How To Care For A Baby Gecko - PetMD

By Laurie Hess, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Avian Practice)

Geckos are one of the most popular lizard species kept as pets. Baby geckos can make adorable additions to any family and when housed and fed properly can grow up to be hardy adults that live many years. The key is to educate yourself before you get them so that you can set them up right from the start.

More than 2,000 species of gecko, varying in color and skin markings/patterns, are recognized around the world. Among the most common pet lizard species are leopard geckos and crested geckos. Less commonly kept geckos include day geckos and Tokay geckos.

When they are born, hatchling geckos are typically 3 to 4 inches long. Adult female leopard geckos grow to 7 to 8 inches, while males grow to 8 to 10 inches. Adult crested geckos of both sexes typically are 4.5-5 inches long.

Many pet stores and breeders sell baby geckos so that owners can bond with their pets at a young age and watch them grow. Baby geckos, however, do not have fully developed skeletal and immune systems and are therefore more susceptible than their older counterparts to developing certain diseases. Thus, they must be fed and housed appropriately when they are first purchased to try to prevent the development of common juvenile diseases.

Once their enclosures are set up properly and a feeding regimen has been established, baby geckos can be relatively easy to care for.

Making a Home for Your Baby Gecko

Geckos are typically housed in 10- to 20-gallon glass aquariums. Plastic storage boxes, such as those for storing sweaters, also may be used, as long as the box is at least one-foot high to prevent the lizard from jumping out. Twenty-gallon tanks are better for larger adults or if more than one gecko is being housed in the same tank.

Tanks larger than 20 gallons may be harder to keep warm and humid enough and may enable the gecko to avoid sitting under heat and ultraviolet (UV) lights. All enclosures must have a secure mesh top to prevent escape and to promote good ventilation. A small, upside down, plastic box with a cut-out door, filled with moist moss or vermiculite, can be used within the enclosure as a hide box to help maintain the humidity high enough to enable the gecko to shed its skin properly. Live or artificial plants can be added to the enclosure, as well, to help maintain humidity and to satisfy the gecko’s desire to climb.