Lipid layers in gecko skin help reduce water loss in an arid habitat
Like many desert-adapted reptiles, leopard gecko skin includes lipid components in its outer layers that reduce evaporative water loss, a physiological adaptation that complements behavioural strategies like sheltering during the hottest, driest parts of the day.
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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.