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Leopard geckos are nocturnal, terrestrial geckos, native to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and western India. Capable but small, these 8-inch-long predators will stalk, capture and consume virtually any creature they can overpower. While insect and other invertebrates form the bulk of their diet, they will readily prey on nestling rodents or lizards -- including hatchling leopard geckos.

Unlike some other geckos that thrive on prepared diets, pet leopard geckos require live insects. Leopard geckos will not eat fruits or vegetables of any kind. In captivity, leopard geckos thrive on a varied diet of commercially available insects: crickets, mealworms, superworms and roaches are excellent dietary staples. Whatever feeder insects you choose, feed them a high-quality diet of fruits, vegetables and grains for at least 24 hours before offering them to your lizard. Refrain from offering your leopard gecko pinky mice, which may cause nutritional problems, or lizards that may transmit parasites or disease to your pet.

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Like other reptiles, the leopard gecko’s life cycle starts in an egg. Geckos may be born in captivity, often providing companionship for reptile lovers for up to 20 years when properly housed and cared for.

Adult leopard geckos breed as early as 1 year old for males and 2 years old for females. The female should be older since the eggs may be large and harm her growth cycle. Late winter and early spring are the most common seasons for gecko mating. The male bites the back of the female’s neck and holds her still while breeding.

The female gecko has pairs of eggs that develop on the inside of the female until she is ready to lay them. At this point, she digs a hole and buries the eggs. While maturing outside of her body, the eggs continue to grow. Therefore, the outer shells of gecko eggs are soft. Most breeders remove the gecko eggs and incubate them between 78 and 92 degrees. The temperature helps determine the sex of the gecko. The higher the temperature during incubation, the more likely a male is produced, while lower temperatures produce females, according to the Leopard Gecko Guide. Between 6 and 12 weeks after the female lays the eggs, they become wrinkled and get smaller. Next, baby leopard geckos hatch by using their egg tooth to create a slit in the egg and push their way out. When they first emerge, the geckos are between 3 and 4 inches long. Within the first few days of hatching, the baby sheds and eats his skin, which provides him with nourishment.

During the first few weeks of life the baby leopard gecko does not require much maintenance. A small place to live, a paper towel, water and food meets all of his needs. Geckos prefer live food, so small crickets and mealworms provide nourishment for baby geckos. Avoiding stress is important for the proper growth and development of the baby gecko. Therefore, if she shows signs of aggression, such as an arched back or screeching, try to remove the stress and keep the baby happy.

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Leopard geckos can make a variety of sounds, but the most common include chirps, squeaks, barks, and screams. Every leopard gecko will sound slightly different, though the sounds will generally be the same for each pet.

That being said, leopard geckos aren’t particularly vocal. If your leopard gecko is making no sound at all, it is likely relaxed and at peace. Leopard geckos aren’t like parrots or other animals that have to be vocal to feel happy. That’s just something to keep in mind.

Chirping and squeaking are the most common sounds to look for in your leopard gecko. If you notice your leopard gecko making a bit of a chirping sound, you’re in luck. These sounds are typically connected with happiness, enjoyment, and overall pleasure.

Some geckos make this sound as they roam around their tank, whereas others get a bit more vocal during feeding time. Either way, chirping and squeaking is a great sign since it tells you that your leopard gecko is happy and at ease.

Clicking is another common sound in leopard geckos, but it isn’t quite as positive. Leopard geckos often click whenever they feel uncomfortable, annoyed, or stressed. You will often hear younger geckos clicking more than older ones simply because they have not yet grown accustomed to humans.

Most likely, your leopard gecko will click whenever you are handling them, after they have eaten, or before they shed. Remember, this is a stressed noise. Once you hear this noise, stop whatever you are doing to let the gecko relax.

