Make A House A Home - How to set up a Leopard Gecko Enclosure
When you think of the word “home”, what springs up in your mind? Is it the feeling of security? Snuggling up on a warm, cosy night? Or is it the memories that we grow with our loved ones? Our homes are so much more than some bricks, they reflect who we are as people and provide us with a safe retreat at the end of a long day. If you understand the importance of home, you’ll know why it is important that we provide our Leopard Geckos with a comfortable living space in which they can call home. Keep reading to find out how to set up your Leopard Gecko’s enclosure in such a way that you’ll want to shrink and live there yourself!
The Enclosure
As bricks and mortar are to us, the enclosure is the bare bones of your Leopard Gecko’s new home. An empty box ready to be filled with all sorts of exciting decorations and hides!
There are three main types of enclosures:
Vivarium – Mainly found in the UK and Europe, vivariums are wooden boxes with sliding glass doors that provide a safe home for your Leopard Gecko without compromising on style. Vivariums are available in many different colours and finishes, so there is a vivarium to suit everyone! Most modern vivariums have special vents which allow for easy cable management, making it much easier to hide those pesky wires. The price of a vivarium suitable for Leopard Geckos starts at around £70, and this increases with size.
Glass Aquarium – This are the main type of enclosure used in the USA due to the lack of commercial vivariums available. As you would expect, this is a clear glass fish tank that has been adapted for Leopard Geckos. With a mesh lid to improve ventilation, glass aquariums make for a comfortable home for your Gecko. Prices for these aquariums are usually around $50 dollars and increase with size.
Plastic Bin Enclosures – This option is mostly used by reptile breeders or people who own a lot of Leopard Geckos. A plastic bin enclosure involves converting a plastic storage container or drawer unit to house geckos and heat them using heat mats or heat tape. Although this type of set up isn’t really ideal, it is still a good option for breeders or for temporary accommodation. This is the cheapest option of them all, with prices starting at £10.
Thermostat
Before we get on to the different types of heat sources, it is very important that you understand the importance of a thermostat. You must use a thermostat with every type of heat source to control the temperature and avoid overheating. The thermostat uses a probe to measure the temperature being emitted to adjust the level of power going to the heat source. Failure to use a thermostat WILL result in your gecko being burned and it can even cause a house fire. There are different types of thermostat such as an on/off thermostat (but don’t worry, we will tell you which type of thermostat you need with each heat source).
Heat Source
After you’ve decided which type of enclosure you’re going to use, we need to decide how we’re going to heat it. Leopard Geckos must have a heat source in their tank to survive, as they are ectothermic. For information about this, check out our video “An Introduction to Leopard Geckos + Fun Facts!”.
As well as a heat source, you need a digital thermometer (not to be confused with a thermostat!) to measure the temperature of the hot side of the tank to ensure that it is at a safe temperature.
In your enclosure, you want to create a thermogradient that stretches across so that your gecko can thermoregulate via his surroundings. This means that you should put your heat source on one side of the tank to allow the other side of the tank to be cooler. You should also create a photogradient with your UVB light that matches the thermogradient. This mimics the natural correlation between light and warmth.
The main types of heat sources are:
Heat Mat – This is placed under the substrate inside of a vivarium so that it heats up the gecko from below, mimicking the warm rocks in the wild. While this method of warming up your enclosure is not harmful, there are better methods out there. This is because the warmth that heat mats produce is a secondary source of heat called infrared-c, and this is not as bioavailable as other methods. For more information about heat sources and their bioavailability, we highly recommend this video from Leopard Gecko Talk on YouTube.
To control the temperature of a heat mat, you will need an ON/OFF THERMOSTAT.
Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) – This is mounted to the top of the vivarium to emit heat downwards towards bottom of the enclosure. Similar to heat mats, CHEs only provide infrared-c which is not as bioavailable as other methods. A leopard Gecko will survive and even thrive perfectly fine with only infrared-c, but Leopard Geckos have been observed to explore their tank more and show more enthusiasm when using other sources.
To control the temperature of a CHE, you will need to use a PULSE THERMOSTAT.
Deep Heat Projector (DHP) – This is by far the best heat source in the Leopard Gecko community right now. A deep heat projector is mounted to the top of the vivarium to emit heat downwards onto the rocks. However, deep heat projectors emit infrared a and b which is similar to what is naturally emitted by the sun. It imitates the natural heat cycle that a Leopard Gecko would use in the wild, as it provides the direct heat through infrared a and b and additionally provides infrared c when the heat is radiated off the rocks below. This type of heat is much more bioavailable for your gecko and is noted to cause a rise in energy in Leopard Geckos.
To control the heat emitted by a DHP, you will need a DIMMING THERMOSTAT.
