Snow Leopard Gecko: info, picture, care guide & more

Content

• Quick facts about snow leopard geckos
• Do Snow Leopard Geckos Make Good Pets?
• appearance
• How to Care for Snow Leopard Geckos
• Habitat, tank conditions and setup
• Tank
• Lighting
• Heat (temperature and humidity)
• Substrate
• Feeding your snow leopard gecko
• Keep your snow leopard gecko healthy
• General health problems
• Lifetime
• Breeding
• Are snow leopard geckos friendly? Our handling advice
• Shading: What to Expect
• How much are blizzard leopards worth?
• Summary of Care Guide
• Result

The exotic snow leopard gecko is a simple and easy reptile to keep in captivity. Leopard geckos can live up to 20 years of age with good care. This makes snow leopard geckos a long-term commitment and you need to be prepared to care for this gecko for a large part of its life.

These inquisitive geckos have a beautiful color that makes them stand out against other types of geckos. The hardy Blizzard Cheetah Gecko makes an excellent addition to reptile enthusiasts who can provide the proper habitat and enrichment to thrive in captivity.

Quick facts about snow leopard geckos

• Species name: Eublepharis macularius
• common name: Leopard gecko
• Level of care: Start
• Lifetime: 15-20 years
• Adult size: 6-10 inches
• Abstinenceinsects
• Minimum tank size: 20 gallon vivarium
• Temperature and humidity: 77°F to 89°F and humidity levels between 30° to 40°

Do Snow Leopard Geckos Make Good Pets?

Blizzard leopard geckos make excellent pets for beginners and experts looking for a hardy and undemanding reptile to begin their reptile journey. They are more difficult to care for than dogs and cats or birds but once you learn the basics they become easy to care for.

Before purchasing a blizzard gecko, you should ensure that their needs are met and that they are provided with a warm vivarium that has controlled humidity levels. It will take time to master the skills of setting up an enclosure that is perfect for your snow leopard gecko. These geckos will need daily care and you need to make sure you take at least an hour out of your day to feed, mist and keep the enclosure clean.

Keep in mind that your snow leopard gecko will need regular vet visits and occasional surgery. This is because leopard geckos are prone to developing health problems. Your gecko's health and longevity depend on its level of care, and many leopard gecko owners find great success keeping them healthy in captivity.

Appearance

Snow leopard geckos have a shape that is devoid of patterns on their bodies. Instead, they have solid color throughout their bodies. Blizzard formations are usually a brilliant white or yellow color. Some blizzards are dark in color and thus are labeled midnight blizzard leopard geckos. Coloration is commonly referred to as a yellow single morph.

The Blizzard Leopard Gecko's body is thick and stubby with a triangular head. They have two eyes on either side of their head above their nose. The famous thick tail is a prominent feature for leopard geckos and the broad tail ends in a thin point. You can see that the tail takes on a light pink color.

How to Care for Snow Leopard Geckos

Habitat, tank conditions and setup

Tank

Image Credit: Blanco, Shutterstock The aquarium can be set up as elaborate or as simple as you desire. A 20-gallon vivarium can house a pair of female leopard geckos without any problems. Larger groups will need more space, up to 30 or 40 gallons. Leopard geckos need a vivarium or tank that is longer than it is tall.

You will need to mist the wall regularly to keep the humidity at the desired level. It is also important to make sure that you clean up any visible debris that is left on the wall. All unclean food must be removed to prevent spoilage. Continuous wall misting can cause a film to form on the glass and should be cleaned with a damp microfiber cloth and a reptile-safe cleaning solution.

Lighting

Artificial light and UV lights are unnecessary for snow leopard geckos because they are crepuscular. You will need a grow light to provide a day and night cycle for your gecko. Heating light is necessary to keep the wall warm. Lights should be turned off at night to give your gecko total darkness and other heating methods should be turned on.

Heat (temperature and humidity)

The overall temperature and humidity in the vivarium are important to your gecko's health. Heat is essential for thermoregulation because they do not produce body heat. Heat is obtained from the underside of snow leopard geckos so a heating pad or mat under the substrate or vivarium is recommended. There should be a basking spot with a temperature between 84°F and 88°F. The heating mat or pad should cover 1/3 of the wall to promote good heat distribution. The temperature on the cooler side of the vivarium should be 75°F to 80°F.

Important: Placing a heating pad or mat under the substrate risks burning the jacko, make sure the substrate is layered to prevent this.

Substrate

Many types of substrates can affect your snow leopard's gecko. It is best to use a damp paper towel for hatchlings or young geckos, and fine sand as the main substrate in the vivarium.

