Loose particle substrates including calcium sand can cause fatal gut impaction
When hunting, leopard geckos ingest substrate along with prey. Sand, gravel, walnut shell, and calcium sand all pose impaction risks. Calcium sand is particularly problematic despite marketing — it clumps in the digestive tract. Safe substrates include ceramic tiles, vinyl, paper towel, and bioactive mixes.
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Most active at dawn and dusk when temperatures in their native Pakistan and Afghanistan are ideal.
A widespread misconception is that the tail acts like a camel's hump storing water.
Autotomy — voluntary tail shedding — is a defence mechanism.
Unlike most gecko species which use van der Waals forces to climb smooth surfaces, leopard geckos have conventional claws.
The moveable eyelid is unusual among geckos.
Hold your gecko up to a light source and look through one ear opening — you can see light through the other side.