meal worms aren't the best choice for a staple diet as they have a lot of the hard outer body, which can also cause a blockage. When meal worms are fed, the "good" ones are the ones that are freshly shed(white ones) as the outer shell isn't hard at all. Super worms are a better choice for larger leopard geckos....some places do carry smaller size(younger) super worms which are great for smaller leopard geckos. As with all insect eating reptiles, variety is the best diet for them.
Habitat: An aquarium is a perfect home although many people have success with plastic sweater boxes (But i have heard that it is not that ideal). Since they are a terrestrial species, a long aquarium is better than a high one. A 20 gallon long aquarium is adequate for 3 or 4 geckos. Make sure that you only have one male per enclosure as males will fight each other. The substrate can be anything from sand to newspaper. Sand creates the most natural setup, and you can buy playground sand from any hardware store. Rocks and logs can make the terrarium more natural looking and they provide your lizards with places to climb and get exercise. A hide box is also recommended for each lizard for use in times or conflict and for sleeping.
Breeding: Leopard geckos are relatively easy to breed. One male will mate with several females so people tend to keep them in groups of one male to 3 or 4 females. Pregnant females can usually be detected because of a bump on each side of her abdomen. If provided with a laying box females will tend to use it. A cool whip tub with a hole cut in the side that is filled with moist moss or vermiculite will provide an attractive place for the females. Females will usually produce multiple clutches of eggs during breeding season. The eggs should be removed from the egg laying box and incubated in vermiculite with a 1:1 ratio of water to vermiculite by weight. The plastic shoebox inside of a ten gallon aquarium makes an adequate incubator. If incubated at 85 degrees they should hatch in around two months. A higher incubation temperature will produce more females although De Vosjoli mentions that this may result in overly aggressive females. The newborn geckos will not eat until after their first shed (usually after about a week). they can then be started on appropriately sized insects. It's also best to house them separate, such as in plastic shoe boxes.
Heating and lighting: Leopard geckos are a nocturnal species so no form of UV lighting is necessary. A simple spotlight with the appropriate wattage bulb can provide both daytime light and heat. Daytime temperatures should be around 90 and the nighttime temps can go down in the low 70s. When I say 90 degrees I mean this should be the temperature directly under the spotlight. This will allow the rest of the cage to remain from anywhere to the 80's to room temperature something like nature. I feel that it's best to provide any reptile with a temperature gradient and let them regulate their temperature. I have problems with under tank heating pads and hot rocks as they don't raise the ambient air temperature in the tank and their surfaces often produce extremely high temperatures. Hope that is enough information if any questions post them on our blog.
