Leopard Gecko Quarantine Guide for New Geckos
| Minimum quarantine period | 90 days |
| With other reptiles in the home | 3–6 months, separate room |
| Substrate during quarantine | Paper towel only |
Why quarantine matters
Cryptosporidiosis is incurable, highly contagious between reptiles, and can be carried by a gecko showing no visible symptoms for months. Fecal testing is known to produce false negatives, which is exactly why a full quarantine window matters even when a test comes back clean.
How long
90 days is the accepted minimum. If you already keep other reptiles, extend to 3–6 months and keep the quarantine enclosure in a separate room if at all possible, never sharing air space or equipment with your existing collection.
Setup during quarantine
Use paper towel substrate only — it's easy to fully replace and makes it simple to monitor droppings for signs of parasites. Provide basic hides, a water dish, and correct heat on a thermostat, but skip decor, live plants, and bioactive elements until quarantine clears.
Hygiene rules
Use dedicated tools, hides, and dishes that never cross over with other reptiles. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling, and if you keep multiple reptiles, always handle the quarantined gecko last and change clothes afterward.
What to monitor
Track appetite, stool consistency, shedding, and weight, and watch for lethargy or discharge. A fecal test from a reptile vet partway through the quarantine period is a worthwhile extra safeguard given how easily crypto can be missed.
See the full care guides guide, or browse all 593 info pages.
A single adult leopard gecko needs a 20-gallon long tank as an absolute minimum, with a 36x18 in (40-gallon breeder) footprint now considered the recommended standard — plus a secure lid, an under-tank heater on a thermostat, a thermal gradient, at least three hides, and a shallow water dish.
Set up in this order: substrate, then heat source wired through a thermostat, then hides and water dish, then decor — and run the whole enclosure for at least 24–48 hours to confirm stable temperatures before your gecko moves in.
Hatchlings can start in a 10-gallon tank or tub, juveniles do well in 20 gallons, and adults need a 20-gallon long as an absolute minimum — with 36x18 in (40-gallon breeder) now the widely recommended standard, not just an upgrade.
Heat a leopard gecko enclosure with an under-tank heater and/or overhead heat source (halogen or deep heat projector) wired through a thermostat — a thermostat is mandatory, not optional, and heat rocks should never be used.
Leopard geckos can survive without UVB using dietary D3 supplementation, but current husbandry guidance now recommends low-level UVB (roughly 2–6% T5) as best practice — it improves D3 synthesis, bone density, and natural behavior, and views on it have shifted significantly from older nocturnal-species advice.
Keep ambient humidity around 30–40% across most of the enclosure, with a dedicated humid hide raised to roughly 70–80% to support smooth, complete sheds.