Leopard geckos are frequently mislabelled as strictly nocturnal, when they are more accurately described as crepuscular
True nocturnal species are active mainly at night, while crepuscular species like leopard geckos concentrate activity around dawn and dusk, with some daytime and nighttime activity depending on conditions.
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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.