Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I lost my two normal colored females Leopard geckos after ten years in my care I hand feed them every day can anyone tell me if this is the normal life span for Leopard geckos
I keep each one in a ten gallon aquariums day time temps 78% with 86 % basking spot
But the book I was reading recently says 15 years old is common for Leopard geckos
Did I make some mistake in caring for my two Leopard Geckos
I just acquired 1.3 bell sunglow Leopard geckos and I can’t help but say this I love there personalities each one has proven to be very different and fun to work with

Brian
1.3 bell sunglow leopard Geckos
1.3 House Snakes
1.0.0 Southern Copperhead
1.0.0 Yellow Ratsanke
1.0.0 Readtail Boa
1.0.0 Red-eared Slider 6”

Sorry to hear about your loss. 10 years does sound a bit on the short side; the record is something like 28 years if I'm not mistaken, and 15-20 is what I've been led to expect as average. I assume they were babies or juveniles when you got them?

It sounds like your setup was basically right, though I wonder about every day feeding of adult geckos. Mine only gets food every third day, and she slowly gained weight up to the 75 grams and almost 10 inches long she's at now doing that. (When she reached 9 inches and 55 or so grams, her appetite slowed way down from her downright ravenous days as a juvenile, first going to every other, and eventually to every third day feedings.) I'm actually fairly certain that she wouldn't eat every day even if I offered food that frequently.

I'm not sure what, if any, negative effects would be seen from long-term overfeeding (if that's even what happened - please take this post as exploratory and speculative rather than accusatory), but it could understand if it was cited as a contributing factor in some way.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

They where about 4” long when I adopt them because the former owner did not have the time to care for them and she hand feed them every day that’s why I followed her advise don’t worry your point was well taken I posted this because I love all my reptiles and I want my sunglow Leopard Gecko to live a long happy life.

Brian

4" long are juvies; not only is it appropriate to feed them every day, they need it in order to grow properly. I'm just surprised that sometime around when they reached adult size (8-10 inches), they didn't display a bit less appetite.

Anyway, with your new guys, if you want to be 100% sure you're doing the right stuff, you could post in detail regarding their housing, temperature, food, etc, and we'll all be happy to make sure you've got it all right and advise on any changes that might be necessary.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

I am sorry for your lost, having lost one of my own to sickness I know what a big hole there is in your life without those wonderful personalities.

I totally agree with Olstyn, post a description of your set up and we can give you some pointers. Some here might argue 86F in the daytime might be a bit low if you are feeding harder to digest prey like mealworms. Did you have a UTH for belly heat at night?

10 years is a little young for them to pass, but it also may not having anything to do with your care, but simply their genetics. Do post your setup, what you feed, and how you care for your feeding prey.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I used a under the tank heat pad with a Thermostat and a Ceramic Heat Emitters with a Thermostat for the basking spot the cage was 78 F with the basking area at 86 F I used newspaper as a substrate and changed the water dish every day please note the water dish always had fresh water in it every day I feed regular mealworms and twice a week I would feed mealworms dusted with calcium powder

Brian

Well, one thing I would suggest would be to switch to a dusting formula with trace minerals in it, a complete diet such as T-Rex Leopard Gecko Dust or something similar, which can be dusted every day in addition to a dish of pure calcium only available all the time. I'm also a big fan of UV light and a light cycle, but opinions on that vary, it is just in my experience that my geckos do better with near full spectrum lighting.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I am happy to report that my bell sunglow leopard geckos have a calcium dish and receive T-Rex Leopard Gecko Dust with every feeding

Brian
1.3 bell sunglow leopard Geckos
1.3 House Snakes
1 Southern Copperhead
1 Yellow Ratsanke
1 Readtail Boa
1 Red-eared Slider 6”