About Lizards - the Leopard Gecko as a Pet

Leopard Geckos serve as great household pets, for older children to adults. Leopard Geckos are among the most common lizards chosen as household pets because of their small size, they are easy to care for, they are very clean for a terrarium pet (their droppings habits are similar to that of a cat - they choose a main corner to lay their feces), they have an average lifespan of 19 - 22 years (longest recorded lifespan for a Leopard Gecko is 27 years), they have interesting wide-range of colors, and they can grow very tolerant to being handled. However, children should be monitored while handling Leopard Geckos because if they are under extreme stress or fear, their tails tend to fall off.

Another good reason why Leopard Geckos as pets are a good idea is because of the fact that Leopard Geckos are very easily found available at pet stores. Just like buying a dog, you can decide to buy a Leopard Gecko today, and find a perfect one to take home with you in less than an hour (of course, that's depending on how long it takes you to get to your local pet store). For those that are hesitant about keeping wild-caught animals as pets (for example, the common blue-bellied lizard that you used to catch when you were a small child), rest assured that Leopard Geckos are one of the few lizard species that are regularly bred in captivity, for the purpose of selling as pets. As an entire package, Leopard Geckos are comparatively cheap when you look at all your getting. Leopard Geckos are beautiful lizards that come in all kinds of different colors, breeds, and design patterns; they are very tolerant to being handled, are relatively non-aggressive (I'll get to the relatively part soon); they are very clean for any kind of pet, not just lizards and reptiles; they are very easy to breed (given the proper instruction). Leopard Geckos (depending on their rarity and sometimes age) are very cheap in contrast to other reptiles that may not have all the same good qualities as Leopard Geckos.

So do Leopard Geckos bite, you ask? The reason why I said Leopard Geckos are relatively non-aggressive earlier is because I have had cases where baby Leopard Geckos would bite my fingers when I attempted to hold them, because they were not used to it. Did it hurt? Absolutely not. Leopard Geckos are toothless, very small in size, and just don't have enough power to really hurt a human being; regardless if it's a baby or an adult. That being said, I wouldn't encourage any kind of animal to bite another human being, especially small child who's fingers aren't as strong as a grown adult's.

To conclude this article, I'll end with the note that Leopard Geckos make great pets, and even if they weren't so low-cost, they would definitely still be my first choice as a reptile/lizard pet.