Tank recommendations

Type of tank: 20 gallon glass vivarium

Lighting: Day and night cycle

Heating: A heating pad/mat under the substrate or vivarium

Excellent substrate: fine sand

Feeding your snow leopard gecko

Food is critical to maintaining the health of snow leopard geckos. They are insectivores and that means their diet is mainly made up of insects. Crickets, locusts and insects form the main part of their diet. They should also have a shallow dish of fresh water inside the enclosure to keep them hydrated. You will need to supplement the diet with calcium and multivitamins such as Nutrobal.

Snow leopard geckos use their water dish as a toilet and must be cleaned regularly. Chicks and young geckos should be fed 3 to 8 insects per day, while adults should be fed 5 to 9 insects every 2 to 3 days.

Diet summary

fruit: 0% of the dose

Insects:100% food - crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, worms

Meat: 0% of the dose

Supplements are required: Calcium dietary supplement.

Keep your snow leopard gecko healthy

A healthy snow leopard gecko should have minimal health problems. Because leopard geckos tolerate different environmental requirements, they are hardy enough to survive minor illnesses throughout their lives. They will suffer from very few illnesses and diseases, mainly when no aspect of their care is met. All reptiles should be quarantined for 2 months before being housed with other reptiles to prevent the spread of disease.

General health problems

• Metabolic bone disease: This occurs when your leopard gecko does not get enough calcium in its diet. This causes his body to pull calcium from his bones. The main symptoms are swollen joints, leg cramps, and a soft jaw with difficulty eating.
• Respiratory Infections: If a leopard gecko is exposed to cold temperatures below 75°F for long periods of time, it will develop a suppressed immune system that allows respiratory infections to develop.
• Tail Loss: If your gecko feels threatened, it will drop its tail as a defense mechanism to distract predators. This is a problem because the tail acts as a fat reservoir. The tail will grow back but look very different from its original tail.

Lifetime

If you get your snow leopard gecko as a baby or teenager, you should expect to care for it for up to two decades. These geckos have an excellent lifespan and healthy specimens should have little problem making it to the 15 or 20 year mark. Keeping your leopard gecko in the right environment and feeding it the right food is a good way to increase its longevity.

Breeding

Breeding snow storm leopard geckos is an easy task. If you plan to breed your leopard gecko, you need to make sure that you are prepared for possible medical issues that require a vet visit, an incubating machine for the eggs, and that you Must be able to carve out several hours in your day for feeding and grooming. Leopard geckos must be bred at one year of age and weigh 45 to 50 grams to produce offspring. You should arrange the equipment and egg incubator in advance. Keeping your leopard gecko underweight or unhealthy will result in the premature death of the breeding female or her inability to lay viable eggs. February to September is an ideal breeding season for these geckos and if the eggs are incubated properly, the breeding pair should produce healthy young.

Are snow leopard geckos friendly? Our handling advice

These geckos are quite docile and have a personality friendly. Handling with leopard geckos should not be a problem. They have the ability to bite when stressed, but this is not normal behavior. Overall, they are quite curious and will enjoy being around their owners. Snow leopard geckos that are routinely held as a baby will be more friendly. Avoid holding your gecko by the tail in the wrong way as this can cause the gecko to drop its tail in defense. Use gentle movements when holding your leopard gecko and don't move them around if they slip out of your grasp.

Shading: What to Expect

Snow leopard geckos shed their skin every 2 to 5 weeks. Most owners will not notice their gecko shedding and they are rarely bothered by shedding. Some may need help releasing the shed and should be placed in a shallow dish of warm water. Never rip the shed, this will damage the delicate skin underneath. The rate of shedding is determined by their growth. Young leopard geckos will shed more frequently because they are in their prime growth stage. During shedding, the humidity should be slightly increased so that the dead skin comes off easily.

How much are blizzard leopards worth? 

You can buy an egg and incubate it yourself. This allows you to hatch geckos yourself and care for them from birth. The coloration of the Blizzard Leopard Gecko will be higher than the other morphs due to the solid coloration. You can expect to pay between $75 and $230 for one.

Summary of Care Guide

• Occupation
• Gentle nature
• Curious and friendly
• Simple food

Cons of

• Men should not be kept together
• It takes time to adapt to a new environment
• Suffering from health problems

Result

If you follow specific maintenance requirements, you will be able to successfully grow them to stay happy and healthy. Always check with your local nature conservation center if you need a permit to own a leopard gecko and if so, do the necessary paperwork.