What Is a Leopard Gecko? Species, Origin & Classification
| Scientific name | Eublepharis macularius |
| Family | Eublepharidae (eyelid geckos) |
| Native range | Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India, Nepal |
Classification
Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia, Order Squamata, Family Eublepharidae, Genus Eublepharis, Species E. macularius. The genus name combines Greek roots meaning "good/true eyelid," referring to the moveable eyelids that set this family apart from most other geckos.
Native range
Wild leopard geckos live across the rocky dry grasslands and deserts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-west India, western Nepal, and parts of Iran, sheltering in rock crevices and burrows and generally avoiding pure sand habitats.
Wild diet
In the wild, leopard geckos are opportunistic insectivores, eating crickets, beetles, spiders, scorpions, and other invertebrates — the same principle behind offering a varied captive insect diet rather than a single feeder species.
The "first domesticated lizard"
Thanks to decades of extensive captive breeding since the 1970s–90s, leopard geckos are sometimes informally called the first domesticated species of lizard, though wild collection and export from range countries has been restricted since 2000.
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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.