🏠Housing a Leopard gecko: 90 × 45 × 45 cm, 30-32°C basking

Leopard gecko : A horizontal terrarium of at least 80 to 90 cm for an adult, a 30-32 °C warm spot and a cool zone around 24 °C, with at least three hides (warm, cool, humid). Low-output UVB (2 to 5%) is increasingly recommended.

In short: Around 20 to 28 cm as an adult, 15 to 20 years of lifespan, beginner level. Placid and tolerant of gentle handling — the definitive beginner lizard. It stores its fat reserves in its tail and can drop it: never grab the tail, and a thinning tail is a warning sign about its health.

90 × 45 × 45 cm and a strict thermal gradient

For an adult Leopard gecko: 90 × 45 × 45 cm minimum, with a basking spot at 30-32°C and a cool zone at 24-26°C. That gradient is not comfort: it is how a reptile regulates temperature, by moving. No cool zone means overheating; no hot spot means no digestion.

Heating, UVB, humidity: the technical trio

Heating ALWAYS runs through a thermostat — the least negotiable equipment in herpetoculture — with thermometers at both ends. On light: low-level UVB (2-5 rating), now recommended by modern care guides: not vital, but beneficial to calcium metabolism. Humidity held at 30 to 40% — excess humidity harms as much as a deficit in a dry biotope, checked with a hygrometer, not by feel.

Substrate and layout

A dry, diggable substrate (packed soil mix, never calcium sand), two hides minimum — one warm, one cool — and a structured background for security. Place the enclosure somewhere calm: the species sleeps by day and hates vibrations.

Frequently asked questions

What enclosure size for a Leopard gecko?

90 × 45 × 45 cm minimum for an adult — sized for the adult from day one; a juvenile does fine in it with extra hides.

What temperatures for a Leopard gecko?

Basking spot at 30-32°C, cool zone at 24-26°C, all on a thermostat with a natural night-time drop. Humidity sits at 30 to 40%.

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