As a leopard gecko owner, I understand the importance of providing enrichment for these fascinating reptiles. Enrichment refers to providing stimulation that encourages natural behaviors and instincts, keeping leopard geckos active and engaged. In this comprehensive guide, I will cover various types of enrichment and tips for implementing them based on my experience and research.
What is Enrichment and Why is it Important?
Enrichment is the process of providing captive animals with proper mental and physical stimulation to encourage natural behaviors. For leopard geckos, this means creating an environment that allows them to display behaviors seen in the wild.
Proper enrichment is crucial for leopard geckos for several reasons:
- Reduces stress and encourages natural behaviors like climbing, hiding, and foraging
- Provides exercise and mental stimulation
- Can aid with shedding
- Keeps leopard geckos active and healthy
Enrichment ultimately leads to happier, healthier geckos!
Types of Enrichment
There are three main types of enrichment for leopard geckos:
1. Environmental Enrichment
This involves enhancing the habitat and space to encourage natural behaviors, Ideas include
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Hides – Essential for security and humid hides aid shedding Examples are the Zilla Decor Rock Lair and coconut husk huts
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Plants – Fake or live plants mimic the natural habitat. Good options are Hoya cf. Panchoi, Christmas Cactus and Walking Kalanchoe.
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Hammocks and basking rocks – For climbing and basking.
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Driftwood, cork, bridges – Provide climbing opportunities and terrain.
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Digging boxes – Allows geckos to dig and cool down. Fill with reptile-safe substrate.
2. Dietary Enrichment
Providing a varied, nutritious diet mimics wild feeding behaviors. Try:
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Crickets, worms, roaches – Hunting live insects encourages natural foraging.
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New foods – Novelty inspires. Try hornworms, silkworms, grasshoppers.
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Different feeding methods – Use tongs or a dish instead of hand-feeding.
3. Activity Enrichment
Keep leopard geckos active and engaged through:
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Free roaming – Allow supervised exploration outside the terrarium. Use a playpen.
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Exercise ball – Rolls geckos safely around the house.
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Bath time – Provides exercise and aids in shedding. Use reptile swimming rings.
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Rearranging terrarium – Moving terrain and plants spices up their habitat.
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Toys – Ping pong balls, empty toilet paper rolls. Supervise play.
Tips for Providing Enrichment
When providing enrichment, follow these tips:
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Vary enrichment – Rotate new items to prevent boredom.
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Supervise playtime – Ensure safety when roaming or playing with toys.
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Check for safety – Avoid loose substrate, sharp edges, small decor.
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Provide daily – Aim for 1-2 enrichment activities per day.
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Observe reactions – Ensure geckos are interacting with and enjoying the enrichment provided.
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Get creative – Use household items like cardboard tubes for cheap enrichment.
Leopard geckos and climbing enrichment! Contributeur
| My Rating | :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: |
| What I Like | Very healthy for your gecko, can look natural, helps your gecko to feel more comfortable, encourage natural behaviors |
| Dislike | Oftentimes a bigger tank is needed |
| Have you seen improvement in your geckos behavior? | Y E S |
I often read online that leopard geckos are strictly terrestrial and they wouldnt need climbing space like wood, branches or rocks.
Personally, Ive made the experience that leopard geckos actually are pretty good climbers and they really enjoy climbing, so Ive added more and more branches and wood, and here I am going to describe some of the chamges I did! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Possible climbing enrichment:
First of all, the most basic things, branches, bark and other woods, preferably not smooth ones, as leopard geckos have better grip on rough ones.
In my opinion, you can never have enough of those, if you have a big enough tank. If you want to, you can make them look like parts of a fallen tree, or you can simply just put them in vertically and lean them against the background, stack them on each other and glue them or make them stick out of the background.
The possibilities are endless, and thats why I prefer to have big enclosures, instead of a 40 gallon tub Levi has an 99 gallon tank right now. Considering leopard geckos are very active animals, I always recommend, as some of you may already know, to go as big as you can!
Secondly, you can use rocks similar to how you would use wood. You can put them in there, you can stack slates on top of each other, create hides in different heights, and lots more!