Heat Lamp – This heat source should not be used for Leopard Geckos as they emit a bright light, meaning that they can only be used during the day to avoid ruining the day/night cycle. This leaves your gecko without a heat source during the times when they are most active, leading to health problems down the line. Special “red heat lamps” which are marketed for night time use are also unsuitable as the light waves that they emit are visible to Leopard Geckos and once again disrupt the day/night cycle.
To control the temperature of a heat lamp, you will need a DIMMING THERMOSTAT.
Lighting
So, we know what enclosure, heat source and thermostat that we are going to use. Now, we need to learn about a Leopard Gecko’s lighting requirements.
Leopard Geckos require an important vitamin called Vitamin D3 to maintain healthy bones. They get this vitamin from UVB light waves. Due to this, it is ideal to have a UVB light in your enclosure to prevent painful and life altering diseases such as Metabolic Bone Disease. If for any reason you cannot give your Leopard Gecko a UVB light, you will need to make sure that you dust their food with a multivitamin that contains high levels of calcium and synthetic vitamin D3, although we should provide UVB light wherever possible.
Substrate
Next, we need to select a substrate (bedding) for your gecko to walk, sleep and hunt on. In our blog “The Substrate Debate: Debunked!”, we cover your substrate options in detail so that you can decide which one is best for you and your gecko.
For now, we’ve listed a few substrates that are safe for you to use:
Non-Adhesive shelf liner – This is a great choice of substrate that completely eliminates the risk of impaction. Available in many different colours and patterns, this is a safe and sanitary option that allows for easy cleaning.
Tile – Another great option that is easy to clean and has absolutely no risk of impaction. It is important to make sure that the heat transfers through the tile if you are using a heat mat
Excavator Clay – This is an amazing choice if your goal is to mimic your Leopard Gecko’s natural environments as much as possible. You can easily create structures such as caves and shelves with this clay and it is very close to the rocky terrain in which a Leopard Gecko would naturally roam.
Decoration and Hides
Now that we’ve covered the boring stuff, we can get on to the fun part: decorating!
In a Leopard Gecko enclosure, you need a minimum of three hides (caves). One on the cool side, one on the warm side and one in the middle. This middle hide is called a humid hide, and it is sprayed with water to aid your gecko with shedding. If you do not have one of these, you will face a lot of problems with shedding in the future (take a look at our “How to remove stuck shed from Leopard Gecko toes” video for an example of issues that can arise).
Leopard Geckos LOVE clutter! They find comfort in hiding among the objects in their home, so don’t be afraid to get stuck in and fill the enclosure with plenty of decorations such as silk plants, bridges, figurines and even structures made out of LEGO! They need a water bowl to drink from, a food dish if you’re feeding mealworms (you can find more information about feeder insects on our “Livefood Explained: What’s the best gecko grub” blog!) and a calcium dish. You can make a calcium dish out of a clean milk lid if you’re struggling to find a bowl small enough.
We’ve covered everything that you will need to set up you Leopard Gecko’s home, and now you’re probably wondering how to set it all up! Luckily for you, we have created a step by step guide to guide you along the way
Setting up an enclosure - A step by step guide
Step 1: Ensure that chosen enclosure does not have any gaps or sharp edges that would make it unsafe for a Leopard Gecko.
Step 2: Clean the inside of the enclosure and all decorations with reptile-safe disinfectant.
Step 3: If you are using a heat mat, now is the time to place it on the side that you want to be the warmest end of the thermogradient. If you are using a Ceramic Heat Emitter or a Deep Heat Projector, follow the instructions on your product to securely fix it to the roof of the enclosure.
Step 4: Place down your chosen substrate onto the floor of the tank.
Step 5: Plug your heat source directly into the provided plug on your thermostat and place the thermostat temperature probe on top of the substrate. Avoid using tape to fix any wires as your gecko could get stuck and injured. Place the probe for the thermometer in the same place as the thermostat probe.
Step 6: Set the temperature on the thermostat to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and wait for the thermometer to show this reading. Monitor the temperature of the hot side for a few hours to ensure that you have a stable temperature and adjust the thermostat if needed.
Step 7: Place hides, decorations and food/water bowls in the enclosure. Place one hide on the warm end of the tank, one halfway and the other on the cool end. The halfway hide will be the humid hide. Add some paper towel to the humid hide and spray it with warm water.
Step 8: After monitoring the temperatures in your enclosure and having the equipment running for more than 24 hours, carefully place your Leopard Gecko into his new home!
And that’s it! Now your Leopard Gecko has a place of their own to snuggle up in their warm hide and dream about crickets and mealworms galore!
If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to check out our other blog posts under the “blog” section. We also have educational videos and an Instagram account! Leave us a comment down below with what equipment you chose to use and to ask us any questions you may have!