Other Geckos in Comparison with the Leopard Gecko

In this article, I'll be comparing the common Leopard Gecko with the Crested Gecko from the perspective of keeping lizards as house pets. Personally, I think they are both a great choice, but I think the Leopard Gecko is a little more house-pet friendly. Before I get started, an interesting fact I found out about the Crested Gecko is that it was believed to be extinct until it was re-discovered in 1994. I thought that was interesting.

Leopard Geckos make better house pets because most of the time, the common Leopard Gecko you will find is the product of generation upon generation of captive breeding. Leopard Geckos are more adapted to the captive, terrarium environment, and as a result tend to be great lizard pets. Leopard Geckos are tolerant to being handled, they lay their feces in one general area of their tank (you can even get them used to going on a paper towel in the tank like a dog!) Also, in the event that your Leopard Gecko loses his tail, it will grow back (though, not quite as nicely as the original, unfortunately). The same cannot be said for the Crested Gecko, whose tail does NOT grow back after it loses it (however, it is less dangerous for Crested Geckos to lose their tails).

As stated in the fun fact about the Crested Gecko earlier, unlike the Leopard Gecko, Crested Geckos were just re-discovered as a living species in 1994. They are not as common as household pets, and usually don't have that adaptive lifestyle as you'll get from a Leopard Gecko because of the fact that you probably wouldn't be receiving a Crested Gecko that was the product of many generations of captive breeding.

With Leopard Geckos, breeding is very easy, and you can actually control the gender of the hatchlings depending on the temperature of their incubation. While it is not a proven fact, for now, it has been concluded that temperature does not directly affect the gender of the offspring. So breeding definitely favors Leopard Geckos, if you're into breeding, imagine the different experiments you could perform. And while Crested Geckos have different colors, phases, and slight distinctive markings, Leopard Geckos take the cake on personal flavor. Leopard Geckos come in a wide variety of colors, skin patterns, breeds, and the list goes on.

Just as a side-note, a distinctive feature on the Crested Gecko that is very different from the Leopard Gecko is the absence of eyelids. Leopard Geckos have eyelids, which is actually very rare for Gecko species, and gives them more of a 'personality' when it comes to physical appearance. Crested Geckos tend to have the snake-look, which, in my opinion, would be hard to tell the difference if all you saw was the head.

In conclusion, I believe Leopard Geckos make better household pets than the Crested Gecko, but that is not to say one is any better than the other. They are both lizards, and they are both increasingly popular as household pets. Take your pick, but my recommendation is of course, the Leopard Gecko.