This is an unusual pet that is a favorite of many terrorists. Spotted (leopard) eublefar - one of the representatives of a large family of geckos.
Connoisseurs in a narrow circle call him "leopard" for his spotted color. It's funny, but this lizard even drinks water like a cat - laps its tongue. Eublefar spotted is popular not only for its extraordinary appearance, but also for its unpretentiousness - even a child can take care of a gecko.
Two subspecies of eublefar are known - Afghan and typical.
Distribution
This cute gecko (spotted eublefar) comes from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan. He lives on the slopes of low mountains, in dry steppes.
The life expectancy of such a lizard in natural conditions is no more than 10 years, and in captivity it can live up to 30 years.
Lifestyle
Spotted gecko, whose photo you can see in our article, prefers to lead a twilight or nocturnal lifestyle. During the daytime, he takes refuge in the rocks.
Its diet consists of arthropods, their larvae, various insects, newborn mice, smaller lizards. It often happens that geckos eat andown youngster. The spotted eublefar is social, settles in groups. They consist of several females and one male. Males protect their territory and drive their relatives away from it.
External Features
It is interesting that a spotted eublefar kept in captivity may look different from its counterpart living in natural conditions. Experts say that this is a consequence of gecko selection.
The main difference between eublefar and other lizards is spotted color. These animals are small. Their body length does not exceed 20 cm. Rarely, but there are also larger individuals (up to 30 cm).
Eublefar spotted has a thick massive tail in which it naturally stores moisture and nutrients. The lizard is able to easily discard it, then it grows back, but already narrower and shorter.
The head of this gecko is large and has a triangular shape. The body is covered with small scales, among which there are pimply ones. Paws are thin, with five fingers. The eyes are bulging, elongated, slightly reminiscent of a cat in shape.
Color
Under natural conditions, the body of this lizard is colored yellowish-gray with dark spots. There is a pattern on the tail. Usually these are transverse rings.
When kept in captivity, the color is different. This is due to selection work. Today, more than a hundred varieties of color have been registered.
Eublefar spotted: maintenance, nutrition
This gecko is quite unpretentious. Therefore, its content is not difficult. In food, these harmless and even cute-looking lizards can show a real predatory instinct, because in nature they prey on insects. They can be given crickets, cockroaches, grasshoppers, mice, so that eublefar satisfy their hunter instinct.
The gecko is fed once a day. After three months, you can switch to once every two days. Within a few days, the gecko may refuse food, but this should not bother the owner, since he has a supply of nutrients in his tail. Calcium powder must sometimes be added to the feed.
Spotted eublefar needs a small terrarium, for one or two animals a 50 × 40 × 30 cm dwelling is suitable. Sand should not be used for soil, as the lizard can swallow it with food. It is preferable to use small pebbles, pebbles.
Eublefar spotted needs heating. For him, the optimum temperature during the day is 31 ° C, at night - 27 ° C. The most important thing is not to let the temperature drop sharply. In this case, your pet may lose its appetite. It is desirable to constantly maintain air humidity of 40-45%. To do this, spray the terrarium from time to time.
Since geckos are twilight animals, they do not need illumination. You can install a mirror lamp with a power of no more than 25-40 W, which will simulate solar heating, but only at one point in the terrarium. Solar radiation is necessary for animals to synthesize vitamin D3. You can purchase a special lamp for reptiles that emits ultraviolet light.
However, there is an opinion of experts that by providing the lizard with bottom heating and adding the necessary vitamins and minerals to its food, UV can be dispensed with. Today, there are many vitamin complexes with vitamin D3 designed for leopard geckos.
The use of ultraviolet light is indicated for medicinal purposes. For example, with developing rickets in a reptile, when vitamin D3 is poorly absorbed, and to stimulate reproduction. In the case of Eublefar rickets, it is enough to irradiate 10 minutes a day, and to stimulate reproduction, it is necessary to regulate daylight hours, changing it upwards. The longer the day, the more actively the lizards mate, so in this case, the length of daylight hours can be brought up to 12 hours.
Winter sleep
Today spotted eublefar is so domesticated that it does not have an urgent need for wintering, for the same reason it does not hibernate. Wintering is needed to stimulate reproduction (activity in the male). Therefore, if you do not breed these lizards, then do not strive to ensure that they will certainly hibernate.
It must be remembered that only a he althy, well-fed animal endures wintering without problems. At home, it is enough to lower the temperature very smoothly, reducing the heating time. You should reduce the length of daylight hours to 8 hours. These changes in the gecko's life should last at least two months. At the peak of wintering, the average temperature should be +18 … +22 °С.
Accordingly,the gecko's nutrition should also be gradually reduced. The rest period is about two months. Then a gradual exit from this state is carried out in the reverse order. Don't forget vitamins and minerals.
Under natural conditions, the mating season begins in the middle of winter in gecko leopards, which subsides by the end of May. At home, you can maintain the same regimen, but this is not necessary.
Reproduction
Spotted eublefar reaches puberty by 12 months. They begin to breed immediately after hibernation. And eggs are laid 3 weeks after mating. As a rule, there are 1-2 eggs in one clutch. There can be up to 10 clutches per year.
The incubation period depends on the air temperature in the terrarium. Cubs appear after 40-65 days, provided that the temperature is controlled. The sex of the cubs largely depends on it. At temperatures below 26 ° C, females hatch, and at temperatures above 31.5 ° C, males are born. In nature, cubs appear no earlier than 100 days later. They weigh 2-3 grams, the length of newborn geckos is 80-85 mm. They are brownish in color with light stripes. By eight months, they become colored in the same way as adults.