Barking isn’t quite as common as clicking, but it is a sign that your gecko is stressed as well. In many ways, barking will sound like clicking, but it has a slightly hoarser sound. Barking is less common than clicking because it is a more serious response. Geckos often bark when they feel they are in direct danger, not just when they are uncomfortable or annoyed. The least common sound you can hear from your leopard gecko is screaming. Screaming is a key sign that your leopard gecko is scared and feels that it is in danger. Adult geckos rarely scream, though juvenile leopard geckos scream a lot.

If you get a juvenile leopard gecko, expect to hear it screaming quite a bit at first. Be extremely patient and as gentle as possible during this stage. As the leopard gecko grows, it will become accustomed to you and most likely grow out of the screaming phase.

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You might be surprised by a tail drop if you try to grab your gecko by the tail or hold it too tightly when it's trying to escape. The detached tail will wiggle and twitch on the ground as though it were still connected to the gecko's body. While this can be shocking, it's important not to panic.

Losing a particular body part is a defense mechanism called autotomy that many animals use. Gecko tails are specifically designed to drop: Inside the tail is special connective tissue that creates a location where it can readily break off when needed. When this happens, the blood vessels to the tail constrict and very little blood loss occurs. This is helpful to remember if you're trying to determine whether your gecko dropped its tail or lost it due to trauma; very little blood is lost when the tail is dropped.

Eventually, a gecko regrows its tail but it may not look exactly the same. The new tail is often shorter, colored differently, and blunter at the end than the original tail.

In the wild, a gecko's tail loss serves a very good purpose. The tail's movement distracts potential predators and allows the gecko to get away, leaving the predator with nothing but the wiggling tail.

In comparison, geckos are relatively safe in captivity. It's possible, however, for geckos in a group to bully one individual, which could trigger the defense mechanism. If you have more than one gecko in an enclosure, it's a good idea to separate the potential victim from the others before it loses its tail.

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Most, but not all, lizards have the ability to "drop" their tails. According to Margaret Wissman, DVM, avian and exotic veterinary consultant, reptiles such as green iguanas and bearded dragons will drop and regrow their tails, while others, such as crested geckos, can lose their tails but will not regrow them.

This defense mechanism, termed “caudal autonomy,” happens when a lizard is grabbed by the tail or feels threatened, says Lisa Abbo, DVM, MS, at Woods Hole Science Aquarium and the Capron Park Zoo in Massachusetts. When this occurs, the tail separates from the body along a natural fracture line and continues to move independently from the body, likely to distract the predator and to allow the lizard to escape. This defense is often a last resort, after the lizard has used other less-costly attempts at escape.

“A lizard’s tail won’t drop if, say, your dog is barking at it,” said Wissman. However, it might drop if a person accidentally steps on it, grabs it, or a heavy object falls on it, she added.

Tail regrowth is a fascinating research topic among scientists, said Abbo. Tail regrowth can take weeks to months and depends upon environment, diet and a host of other factors. The new tail may be shorter and different in color or texture from the original tail, and research has shown that regenerated tails are often made up of long tubes of cartilage (rather than vertebrae) and contain longer muscles that span the length of the new tail. At first, the new tail may look like a stub on your lizard until it is able to grow back to a decent length, said Wissman. Also, the regrown tail may be a more muted brown color than the original, brighter colored tail.

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 They will do this almost every time they shed.

They eat their shed skin for a number of reasons. The main reason is that when geckos shed, they are losing lots of nutrients and minerals, through the lost skin and the fluid they had to produce to shed it. They eat the skin to gain some of these nutrients back. This will help them to generate a new, tough protective layer in the future.

Another reason is that eating their shed skin is actually a survival instinct in the wild. Leaving the shed skin may attract predators. Since it would usually be kept near the gecko’s den, it can lead the predators to the geckos themselves. Geckos eat their shed skin to avoid detection, even though they have no predators to worry about in your home.

Your gecko may also exhibit shedding problems if he becomes ill or stressed. Always be sure that your gecko has adequate hiding spaces and visual barriers to keep him feeling secure, and visit your veterinarian periodically to ensure he is in good health. External parasites – especially mites – can lead to poor sheds as well as other health problems, so monitor your pet for their presence.

