Leopard Gecko Care While You're on Vacation
| Can skip feeding for | ~1 week+ (healthy adult) |
| Must still maintain | Water, heating, monitoring |
| Longer trips | Arrange a supervised feeding |
Feeding isn't the main concern
Adult leopard geckos can comfortably miss a week or more of feedings without harm, so a short trip rarely requires finding someone to feed insects — heating, water, and basic monitoring matter far more.
What actually needs coverage
Water dish topped up, a quick daily visual check that the gecko looks normal and the thermostat display reads correctly, and someone available to notice if equipment fails are the priorities for trips of about a week or less.
If you use a sitter
Leave clear written instructions covering feeding (if the trip is longer), what normal versus concerning looks like, your vet's contact information, and how to reach you. Don't assume a non-reptile-owning sitter knows what's normal for a gecko.
Longer trips
For trips longer than about two weeks, arrange at least one supervised feeding, and consider a sitter experienced with reptiles specifically rather than a general pet-sitter unfamiliar with thermostat setups.
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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.