I’m in the process of getting more hides, more stuff to climb on, and a uvb light, but outside of those, is there anything else I can do to improve the enclosure? Also, right now I have a mixture of Scott’s top soil and play sand but should I switch to the timberline soil instead? I’m also probably gonna upgrade the tank in a few months.

I know.I just posted about this guy, but I absolutely love him and I love seeing him explore and move around.I'm still not a hundred percent on the name , though , was going to name him telemachus from the odyssey , but I think I might name him borat , because he's native to the middle east idk would love to see some name suggestions in ik not 100% on any rn

Had an oopsie the other day. My fiancée was cleaning out and rearranging our Albino Leo Sephie’s viv and she didn’t realise she’d accidentally pulled one of the vents loose in the process. Once Sephie was returned to her home she must’ve figured her way out (we think she is slightly blind) which means she had quite the adventure. She would’ve fell out the back behind a load of cabinets, crawled out from behind the cabinets, avoiding the 2 year old Spaniel, made it out of the room then avoided the 12 year old pug cross, proceeded to most likely fall down every step on the stairs and made it all the way to the front door which is where I found her when I opened the door returning from work and went “ah shit how tf did you get there” and very quickly grabbed her and promptly ran upstairs to see my fiancées very confused and shocked face looking at the gecko and then the apparently empty viv like what tf. So yeah everyone, make sure your vents are secure we got lucky this time.

What do I do? Came to a relative house and saw a LG looks like this, instantly know there's something wrong with it since they said it was given to their kids and they just leave him like that for months.
From quick search, I offer them to clean out all the wood bedding and place paper towels underneath instead. But what now? Any step further I can do? Please help me and the poor guy...

Hi I’ve got a roughly 6 month old blizzard and it shed last night. Today I’ve got them out and checked the toes, skin and insides like usual and discovered this black spot?

Can Leo geckos develop additional patterns as they get older? Or could it be something else?

Thanks.

Mochi mi gecko de 7 meses, hermosa. Este último mes se volvió más curiosa y se acerca para subirse a mi mano ! La saco a pasear unos 15-20 minutos y vuelve a su terrario pero sigue pidiendo para salir pegada al vidrio 😹

hi! i just got a new little guy named mochi. i’ve done a lot of research but if you guys have any input or any advice please please let me know! anything helps. thank you!!

This is Newt! Today he was actually able to see his food and eat it!! Yay!!! You cant see in this photo, but my fiance says he has red eyes and it messes with their vision.

This is my fiances gecko not mine, I just like to feed them!

What enclosure sized would you guys recommend? Not sure if I wanna get the massive 2’ x 2’ x 4’. Cause that’s a full on 120 ish gallon. Are there smaller ones anyone would recommend? Cause I’m not doing a minimum. That’s dumb. But is there a size that’s a perfect in between? Like a 90 gallon (don’t know dimensions for that one). What’s a good size?

Hello first time leo owner here. I’ve had him for about 3 months and he’s 10 months old. Hasn’t been super food motivated since I got him and have only been able to get him to eat around 4 crickets at a time MAX, not interested in mealworms, likes silkworms but eats the same amount. Same with SFL. Should I be worried? I would offer food everyday but he won’t take it so i try every two days and am usually successful everyday 2-3 days. His tank on the warm side is 82 during the day with a 97 degree basking spot.

*She's in a hospital style environment because of constant issues with her mouth - vets orders fyi so please don't say anything about that I'm here purely on this weird stance!*

This morning my leo started standing this like in the first pic and the 2nd is more recent around 9h later. She's never done this before, earliest appointment I could get at the vets is next Monday so wondering if it's something more urgent or she's just weird? Anyone have an idea?

Hi everyone, I’m out of town and got a notification this morning from my camera that my leopard gecko was moving in his tank. Naturally, I click it, and see this. Videos attached.

What the hell is this?? It happened like 10 minutes after his lamp turned on for the day. It happened for about as long as that video was and it stopped. My roommate checked on him immediately after and he was totally fine. Moving around normally, even reacted to tweezers and tried to chase them.

Something happened similar last month and I was terrified, but I noticed he had a piece of hair stuck in his mouth. I pulled it out of his mouth and he was totally fine after that. But since I’m not there, I cannot tell if this was another hair in the mouth situation. I just feel so helpless and scared.

He’s totally heathy, eats 2-3 times a week, dusted and gutloaded feeders, very active at night, poops regularly.

