How to Make the Ultimate Leopard Gecko Setup

Create the perfect habitat for your leopard gecko with this easy-to-follow guide.

First of all, let me start by saying that there is so much room for creativity in setting up a leopard gecko habitat, and the process I describe here is certainly not the only way to do it. If you do follow every step in this guide exactly, you should end up with a wonderfully suitable habitat for your animal, but you could use these steps simply as a rough guideline and create your very own version. What works best will depend on your own situation and preferences, so be you!

Also note that this is not a complete care guide for leopard geckos, only a description of how to set up the best habitat. You can find information about feeding, health, and other requirements in our separate Leopard Gecko Care Guide.

Supplies for a Leopard Gecko Setup

The supplies you need for a leopard gecko can be readily purchased at most pet stores, but you’ll likely save some money shopping online. If you are on a budget, there are cheaper DIY solutions for many of these supplies as well. I’ll discuss DIY alternatives and give my specific product recommendations later in this article, but for now here is the basic overview of everything you’ll need.

Supplies required for your basic leopard gecko setup:

• 20-gallon tank
• Heat lamp or heat emitter
• UV lamp
• Thermometer
• Substrate
• Hiding shelters (at least 2)
• Feeding dish
• Water bowl
• Additional cage furniture and decorations as desired

Also note that the setup described here is intended for one adult leopard gecko (or a young one growing to adult size). Keeping more than one adult gecko together is not recommended, unless you are already very experienced in keeping these animals. Multiple geckos would of course need additional space and more equipment than what’s described here.

Best Tank for a Leopard Gecko

The perfect tank size for an adult leopard gecko is a 20-gallon long terrarium (30″ x 12″ x 12″ or 76cm x 30cm x 30cm). These tanks are widely available and relatively affordable. Also, several companies make enclosures of this size specifically for reptiles, so they’ll come with a sliding mesh lid or front-opening doors, and perhaps some other accessories as well. While it’s possible to keep a leopard gecko in a 10-gallon tank, a larger size is much better for giving your critter plenty of space and the thermal gradient required for good health.

Any 20-gallon long or tank of similar size will do, but I really recommend one that has front opening doors. Most of these can open from the top as well, giving you maximum access for feeding, cleaning, and setting up the habitat. These types of tanks are definitely more expensive, so you can simply stick with the standard top-opening design if you’re on a budget. Most pet stores will have a variety of tanks to choose from, but you probably find a standard 20-gallon long for sale used online or at a local garage sale. Just make sure it has a screen lid that you can lock or weigh down to prevent escape.

If you want to buy online, here are some excellent options for leopard gecko tanks. All of these are the “knock-down” design which means the empty tank can taken apart for easy shipping and transport:

• Repti Zoo Reptile Terrarium (front-opening): Best all around for construction quality and value for the money. Though it is the most expensive of these three, this terrarium is larger than your standard 20 gallon which improves its value. If you don’t want something this big (36″ x 18″ x 18″) or don’t have this much to spend, look at the next two options below.
• Oiibo 20-gallon Reptile Terrarium: Good value for a front-opening terrarium and very elegant design for a knock-down tank. The white frame gives it a clean, modern look that blends well in a lot of settings.
• Repti Zoo 20-gallon Glass Terrarium: This is pretty much your standard 20-gallon glass tank but it’s knock-down, and it’s the least expensive of these three. This one opens only from the top, so it’s a bit less convenient than the front-opening tanks but no less suitable for your gecko.

Best Substrate for Leopard Geckos

There are many substrate options for leopard geckos, and no one option is the absolute “best.” Here are some suitable substrate options along with some brief pros and cons:

• Desert terrarium sand mat: This roll-out mat provides a naturalistic look with very little work, and it’s perfectly safe for geckos, but it can be tricky to keep clean.
• Slate tile: Stone tiles can serve as the sole substrate, but they are far from the cheapest option and they are tricky to position in a way that prevents crickets and waste from disappearing into the cracks.
• Zoo Med ReptiSand: All-natural sand that is safe for reptiles, and resembles the sand in a leopard gecko’s natural habitat. 
• Zoo Med Excavator Clay: A naturalistic loose substrate that you can also use to mold and create solid features by adding water. It’s nice for its versatility, but can be tricky to work with and keep clean
• Jurassic Sands Reptile Substrate: Natural dune sand with very fine particle size and low dust. It resembles the sand in your gecko’s natural habitat and it’s easy to keep clean.

Now, I realize that sand for leopard geckos is a common point of contention on the internet. Many people claim that sand and other loose substrates are bad because they can cause impaction—or blockage of the gut that leads to illness. However, many experienced keepers insist that sand is okay as long as it’s clean and fine-grained, and if other conditions like temperature and humidity are properly upheld.

If you want to learn more, see our article about sand and impaction in leopard geckos. The gist of the matter is: sand is an acceptable substrate because it mimics the geckos’ natural habitat, and it won’t necessarily cause impaction. If impaction happens to a leopard gecko it’s because other issues are involved, like food that’s too big or temperatures that are too low.

Spreading the substrate

If you use sand or another loose substrate, simply spread it throughout the floor of the enclosure, except in one corner of the cool side where you’ll use coconut fiber or a mix of coconut fiber and organic top soil. This is the spot that you will keep moist to provide a more humid area, which promotes respiratory and skin health for your gecko. Give this area a light misting daily to maintain humidity levels. If you use a sand mat or another kind of uniform covering for the substrate, you’ll need to provide a dish or an enclosed shelter that can hold the substrate for your gecko’s humid hide. See the ‘Hiding Places’ section below for some more ideas.

