In our previous post, we discussed lighting, heating and humidity setups in leopard gecko’s habitat. In this post, we will talk about leopard gecko’s furniture and accessories and how to design its vivarium correctly. We will talk about leopard gecko terrarium hides, shedding boxes, plants, rocks, branches, hammock and other accessories.
Let’s start this post with the picture of a good terrarium setup for a leopard gecko. This illustration shows what you need to include in a leopard gecko’s habitat – including lights, feeding bowls and other accessories. Some accessories might differ or you might include some additional accessories, for example basking rocks.
Leopard gecko hides
Including hides in leopard gecko’s tank is a must. Leopard geckos use hides to shelter from heat and bright light. When it gets too hot in the vivarium, it can run to the hide to keep its body temperature optimal. Your leopard gecko will also use hides for sleeping and hiding in stressful situations.
What makes a good hide for a leopard gecko and how many of them do you need?
A good hideout should have an entrance/exit that your leopard gecko can fit in. It should also have enough space for the gecko to lay and relax. 
You will need to place two hideouts in leopard gecko’s terrarium.
Place one hideout near lights in a basking spot, so that your leopard gecko can hide there to digest food or to warm up, just like in the wild. Another hideout should be in a cool spot, and your gecko will hide there from the heat to cool down.
You can buy a hide box that resembles rocks or caves, or make one of your own. You can use empty plant pots, plastic boxes with a hole, pieces of bark and so on.
Some commercial hides also have steps on the top to act as a ramp or a climbing ladder to the basking site. Here are few examples of hides that you can buy for your leopard gecko:
- A classic naturalistic cave like this for a warm or cool hideout. A medium – extra large will be perfect size for a leopard gecko.
- A rock den cave – your leopard gecko can hide in there and then
lay on top of it for basking. Can be good for a cool hideout. - Half-log – good for a cool hide.
- Reptile Den hideout with magnets – an exciting way to watch your leopard gecko when it’s hiding. One side of the hideout goes in the tank, and the other side is outside the tank. Whenever you want to watch your leopard gecko, you can remove the outside part that is supported with magnets.
- Dinosaur egg fossil ornaments – a three-piece fossil egg ornament for hiding and laying on top of it.
- A cave and a ladder hideout – your leopard gecko can hide under it and climb on top for playing and hunting.
A shedding box for your leopard gecko
Apart from warm and cool hides, you will need to provide your leopard gecko with a shedding hideout. You can combine a cool hideout and a shedding box if you don’t have much space in the tank.
But having a separate cool hide with normal humidity and one shedding box with increased humidity for shedding will be better.
A shedding hideout will be filled with moisture holding substrate to increase humidity. Your leopard gecko will use it to hide, cool down and to aid shedding.
You will also be able to spray some water in there to increase humidity. A shedding box is a very good way to increase a humidity in one spot only.
Use one of the hideouts that we recommended above (a T-Rex skull or classic cave will be best for that) and fill it with vermiculite, sphagnum moss or coir. Your leopard gecko will be going in there when shedding.
It is a good idea to keep a shedding box in the middle of the vivarium, as leopard geckos don’t like being cold.
Basking spot for your leopard gecko
Your leopard gecko will need heat to digest its food, so it will lay in a warm spot to heat its belly. The best way to help your leopard gecko with digestion is to have an under tank heater (UTH) like this in a warm spot of the tank. UTH will often be enough to heat your leopard gecko’s enclosure.
If more heat is needed, you can use an overhead ceramic heat emitting light bulb with tank bigger than 25-30 gallons (they can get hot otherwise).
Climbing rocks and branches for your leopard gecko
Apart from hiding places, your leopard gecko will also need to climb on something. As we have discussed, leopard geckos lack sticky toe pads that would allow them to climb smooth surfaces. So to help your leopard gecko have fun and exercise, you need to provide rocks and branches for it to climb.
Good climbing rocks:
- You can use a ledge and cave hideout that we mentioned above for hiding and climbing. It has a ladder that your gecko can use to climb and bask, and hide under it to cool down.
- Another great climbing decor is this naturalistic dense foam rock ledge that has magnets to stay on the glass.
Some ideas for climbing branches for leopard geckos:
Another naturalistic decorations for your leopard gecko’s tank are branches. Make sure branches are sturdy enough. If you are bringing any branches from the woods, soak it in a bleach solution (1 part bleach, 8 parts water) for 20 minutes, wash off thoroughly and dry before placing in the tank.
Also, remove any bark because many bugs and parasites hide in it. If you buy any wood online or from shops, make sure to bake it as well in an oven for 35-40 minutes at 250 degrees to kill any parasites. Don’t bake rocks, as they might explode – soak and wash them instead.
- A good choice for a climbing branch is a grapevine, such as this
Fluker’s medium sandblasted grapevine. It will fit a 20 gallon tank well, but don’t get this branch if you have a small tank. - A forest branch by Exo Terra – another grapevine. A small one fit with a 5-10 gallon terrarium, and the medium one will be suitable for a 15-20 gallon tank.
- A small driftwood branch – approximately 9-14 inches long for a medium branch. Will be sturdy and wide for a leopard gecko.
- Fig, oak, maple, fruit trees and dogwood are also good branch choices for leopard gecko’s terrarium.
- Avoid buying or collecting cedar, eucalyptus or pine wood or other conifers, as they are toxic to your leopard gecko.
- Make sure that branches or rocks are not sharp or have any sharp edges. Use a metallic file to smooth out any rough edges.
Plants for your leopard gecko’s terrarium
Plants will add to a naturalistic design in leopard gecko’s habitat. Your leopard gecko will enjoy hiding behind the leaves, too. You can choose between live and artificial plants for leopard gecko’s terrarium.
Live or fake plants for leopard gecko’s tank?
Live plants will look more pleasing and your leopard gecko shouldn’t bite on the leaves or eat them. But keeping live plants has its own disadvantages – you will need to place a full-spectrum fluorescent light for your live plants to grow.
You will also need to water the plants once a week. Watering plants can also increase air humidity in the tank. Fake plants will eliminate any light requirements and will not need watering.
Haworthia – one of the best plants for your leopard gecko’s terrarium
If you decide to choose live plants, make sure they are not toxic to your leopard gecko. Best live plants for leopard geckos are:
- Spider plants
- Snake plants
- Haworthia
- Dracaena
- Ponytail palm
- Philodendron
- Cacti without sharp spines
- Money tree
- Aloe
Best fake plants for a leopard gecko’s terrarium:
- Finger or Barrel cactus
- Boxwood
- Jade cactus
- Spider orchid
- Vine leaves to hang near a shedding box or cool hideout
A lounger/hammock for your leopard gecko
If you want an interesting addition, getting a lizard lounger might be a good idea. Your leopard gecko will also enjoy laying on the hammock for basking or sleeping.
This hammock has suction cups that you need to attach on the side glass. Make sure to place a small branch or rock for your leopard gecko to climb on the hammock.
When using it for the first time, watch your leopard gecko. You might need to adjust the suction cups few times before they stay strong on the glass.
Cleaning the glass before attaching the suction cups will help them stay on. You can place this hammock as high or as low as you want. If you are scared your leopard gecko might fall or won’t be able to climb out, attach it lower with a rock or branch directly underneath it.