Leachianus

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402 EXOTICS Leachianus Gecko Care Guide

Rhacodactylus leachianus

Leachianus need a secure enclosure built around their size and strength, substantial retreats, complete nutrition, and consistent care. Adult size varies, so housing should suit the individual animal.

Care at a glance

Topic	Recommended approach
Single adult minimum enclosure	18 × 18 × 24 inches, fully furnished
Pair housing	Pairs require much more space. Our pair enclosures are 36 × 18 × 36 inches, furnished with substantial cork
Daytime temperature	74–82°F, with cooler retreats
Nighttime temperature	A natural drop of several degrees
Humidity	Approximately 60–80%, with an evening rise and daytime drying
Water	Sturdy, clean water bowl at all times, plus misting droplets
Lighting	Regular day and night cycle; suitable low-level UVB recommended
Staple diet	Pangea or BP Zoological complete gecko diet
Prepared-food schedule	2–3 times per week
Acclimation	Approximately two weeks with minimal disturbance

Build a usable habitat

Provide large cork rounds, substantial branches, and retreats that comfortably accommodate the whole animal. Secure every heavy furnishing against movement or collapse.

Include broad horizontal and diagonal resting surfaces. Food ledges and bowls must support the gecko’s weight and remain easy to reach near cover.

Our pair enclosure dimensions describe our setup; larger animals may require more space. Young animals can begin in smaller, well-furnished grow-out enclosures and move up as they grow.

Paper towel is useful for monitoring. Planted and bioactive enclosures can also work with durable plants and appropriate substrate. Leachianus produce substantial waste, so continue cleaning glass, furnishings, food cups, and water bowls.

Pair compatibility requires ongoing observation. Even an established pair may become incompatible. Separate animals if aggression, injury, persistent pursuit, or declining condition develops.

Temperature, humidity, and lighting

Measure temperatures inside the enclosure, including the warmest accessible resting places. Preserve cooler retreats rather than heating the entire enclosure to the upper end of the range.

Avoid high temperatures and powerful basking bulbs. Never use heat rocks. A suitable room may provide enough warmth without supplemental heating. Keep the enclosure out of direct sunlight.

Mist in the evening to provide droplets and a humidity increase. Allow exposed surfaces to dry during the day while retaining appropriate substrate moisture.

Provide a sturdy water bowl and check it regularly for contamination.

We prefer suitable T5 UVB systems with shaded retreats and darkness at night. Consider the animal’s reach when positioning lights and other equipment.

Feeding

Offer Pangea or BP Zoological complete diet 2–3 times per week. Begin with the formula your gecko already recognizes.

Mix to a smooth, pourable consistency and adjust portions to actual intake and body condition. Never offer powder dry. Keep flavor changes limited during acclimation.

Optional insects should be appropriately sized, gut-loaded, and supplemented. Acceptance varies between individuals. We use Repashy Calcium Plus, lightly dusting insects at every insect feeding and offering them shortly afterward.

Bringing your gecko home

Allow approximately two weeks to settle with minimal disturbance. Keep retreats, feeding stations, and the overall layout stable.

If intake is unclear, use a small diagnostic portion briefly, then increase it to meet the animal’s appetite. Add a second feeding station near cover if needed without moving the first.

Do not begin assist-feeding simply because you have not observed eating.

Handling, monitoring, and support

Allow reliable feeding to become established before handling. Support the entire body and let the animal step onto your hand when possible.

Some leachianus defend their enclosure or retreat. Respect warning behavior and avoid forcing interaction. Never pull an animal from its hide or restrain it by its tail.

Monitor appetite, body condition, droppings, shedding, movement, and grip. Use weight trends when useful, and troubleshoot one variable at a time.

Contact us for husbandry help. Weakness, abnormal breathing, injury, or persistent deterioration requires a qualified reptile veterinarian.

Keep the full animal ID. Our Animal ID Decoder provides available ancestry and printable enclosure cards. Use Animal Support & Updates for questions and progress photos.

Leachianus gecko hatchling beginning to emerge from a split egg. — A baby just pipped. If you look closely, you can even see the egg tooth.

Pangea gecko diet packages including Growth and Breeding, With Insects, and Fig and Insects. — When feeding babies a diverse diet, we noticed that some would start skipping certain flavors and waiting for their favorites to come back through the rotation. We now feed our babies primarily only two flavors. Fig & Insects, and Fruit Mix with Insects. Both of these are served mixed 50/50 with Growth & Breeding with insects.

Blender cup containing fruit and other food ingredients before mixing. — We often like to “flavor it up” and add in fresh or frozen fruits, green tea, Kefir, Greek Yogurt, or even some Kombucha to our diets. Our favorites are ripe bananas, papaya, frozen wild blueberries and mango. We feel it is important to include fresh and even slightly over ripened fruits to the diet as they contain living beneficial bacteria and probiotics. Sometimes we will even add in multi-floral honey. It is important to note that these additions replace the liquid portion of the diet and the same amount of powdered diet is used.

Prepared gecko food in a blender cup beside diet packages. — Consistency should be smooth and almost an applesauce thickness. It will thicken a little more over the next several minutes.

Small feeding cup containing a portion of prepared gecko food. — Babies don’t eat much. I like to imagine that their stomachs are half the size of their heads. No need to supply more than they can eat. I supply new food three times a week.

Gecko tub with paper-towel flooring, cork bark, and a feeding cup. — A typical setup for a hatchling leachianus. Very similar to how we setup other New Caledonian geckos.

Young leachianus gecko resting on a piece of wood. — A baby leachianus about a month old. The clutch mate is shown below.

Leachianus gecko photographed from above on cork bark. — There seems to be a fair amount of diversity in colors even between clutch mates.

Large leachianus gecko resting across a keeper’s forearm and hand. — Jami holding a Moro Island (E) Leachianus male.

Leachianus terrarium furnished with large upright cork-bark sections and plants. — How we house our leachianus pairs. A 36x18x36 front opening exoterra with several large pieces of cork.

Gargoyle gecko standing on a digital scale during a weight check. — As allergy sufferers we saw an improvement in our own quality of life when we started using air purifiers in our home. At the beginning of 2024 we implemented medical grade air purification in every room of our breeding facility.