How Long Do Leopard Geckos Live? - MUST READ!!

Are you debating on whether to buy a leopard gecko as a pet? Before you make any purchase of a pet, it’s definitely worth knowing what you’re getting yourself in too. Unless you are very well educated on reptiles, you may not know the difference in lifespans for different species of leopard geckos. So how long do leopard geckos live? And what is a leopard geckos typical lifespan?

How Long Do Leopard Geckos in Captivity?

On average, a leopard gecko can live anywhere up to 20 years in captivity. With the oldest recorded age of a leopard gecko coming in at 28 years old. Yes, that’s right, 28 years. Now I bet you were expecting that.

In fact the average lifespan of male and female leopard geckos actually differs slightly, with males averaging between 10 and 20 years, and females averaging between 15-20 years in captivity. So owning a leopard gecko in a massive commitment, for a (potentially) long period of time. In fact, you may even say anywhere up to a quarter of your own life span.

Leopard geckos usually live longer healthier lives in captivity as they have someone bring, and looking after them. They have round the clock care and specialist veterinarians to help provide extra care when illnesses and diseases arise. Having someone else keeping an eye on its health helps to prevent any illnesses from spreading.

Also in captivity, leopard geckos are usually given an ideal diet. Sometimes in the wild they will eat whatever they can get their mouths round, which may not actually be safe for them. In captivity this is usually avoided.

How Long Do Leopard Geckos Live in The Wild?

In the wild, a leopard geckos lifespan is thought to be anywhere up to 15 years. 15 years is the higher end too. On average its more likely lifespan is 10-12 years and there’s a number of reasons this may be.

First of all, in the wild, leopard geckos have no one to care for them. They also have no veterinarian to help with any illness or infections and sometimes these can be deadly.

Secondly, their food may not be as readily available as it is being a pet. Captive leopard geckos ill be fed almost every day, where as in the wild they may actually go weeks or months without having a meal. This can also be deadly as the less food they ingest, the less energy they have to catch their food.

Finally, in the wild leopard geckos are constantly trying to avoid becoming prey for one of their many predators. This one is unfortunately very common, so they majority of leopard geckos in the wild don’t die of old age. Leopard geckos are very low in the food chain, which means they have a lot of other animals that see them as food. So staying out of harms ways is a 24 hour job.

4 Factors to Improve a Leopard Geckos Lifespan?

We hope that all leopard gecko owners would want the absolute best for their pet, so educating yourselves on what environmental factors are best for their living conditions is vital. Great living conditions will help to keep your leopard gecko healthy and happy, with a long lifespan.

There are 4 main factors that you should be constantly be aware of when owning a leopard gecko. These four factors will help to provide the best care for your gecko and will increase its lifespan if followed correctly. How Long your leopard geckos lives for and depended highly in these factors.

These factors are;

Provide them with the correct habitat
Provide them with a steady, balanced diet
Remove anything that may cause them stress
Check for illnesses and disease

Provide Them With The Correct Habitat – Leopard Gecko Lifespan

Leopard geckos really don’t need much in relation to habitat conditions. There are only really a few things that you have to keep in mind when creating a suitable habitat for your gecko. As long as you have the correct sized enclosure and keep an eye on temperature and humidity levels, you can’t really go wrong.

Enclosure / Habitat

First of all you need to provide them with the correct sized enclosure. At minimum you will need a 20 gallon enclosure.These will usually be roughly a 3ft x 1ft enclosure. Make sure the enclosure is longer than it is tall and it absolutely has to have access via a side sliding door. NEVER have access through the roof of the enclosure. This will cause some much un-needed stress for your gecko as they will naturally think you are an aerial attacking predator.

Our recommendation for a suitable Enclosure.

Temperature

Ideally the temperature in the cool end of the enclosure should be between 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Whilst in the warm end it should range between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. It may not seem much, but this is the difference between being in direct sunlight, to being hidden in the shade on a normal day in the desserts.

On the warm side of the enclosure you should also provide a basking spot. This should be a raised area where your leopard gecko can bask a little closer to the heat lamp. At this rage the temperature should range anywhere between 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our recommendation for a suitable Thermometer.