A little tip if you use a heat lamp (preferably CHE or DHP) instead of a heat mat: put rocks and slates, preferably dark ones, under the lamp so they heat up and provide your gecko with belly heat! This way, if you can make sure that your rocks stay warm during the night, you can make a little temperature drop (only a few degrees °C) while still providing them with the heat necessary!
Third of all, please give your geckos a 3D background, they will love it, if its done right! There are lots of different ways of making one, but all of them should preferably have hides in different heights in them. You can also make plateaus, stick branches out of the background etc.
You can also make the background look extremely natural, you can make it look like its made out of rock, earth and more!
Last but not least are the more experimental ways of providing climbing enrichment. I have experimented with a few of these, like hanging a cork tube from the top, accessible by the 3D background, and making kind of a swing and floating hide.
Levi loved the idea! He hid all day in it and climbed around it, he looked like a crested gecko! You can find many ways how to provide climbing space, and only because its not commonly done shouldnt stop you from trying, as long as your gecko is not in danger.
Some benefits:
It has the same benefits as other kinds of enrichment, it helps to develop their brains, they get more exercise, it helps to build their muscle tissue, etc.
Something Ive noticed after providing them with lots of climbing places is that his coordination has improved significantly! He almost never misses his prey, his jumps are precise and he almost never falls down from anything.
He learned how to hold on to things with different textures, he can hold on to pretty smooth wood even if he is hanging down from it.
And the most important thing Ive noticed is, that he always looks down before jumping off of high surfaces, and if he thinks he cant make the jump or it is too deep down, he looks for a better way to get down. This is something that has shocked me personally when I heard that a lot of people think their gecko is “dumb” and walks off of high surfaces without looking. That leads me to believe that climbing enrichment in fact helps with their depth perception and actually leads to them looking where they can climb up or down the best.
Also it provides your leopard gecko with clutter, hides and places to relax. More clutter and hides means a happier gecko and a gecko who feels nore secure in his home!
There are more benefits I havent listed, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Conclusion:
Levi is so secure with his climbing skills, that I let him climb on my shoulders or on my T-Shirt and I never worry that hell fall, because he never does. Of course Im prepared to catch him, but I never needed to yet. I am planning on giving him a higher enclosure (of course still suitable for a leopard gecko, a mainly wide enclosure, since he still is terrestrial) and filling it up with climbing places, because he really enjoys climbing.
You, dear reader, should definitely consider providing your gecko (or other reptile) woth climbing enrichment. I promise you, you wont regret it, and youll see your gecko be more secure and act smarter! I hope this helped with giving your geckos the best possible life they can!
(for other improvements you should read other wiki-entries, articles, posts and books, because only a good combination of all is leading to the best possible lifestyle your gecko can have, this wiki-entry is focused solely on climbing enrichment! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, Ill be happy to clear things up!)
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Keeping Your Leopard Gecko Entertained | Reptile Enrichment (Mental & Physical)
FAQ
What kind of enrichment do leopard geckos need?
It is important to provide opportunities for leos to express natural behaviours, which is called ‘enrichment’. For leopard geckos, this will involve providing plenty of hiding places and some low, sturdy branches or rocks for climbing. clean water every few days to keep it moist.
How to mentally stimulate a leopard gecko?
Leopard geckos love interaction and stimulation! To keep them healthy and happy, providing them with an interactive environment full of items to explore and manipulate is essential. Providing enrichment like sticks, rocks, and hides will help promote natural behaviors like climbing, burrowing, and hiding.
What can I do to entertain my leopard gecko?
Geckos aren’t particularly interested in entertainment, but for enrichment, you could make him a dig box, give him something to climb, like some cork bark, or a pile of clean leaves!
What do leopard geckos like in their tank?
- Warm Side: Leopard geckos need a warm side of their enclosure, ideally between 88-90°F (31-32°C).
- Cool Side: A cooler side is also essential, around 73-75°F (23-24°C).
- Heat Source: An under-tank heater (UTH) is a good option for providing belly heat.
- Thermometer: Use a thermometer to monitor temperatures and ensure they stay within the optimal range.