In addition, you should place the rocks throughout the enclosure for variety. These should be flat pieces like flagstone, aquarium slate, or stone tiles. You will need one piece that’s big enough to fit most of your gecko’s body. Place this one on the warm side beneath the heat lamp to create a basking spot. The rest of your stones can be any size and placed elsewhere in the tank—wherever you think looks good. The substrate can fill in all the space between the stones and other cage elements.

Best Lighting and Heating for Leopard Geckos

You should set up your gecko’s terrarium with a warm and a cool side. This means the lamp will go on one end, perhaps with a supplemental heater, and the other end can remain unlit. The lighting equipment should provide a broad spectrum that includes UVB for the sake of your lizards’ metabolic health. 

Exactly what bulb(s) you use will depend on the size of your tank and the ambient temperature in your home, but for the typical 20-gallon long setup I recommend the Zoo Med Desert UVB Heat & Lighting Kit. This is the most affordable option that provides both heat and UVB. It’s a dual-bulb fixture that comes with a Repti Basking Spot Lamp and a ReptiSun Mini Compact Fluorescent. Together these provide the proper heat and UV light, and the price is far less than what you would spend buying all of those things separately.

To use this lamp combo kit, place it on top of the screen lid, directly over the basking spot and warm rock. After turning the light on, leave it for an hour or two to let everything heat up. Then, use a digital terrarium thermometer to check temperatures throughout the enclosure. Here are the ranges you’re looking for:

• Basking spot temperature: 90-97°F (32-36°C)
• Warm zone temperature: 85-90°F (29-32°C)
• Cool zone temperature: 70-75°F (21-24°C)

If you measure the temperatures and find they aren’t high enough, you can either upgrade to a higher-wattage basking spot lamp or add an under-tank heater with a thermostat. The thermostat is important so that the heater doesn’t get too hot and burn your gecko. If, on the other hand, temperatures are too hot when you measure them you can simply raise the lamp a few inches higher than the top of the enclosure. To do this, use a lamp clip or hang the fixture from an upper shelf using string.

Other Supplies for a Leopard Gecko Enclosure

The other things you will definitely need are two hiding places, a water dish, and a feeding dish. Additionally, you can use any combination of rocks, wood, or other cage furniture to provide decoration and climbing surfaces for your gecko.

Hiding Places

You should provide at least three shelters for your gecko. Many different objects can serve as hiding places, and they don’t all have to be the same. Exo Terra’s Gecko Cave is a great option made specifically for leopard geckos. This cave provides a dark, secure hiding place for your lizard, and the cave can be opened up completely for easy cleaning.

A store-bought shelter like the Gecko Cave is not necessary, however. If you are on a budget you can simply use opaque plastic bowls with a doorway cut out, or you can get creative with stacking rocks or wood. Just make sure that all pieces are firmly secured so they can’t collapse and hurt your gecko.

Place one shelter on the warm side of the tank, not directly under the basking spot but nearby. Position the other two shelters on the cool side. One of these will be the humid hide and the other will stay dry. The humid hide should be placed over the humid substrate, or filled with the substrate if it’s an enclosed unit like the Gecko Cave. Here are some other good options for store-bought shelters that look nice and are easy to use in your tank:

• Reptile Rock Cave
• Zoo Med Habba Hut

Water and Food Bowls

Leopard geckos should have a water dish to drink from, but it doesn’t have to be big enough to soak in. In fact, small and shallow is best. You can use a store-bought reptile dish, which will look good in your tank, or you can use any DIY option like a small tupperware.

The same goes for the food bowl, it can be a pet store product or a simple solution that you find around the house. It needs only to be a shallow dish that keeps insect food like mealworms from escaping into the substrate. When you feed crickets they will of course roam around the tank, but that’s okay as long as you don’t feed too many at a time. Learn more about diet and feeding in our leopard gecko care guide.

There is no reason you need to spend much money on bowls, but if you want nice-looking dishes that blend in well with the habitat, here are some great options:

• Medium size feeder bowl: A basic feeding dish that looks nice, is easy to clean, and is very affordable.
• Fluker’s food/water corner bowl: A conveniently shaped and nice-looking bowl that fits into the corner of the tank so it doesn’t take up too much space.
• 2-pack water dish and food dish: An excellent value combo pack that even comes with a pair feeding tongs as a bonus.

Other accessories

Besides a basking rock, warm and cool shelters, water dish, and food bowl, all other accessories in your leopard gecko’s tank are optional. However, in a 20-gallon terrarium you’ll have plenty of room to work with so I recommend adding some decor. Try placing a big rock feature or a twisting piece of grapevine wood right in the center of the tank. This will make the habitat look better and your gecko will appreciate the surfaces to climb on.

Summary

Here’s a review of everything you need in your leopard gecko’s enclosure:

• 20-gallon long tank with a secure screen lid
• Reptisand as the main substrate, with one corner of coconut fiber or a coco fiber/soil mix, and flat rocks spread throughout.
• Light and heat source positioned over one end of the enclosure, making a warm side.
• A flat rock for basking on the warm side.
• One hiding place on the warm side.
• Two hiding places on the cool side, with the humid substrate inside one of them.
• A water dish and a food dish, both on the cool side.
• Extra rocks, wood, or other decorations positioned throughout as desired.

And finally, here is video from YouTuber Emma Layne Sampson about how she creates her leopard gecko’s tank. This is very similar to the process I just described and is a great example of a beginner-friendly setup. The biggest difference is that she uses a tank liner instead of loose substrate, but she still provides a sand-soil mix for digging in one large bowl. Remember that there is no one right way to do things, so this is just another idea you can choose to go with if you want.