Humidity

Leopard geckos come from a naturally very dry habitat, so the humidity level should average between 10-30%. This may increase when shedding, but should never exceed this on a day to day basis.

This can be achieved by placing a water bowl/ bathing bowl into the enclosure, which should evaporate and provide enough humidity to reach the 10-30% requirement. If this doesn’t, then you can spray inside the enclosure a couple of times a week to increase the humidity level slightly.

Our recommendation for a suitable Digital Hydrometer.

Correct Substrate

The best substrate recommended for leopard geckos is “Reptile Carpet”. Some gecko owners will just use newspaper, which is fine, but it looks awful. Reptile carpet looks far better than newspaper and is actually far easier to maintain.

Reptile carpet can be cut to the size you need and can also be taken out and washed to be reused. It’s safe as it cannot be ingested, unlike many other substrates. The only risk to your gecko, is that after a while, the carpet may start to become loose. This may cause you gecko to become caught up in some fibre stands, so this could be monitored closely.

Our recommendation for Reptile Carpet.

Furniture

Finally, a gecko needs some furniture to make itself feel at home. Your enclosure should incorporate a shallow water bowl, which is mainly used for bathing and maintaining humidity levels. Climbing rocks and branches need to be provided so it can explore and freely entertain itself. And finally a hiding box, so your gecko can hading away from any stresses or dangers. Even if there are no dangers, your gecko will need a safe haven to hide in every so often.

Our recommendation for Exo-Terra Climbing Branches.

Provide a Steady, Balanced Diet – Leopard Gecko Lifespan

Providing your leopard gecko with the correct diet is one of the most important factors that need to be considered for a long, healthy lifespan.

As a rule of thumb, you should never feed your leopard gecko an insect which is any bigger than its head. Ideally you want an insect which is slightly smaller than its head, and only feed them every other day.

Insects you should feed your leopard gecko include, Crickets, Mealworms and Dubia Roaches. Each of these insects provide different nutritional values, so mixing these up regularly will provide your gecko with the best overall nutritional value.

Remove Anything Causes of Stress – Leopard Gecko Lifespan

Naturally leopard geckos are very scared. In the wild they are forever trying to evade capture from one of their many predators. Unfortunately, this in engraved into their natural instincts, so even as pets they are very cautious and scared. They hide at any threatening opportunity and even drop their tails off to evade capture. So please don’t pull on their tails, as it will literally just fall off.

Place the enclosure in a position that doesn’t get a lot of traffic passing by, or anywhere with other pets. Any movements or shadows will make your gecko feel threatened.

Spend the time to your your leopard gecko used to being handled. This may cause stress at the beginning, however it will pay dividends after a while as they will no longer see you or humans as a threat to their health.

Check for Illness and Diseases – Leopard Gecko Lifespan

Illness and diseases will happen with all animals and reptiles so keeping an eye on their health is crucial to their lifespan. Daily checks should be taken to ensure that nothing is wrong with your gecko. If something is wrong, their characteristic may change, so this is one sign that you should be looking out for.

Here is a list of things to look out for in relation to illnesses. Singularly these shouldn’t be too much to worry about. But if you see any of these in combination with one another, then you should take your gecko to the veterinarian to get checked out.

Lack of appetite
Weight loss
Visible injuries
Become lethargic
Heavy breathing
Dehydration
Change in stools
Redness of skin
Laying flat for long periods of time

How Long Do Leopard Geckos Live With a Healthy Diet?

As we have mentioned before, leopard geckos can live for a very long time. But a leopard geckos lifespan really depends on its diet. A leopard gecko with a healthy, staple diet, is high likely to have a much longer lifespan than a leopard gecko with a poor diet.

With the correct diet, a leopard geckos lifespan and range up to 20 years. Providing they have a healthy living environment too.

What Does a Health Diet Include?

There are many different foods which leopard geckos will eat, and it’s important to vary these foods every week. Too much of one food may not be the healthiest choice, even if it’s their main food source.