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Geckos are also able to shed their tails if a predator grabs them.

Most geckos are nocturnal, which means they are active at night, but day geckos are active during the day and nibble on insects, fruits, and flower nectar. Most geckos make noises such as chirping, barking, and clicking when they are defending their territory or attracting a mate.

Nocturnal species have excellent night vision; their color vision in low light is 350 times more sensitive than human color vision. The nocturnal geckos evolved from diurnal species, which had lost the eye rods. The gecko eye, therefore, modified its cones that increased in size into different types, both single and double. Three different photopigments have been retained and are sensitive to UV, blue, and green. They also use a multifocal optical system that allows them to generate a sharp image for at least two different depths. While most gecko species are nocturnal, some species are diurnal and active during the day, which has evolved multiple times independently.

Like most lizards, geckos can lose their tails in defense, a process called autotomy. Many species are well known for their specialised toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease. Geckos are well known to people who live in warm regions of the world, where several species make their home inside human habitations. These (for example the house gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are often welcomed, as they feed on insects, including moths and mosquitoes. Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal.

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Geckos are famous for their ability to scale vertical walls and even hang upside down, and now scientists understand more about how the expert climbers can pull off these gravity-defying feats: Geckos can quickly turn the stickiness of their feet on and off, a new study finds.

Gecko toes are well-studied and their sticky properties have inspired some incredible technology, such as stitch-free ways to seal wounds and sticky handheld paddles that may help soldiers scale walls someday. For the past decade, researchers have been developing synthetic adhesives with nanoscale fibers designed to mimic bristly gecko toes.

But new research on the subtleties of gecko adhesion shows that nature is still outpacing scientists in the lab.

Geckos can stick to surfaces because their bulbous toes are covered in hundreds of tiny microscopic hairs called setae. Each seta splits off into hundreds of even smaller bristles called spatulae. Scientists already knew that the tufts of tiny hairs get so close to the contours in walls and ceilings that the van der Waals force kicks in. This type of physical bond happens when electrons from the gecko hair molecules and electrons from the wall molecules interact with each other and create an electromagnetic attraction.

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Not all Gecko lizards have eyelids. In fact, most geckos don’t have eyelids.

Some geckos, like the leopard gecko, have moveable eyelids that work like people’s eyelids. These geckos can blink, and they can close their eyelids when they sleep. They will lick their eyes but they do it to remove something that is irritating their eye.

But geckos with moveable eyelids are not the majority.

Most geckos do not have eyelids. What they have is a transparent covering that protects their eyes. The covering is disc-shaped and it is called a brille. When the lizard sheds its skin, it also sheds its brille. So there is a brief time when the gecko cannot blink and it also has trouble seeing as it sheds.

People and animals have eyelids that protect and help moisturize their eyes. When people blink, our eyelids whisk away debris and leave a film of moisture that keeps our eyes from drying out. And we can close our eyelids to help us sleep. But the primary purpose of our eyelids is to clean, protect, and moisturize our eyes.

For geckos with moveable eyelids, their eyelids function similar to ours. Their eyelids clean, protect, and moisturize their eyes.

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Most species of geckos throughout the world do not have eyelids. There are more than 1500 species of these. However, there are at least 18 species of geckos that do have eyelids, and these are also found around the earth.

The vast majority of geckos do not have eyelids and therefore are unable to blink. However, they do have a clear film over their eye, that acts as a kind of permanent unmovable barrier. This transparent film is called a spectacle.

Geckos have spectacular long tongues, that are really moist and sticky. The regularly lick their own eyes, and this keeps their eyes moist. In this way their tongue acts in the same ways as a human’s eyelid.

Most geckos are native to hot countries also, and this licking of their eyes also helps in keeping the eyes cool.

Having no eyelids causes quite a serious problem, in that geckos are not able to close their eyes. This problem is added to by the fact that the majority of geckos are nocturnal: they hunt at night, and sleep during the day.

