As we know that leopard gecko are small lizards from the family of reptiles, which makes them popular among the humans and that is why they are preferred as pets as they are also easy to handle and are low maintenance in nature.
Even the children can handle them without much problem, but as owners we are also quite curios to know about their age and that is why we will discuss about how old is our leopard gecko and we will treat them and give them food and even the medical treatment according to their age.so knowing the age of the leopard gecko is also a must.
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How Old Is My Leopard Gecko?
To find the age of the leopard gecko it has been always challenging as we cannot tell about the precise age of the leopard gecko very easily. So there are few ways in which we can estimate the age of the leopard gecko and those few methods are given as follows:-
By finding age with the help of length
You can determine the age easily by measuring the length of the leopard gecko. But this method is not applicable after the leopard gecko has completed 18 months, as after this the leopard gecko are fully grown and you cannot tell their exactly at this point just by measuring their length. They do grow after 18 months too but the growth is too less that you cannot find much difference in their length as compared to other reptiles.
The way the length is related with age is given as below:-
- At birth the length of males is 3” and the length of females is 3”.
- At the age of 1 month the length of males is 4” and the length of females is 4”.
- At the age of 3 months the length of males is 5” and the length of females is 5”.
- At the age of 6 months the length of males is 6” and the length of females is 5”to 6”.
- At the age of 9 months the length of males is 7” and the length of females is 6”.
- At the age of 12 months the length of males is 8” and the length of females is 7”.
- At the age of 18 months the length of males is 10” to 12” and the length of females is 8” to 10”.
*Where (”) depicts the inches.
By this we can predict the age of the leopard gecko by measuring its length respectively. You can determine the age easily in this manner but after certain age you i.e. 18 months you cannot depict the age of the leopard gecko because it does not grow significantly after this age.
You have to measure your leopard gecko from nose to the base of the tail in order to get the appropriate length of the leopard gecko.
By finding age with the help of weight
This is another method of finding the age of the leopard gecko. You have to just weigh the leopard gecko and you can find an approximate age of your leopard gecko. But as finding the age with length this also is applicable to certain age only and that is up to 18 months after this age there is no significance of this method also.
There are other drawbacks also regarding this method like female leopard gecko are underweight after laying eggs and while going through the shedding process both males and females leopard gecko lose their weight as they lose their appetite during this time period.
Also some leopard gecko do overeating, which makes them obese and that can happen at any age and if the leopard gecko gets sick then they can lose weight. So this method of finding age with weight is not so reliable.
The way weight is related with the age is given as follows.
- At birth the weight of males is 2 to 5 grams and the weight of females is 2 to 5 grams.
- At the age of 1 month the weight of males is 10 to 20 grams and the weight of females is 10 to 20 grams.
- At the age of 3 month the weight of males is 20 to 30 grams and the weight of females is 20 to 30 grams.
- At the age of 6 months the weight of males is 30 to 40 grams and the weight of females is 30 to 40 grams.
- At the age of 9 months the weight of males is 40 to 50 grams and the weight of females is 35 to 45 grams.
- At the age of 12 months the weight of males is 55 to 65 grams and the weight of females is 40 to 50 grams.
- At the age of 18 months the weight of males is 60 to 80 grams and the weight of females is 50 to 70 grams.
The weight method is not much reliable so it is not much preferred by people. But still it is an easy method so people go for this.
Colours and Patterns
The colours and patterns that are on the leopard gecko can also tell us about the age of the leopard gecko. The leopard gecko who is adult have spotted bands, rather than full bands around the body of a leopard gecko. If there are no spots on the body of leopard gecko that means he is under a year old.
When they grow from birth to their adulthood they grow from rich and bright colour. After that they will reach their adulthood the colour starts fading off.
This is how colour and patterns depicts the age of the leopard gecko. It is an approximation method by which one can depict the age of the leopard gecko.
From the owner
When you buy the leopard gecko from the pet store they will know the exact age of the leopard gecko. As they have been with them from the point of birth they would know the exact age and this method is the confirmed method.
You will know about the exact age of the leopard gecko and that is why it is most preferred by everyone.
These are the various methods by which you can find the age of your leopard gecko, some methods give the exact values of age and some give them approximate values of age. So depending upon the most easily possible method you can choose from.
Summary
The leopard gecko are small reptiles that are cute little pets, so as an owner you should know about the age of your leopard gecko. To find the age of the leopard gecko it is not an easy task and there are various methods to find the age.
The leopard geckos is an amazing pet to have around and you should enjoy their company and understand them.
The methods that can tell the age of the leopard gecko are mostly based on approximation, so it does not give the exact age of the leopard gecko. You should enjoy every moment spent with your leopard gecko and it will also help you in building a strong bond with them which will be beneficial for both of you.
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