For example, a leopard geckos main source of food should be high in protein. It’s best to feed your leopard gecko Crickets and Mealworms as the main bulk of their diet. However, if you’re only feeding your leopard gecko these two foods, then they won’t be getting a varied nutritional diet.

You should look into other foods which have different levels of fats, proteins, and vitamins in them, to help with your leopard geckos digestion system. Food such as Hornworms, Waxworms, Silkworms and Butterworms all have very beneficial and varied nutrients in them.

Foods with a much higher percentage in its nutritional class compared to others should only ever be fed to a leopard gecko as a treat, once or twice a week maximum. Take a look at the nutritional values of some of these examples below, with the valuations of moisture, protein, calcium and fat percentages.

Butterworms

Moisture 58%, Protein 16%, Calcium 42mg/100g, Fat 5%

Crickets

Moisture 74%, Protein 18%, Calcium 14mg/100g, Fat 6%

Mealworms

Moisture 59%, Protein 10%, Calcium 3mg/100g,Fat 13%

Silkworms

Moisture 76%, Protein 64%, Calcium 34mg/100g, Fat 10%

Waxworm

Moisture 61%, Protein 16%, Calcium 13mg/100g, Fat 20%

Vitamin Dusting Powder

How long do leopard geckos live relies heavily on their diets. Whilst in the wild leopard geckos get most of the vitamins they need from the sun. Spending the mornings basking to warm their bodies means they extract a lot of vitamins through direct sunlight.

Unfortunately, pet leopard geckos are usually kept out of direct sunlight, simply due to wherever the owner decides to place the enclosure. For this reason, many pet leopard geckos don’t get sufficient vitamins naturally, so they rely on their foods being dusted.

Fluker’s Repta Vitamin Reptile Supplement 2.5 Oz – is one of the best supplements on the market, which aids a leopard geckos lifespan.

Fluker’s Repta Vitamin Reptile Supplement is a multi-vitamin containing beta carotene and essential vitamins, amino acids (from pure crystalline form), trace elements and minerals that your pet needs. All you have to do is simply sprinkle the powder on your feeder insects before feeding them to your leopard gecko. This will give your leopard gecko the recommended amount of supplements is relation to the amount of food it eats.

How long do leopard geckos lives highly depends on these supplements, as without direct sunlight, they cannot get all the vitamins and minerals they need. The Calcium and Vitamin D3 provided is crucial for a healthy leopard gecko lifespan, with strong bones and immune system.

How Long Do Male Leopard Geckos Live – Male Leopard Gecko Lifespan

A male leopard geckos lifespan seems to be incurably more than a females. Male leopard geckos have a lifespan between 10-20 years, with some individuals even exceeding this age. Male leopard geckos naturally come under a lot less stress than females, and it’s believe that this is one of the main reasons that males leopard geckos have a longer lifespan.

How Long Do Female Leopard Geckos Live – Female Leopard GeckoLifespan

Female leopard geckos have a much shorter lifespan than male leopard geckos. It’s believe this is because they have a lot more stresses throughout their lives which all accumulated to a shorter life span. One of the main reasons a females leopard gecko has a shorter life span is due to the fact the reproduce. This causes a lot of street on a female leopard geckos body, and actually deteriorates their health when breeding.

For a female to have a long and healthy lifespan, they should not be breeding and housed alone. If females are housed with another leopard gecko. If housed with a male, he will continuously try to mate with the female, causing her higher levels of stress. Equally, if housed with another female leopard gecko, then they will continuously be fighting for dominance. therefore again, heightening the stress levels for both females.

Conclusion

So there is our answer to the question “How long do leopard geckos live?”. Remember, on average leopard geckos can live up to 20 years as pets, and sometimes even longer. This really does rely on the owners care for their gecko. The better the living conditions, the healthier they are and more likely to live until their late teens.

Follow these steps and you will be sure to give your leopard gecko the best chance of living a healthy and happy life.

After searching and testing many different products, we have come up with our list of “Must Have” items for recommendations for both price, and durability for the best enclosure accessories.

Bathing Water Bowl – Click Here

Heat Mat – Click Here

Heat Lamp and Guard – Click Here

Reliable Thermometer – Click Here

Vivarium/Enclosure – Click Here