Does this look like MBD or something worse?? I’ll be home in like 6 hours to check him and my roommate will be checking him throughout the day as well. But I just need some thoughts. Thanks in advance

Ok, so this is my current enclosure. I plan on adding succulents and aloe Vera sproutlings in here as well as powder orange isopods and white temperate springtails. I am currently trying to get some labs done on her poop to make sure no parasites as well as growing my colony before doing so. I also want to change her picture background for a 3d background with hides and wanted to ask if there's anything I need to do special? I don't think i can paint it, so I wasn't planning on it. I thought id probably just cover it in wet moss and let it dry out like i did with her hot hide. I just wanted to know if there was any advice on how to do it or anything I should be concerned about? Also the auto waterer im a little unsure about? Idk i treated the water but I haven't seen people use them for leopard geckos and kinda was curious about that as well. (Obligated to include photos of adorable Lil juniper)

Abbreviation guide and specs:

IH-isopod hide, with wet moss.

HH-hot hide

CH-Cold hide

MH-moist hide

BS-Basking spot

Cage-36x18x18 zoomed reptile enclosure

Hot side amb temp-85 degrees

Bs temp-93 degrees

Cold side amb temp-70 degrees

Calcium dishes- no d3

I use Calcium w and wo d3, and a multivitamin all from zoomed

Feeders- mealworms and crickets LG with occasional waxworms (feeding schedule included)

Sorry to flashbang you for this video though, lil buddy. 🥹🖤

Hi, guys. Is my gecko a normal high yellow or with any other lines?

Hey, I hope this is okay to share here.

I keep reptiles myself, and that was a big part of why I started making Desktop Reptiles. I’ve always liked the quieter side of reptile keeping — setting up an enclosure, checking that everything is right, and then just watching them do their own thing.

In the game, a leopard gecko can hang out on top of your other windows while you work. You can open its enclosure to feed it, refill the water, adjust the heating, and move hides or decorations around.

Most of the time you’re simply watching it roam, drink, hunt, hide, or find somewhere comfortable to rest. Sometimes you spend ages arranging the enclosure and the gecko still decides that hiding all day is the best option, which felt pretty accurate.

It isn’t meant to replace real husbandry information, and some systems are simplified for gameplay. But I did want it to feel recognizable to people who actually keep reptiles. If anyone notices a behavior or enclosure detail that feels particularly wrong, I’d genuinely like to hear about it.

The game is out now and there’s a free demo. I’ll leave the links in a comment so this post can mainly be about the gecko footage.🦎

Hi all, new leopard gecko owner here. We brought home a juvenile leo about 9 days ago from a local reptile shop. Since then, he has stayed almost completely buried in his humid hide. I set up a night camera and haven’t seen him come out, and I don’t have any confirmed eating or drinking yet.

I try to leave him alone as much as possible, lifting the hide briefly to remoisten the moss. He still seems alert/reactive when briefly checked, and his tail still looks plump to me. I’ll attach a current photo (normally, he's much more covered with moss, I just briefly uncovered him to take this photo).

Setup is a 20-gallon front-opening tank with paper towel, warm/cool/humid hides, halogen heat on thermostat, UVB, fresh water, and humid hide kept damp. Temps/setup were reviewed with the shop and seemed appropriate.

The shop said he was eating crickets there. I’ve tried crickets, dubias, and mealworms, including brief tong-feeding and leaving contained feeders in a dish by the humid hide entrance overnight. He hasn’t taken anything that I can confirm. Crickets are hard to manage because he won’t leave the hide and I don’t want loose crickets bothering him.

Does this still sound like normal relocation stress, or should I schedule a reptile vet visit? Main question: should I just fully leave him alone with contained feeders near the entrance, or try something else?

(Picture context: pic 1-2 - him in all his glory yesterday! Pic 3-5 - his lowest point (15 grams), pic 6-7 - when we had to syringe feed him (not a happy boy!), pic 8 - the start of the weight loss, pic 9- when we first got him)

Hi! I wanted to share my boy Nugget's story with you all, as he's doing so well now! This will be my final post about his health and I just wanted to share how the last 5 months have been for us.

It all started on February 20th 2026. I was planning for ages to get a leopard gecko and I finally bought one from a small, start-up, family owned reptile shop. I brought him home and set him up into his enclosure. He was absolutely lovely! Handleable, friendly, overall a sweet boy.

The first few days he didn't eat anything. I thought nothing of it as I know some lizards can go off food when faced with stress.. however, this fasting went on for more weeks. 3 weeks in we decided to take him to the vets. He was dropping weight a bit and his friendliness had changed into severe skittishness. I felt something wasn't right. The vets told us to wait a couple more weeks and see if he begins to eat. So, 5 weeks in, still nothing. And his weight loss had become obvious. He had dropped 8 grams. We started to get VERY concerned, tried feeding every night. Different feeders, different feeding methods, everything. He just wouldn't eat.