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Geckos are reptiles and are found on all the continents except Antarctica. These colorful lizards have adapted to habitats from rain forests, to deserts, to cold mountain slopes.

Over a long period of time, geckos have developed special physical features to help them survive and avoid predators. Gecko tails serve many purposes. They help balance their weight as they climb branches, they act as fuel tanks to store fat, and as camouflage to help them disappear into their environment. Geckos are also able to shed their tails if a predator grabs them.

Most geckos are nocturnal, which means they are active at night, but day geckos are active during the day and nibble on insects, fruits, and flower nectar. Most geckos make noises such as chirping, barking, and clicking when they are defending their territory or attracting a mate.

Female geckos lay their eggs in leaves and bark. Most geckos don’t have movable eyelids and instead have one transparent eyelid which they keep clean by licking it with their tongues.

There are many species of geckos. Depending on the species, their endangered status can range from least concern to critically endangered.

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Gecko, (suborder Gekkota), any of more than 1,000 species of lizards making up six families of the suborder Gekkota. Geckos are mostly small, usually nocturnal reptiles with a soft skin. They also possess a short stout body, a large head, and typically well-developed limbs. The ends of each limb are often equipped with digits possessing adhesive pads. Most of the species are 3 to 15 cm (1.2 to 6 inches) long, including tail length (about half the total). They have adapted to habitats ranging from deserts to jungles. Some species frequent human habitations, and most feed on insects.

Like snakes, most geckos have a clear protective covering over the eyes. The pupils of common nocturnal species are vertical and are often lobed in such a manner that they close to form four pinpoints. A gecko’s tail may be long and tapering, short and blunt, or even globular. The tail serves in many species as a storehouse of fat upon which the animal can draw during unfavourable conditions. The tail may also be extremely fragile and if detached is quickly regenerated in its original shape. Unlike other reptiles, most geckos have a voice, the call differing with the species and ranging from a feeble click or chirp to a shrill cackle or bark.

Most species are oviparous, the eggs being white and hard-shelled and usually laid beneath the bark of trees or attached to the underside of leaves. A few species in New Zealand give birth to live young.

Geckos are abundant throughout the warm areas of the world, and at least a few species occur on all continents except Antarctica. Geckos’ colours are usually drab, with grays, browns, and dirty whites predominating, though Phelsuma, a genus made up of the day geckos of Madagascar, is bright green and active in the daytime. The banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus), the most widespread native North American species, grows to 15 cm (6 inches) and is pinkish to yellowish tan with darker bands and splotches. The tokay gecko (Gekko gecko), native to Southeast Asia, is the largest species, attaining a length of 25 to 35 cm (10 to 14 inches). It is gray with red and whitish spots and bands and is frequently sold in pet shops.

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Geckos are colorful, nimble little lizards classified in reptilian family Gekkonidae. More than 2,000 species exist, inhabiting divergent habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Geckos are carnivorous, meaning the bulk of their diet consists of meat from other animals. Their teeth are adapted to their specific method of eating, as well as for hunting and self-defense.

Most geckos have rows of small, conical teeth lining the premaxilla and maxillary bones on the upper jaw and the dentary bone on the lower jaw. Depending on the species, the premaxilla has between nine and 13 teeth; the number of teeth on the other bones varies due to repeated tooth loss and regrowth. Upper jaws usually have more teeth than lower jaws. In total, geckos average between 50 and 100 teeth, with exceptions. For reasons unknown, the leaf-tailed gecko has more than 300 teeth, most likely the highest number of teeth possessed by any terrestrial vertebrate.

They may not use them to chew, but geckos utilize their teeth for other purposes. Self-defense is a necessary skill for small, vulnerable reptiles. They're generally peaceful by nature, but if provoked or threatened, geckos will bite humans, predators and each other. Males especially,, are prone to violent fights over territory and females. They also use their teeth during the shedding process. Geckos shed their skin several times a year. They use their teeth to pull the old skin from their bodies, typically consuming it, as it is full of healthy nutrients.

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