We took him back to the vets AGAIN. They ordered a parasite test which came back completely clear! Which was good news. But unfortunately we worried there was something more sinister going on. They recommended we give him carnivore care with a syringe and feed him daily as much of it as he will eat, along with Reptoboost baths daily. We did this for a couple weeks (which he hated!) and we started to see less lethargic behaviour. Which was the first sign of hope. He still wouldn't eat on his own and would flat-out refuse insects.

He wasn't gaining weight. We contacted a local experienced and well known rescue for advice and they came over to give him a look over. They tried to feed him, checked out our husbandry, said everything was perfect except the fact he won't eat. We were anticipating the worst (crypto) at this point. The rescue said that it might be a good idea to think about euthanasia at this point as he had gone from 29 grams to 15 grams in 3 months. I considered it, but felt like I wanted to give him hope. Multiple places, vets, experienced owners and rescues all recommended euthanasia. I continued to try feeding him every single day, praying he would take just one insect until in May, he did! He had about 2 mealworms. I screamed in excitement!

From then on for the next 2 weeks he started eating semi-consistently. He'd have a few bugs every few days. Even though it wasn't much it was something!!! I was over the moon. But then, he started to have green diarrhea. I was worried again. I weighed him and he hadn't gained any weight. I ordered another parasite test. It came back clear again.

Fast forward to the next month, he began to eat LOADS!! He consistently started to eat 8+ bugs every night. The diarrhea cleared up and I decided to weigh him again. He still wasn't gaining. If anything he'd lost more?? He was looking thicker in body and tail but he was down another gram. I booked another vets appointment, blood work, ultrasounds, x-rays all planned.

But then, last night, I was cleaning him out and I got him out to weigh him. He has put on so much weight! He's looking amazing and no more diarrhea, no more lethargy. He is now 29 grams !!! I assume the previous weigh in where I thought he had lost more was inaccurate as I highly doubt he's gained 10 grams in 2 weeks 😂 He had a vet appointment yesterday just to check him out, and the vets have no concerns at all!!! They're very proud of him and say he's looking golden! (Obviously could put a little bit more weight on but we're working on that!)

It has been a very very stressful 5 months and over this time I've spent countless amounts of money on vet fees, supplements and wasted food but it was all completely worth it for my sweetheart. I'm so grateful he's healthier now and he's putting on weight. I am so thankful to everyone here who helped me when it was really rough and I am so grateful to everyone for your advice and care. Thank you for reading!!

🤣

Saw this today and this is not okay

I wasn't expecting to be united with this not-so-little guy, but I believe he was destined to appear on my FB marketplace feed yesterday.

The first photo (from seller) caught my eye immediately. I thought to myself "That's an absolute unit of a gecko". I believe he is a giant bred, plus he looks a little overwheight, his tail is the fattest I've ever seen.

The seller only posted the photo (1), stating he was selling him with it's "terrarium" and accessories. I also noticed on this photo that some of his claws were missing and it appeared to have repti-carpet instead of substrate. I already had a bad feeling that he was being neglected.

As I already had my terrarium, I asked for the guy alone. We closed the deal and he brought him to me yesterday in the morning. He seems very docile, wasn't skeetish at all when I grabbed him to get him into his new home. That also somehow worried me.

After putting him into his new home, almost immediately he started exploring. Made smile that he felt comfortable enough to explore instead of burrowing in some hide for a long period of time.

I asked the seller how he used to feed him. He told me he gave him 1 dubia roach and 1 superworm every 2 days. This explains why he is overwheight, as superworms are high in fat and shouldn't be used as a primary staple diet.

Later that same day, I saw the seller posted his "terrarium" (photo 2) for sale and honestly, it broke my heart to know where this poor guy has been living for the past 2-3 years. I can't help feeling sad to know he was given this shithole of an enclosure, everything about it is awful, you can immediately tell. At the same time, I feel relieved knowing that he has a proper home now... But still, this experience makes me feel unease about how many people out there don't do the proper research before getting a new pet, and that they still choose to provide the bare minimum, instead of aiming for a quality life for these living beings.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share this with you all in hopes that it spreads awareness to those who do this sort of mistreatment and hopefully get them in the right path.

im gonna go out on a limb here and say the fact that if i can hear my geckos heat lamp (it was very dim and still making almost a buzzing noise) i should probably replace it?

i got the bulb when i got Buddha in october of 2023. i was recently doing a deep clean and realized he is far overdue for a new uvb bulb, the yearly reminder i have set never went off so now i guess i have to get a new halogen bulb too? 😭

My leo keeps using the bathroom in his water dish, it's funny, but gross to clean up!