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Pet owners of leopard geckos need to care for their reptiles to keep them healthy. One of the major challenges owners face is how to manage poops of their pets. That’s why you’re more likely to hear the question – how often do leopard geckos poop?
How many times a leopard gecko poops every day depends on their age, diet, food consumed and other factors. But on average, adult leopard geckos tend to poop once in a day or two. However, juvenile and baby dragons tend to poop more than twice every day.
The number of times a leopard gecko poops depends on more than their digestive cycle or age. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at everything leopard gecko poop. If you have a gecko that doesn’t poop, info in this post points out why it may be happening. And if you need information on signs why your gecko may not be pooping, there’s helpful info right here.
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Does Leopard Gecko Poop Smell?
Poop from leopard geckos doesn’t smell at first, but poor hygiene practices may make it develop bad odors. It is important to check at regular intervals if your gecko has released any droppings in the tank. Clean up after it frequently and you won’t have to worry about any offensive smells.
How Often Do Leopard Geckos Poop: Averages Based on Age
There’s no telling how many times leopard geckos will have to poop on a daily or weekly basis. Other factors could change the frequency of your leopard geckos’ poop. But you can take cues of how often do leopard geckos poop from the table below:
| Average number of poops per day | Frequency of poops with a regular diet | |
| Baby | At least 2 times per day | Regular |
| Juvenile | At least 3 times per day | High |
| Adult | At least 1 time every two days | Low |
On average, juvenile geckos tend to poo more than baby or adults. If their diet remains standard, these reptiles could poop along this range.
Put other factors into consideration before relying on this chart. If your gecko tends to eat more, then there’s a high chance it will poop more frequently, it’s age regardless. But if your gecko doesn’t eat much, it may poop less than expected.
Reasons Why Your Leopard Gecko May Not Be Pooping
Here’s a look at why your leopard gecko may find pooping difficult:
Digestive cycle
Leopard geckos have dynamic digestive systems that may influence how frequent they need to poop. While some may poop regularly, it may take others a day or two to need to go really bad.
Diet
The wrong meals could make it hard for your leopard gecko to poop. Leopard geckos typically survive on mealworms when they’re young and superworms as they get older. However, you can also feed your leo a variety of other foods such as fruits and veggies.
Temperature changes
Leopard geckos need underbelly heat (in their natural habitat) to help smooth digestion. If the temperature underneath a leopard gecko isn’t sufficient, it won’t poop. For this, you’ll need a heating pad and thermostat that will go underneath its enclosure. Set the thermostat to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep in mind, if you’re currently using a heating bulb on the top of your enclosure, you may want to switch to a heating pad since they’re more effective at helping the digestion process.
Impaction
Blockages in the digestive system of leopard geckos discourage pooping. This, typically known as impaction, is a serious health issue that can result in death. There are many cases of leopard geckos ingesting their substrate and as a result, dying from the inability to pass it through their digestive tract.
Dehydration
Inadequate moisture in a leopard gecko’s system discourages proper digestion and excretion. The first signs of dehydration before it affects geckos poop are:
- No urates on poop
- Sunken eyes
- Wrinkled hide
If you notice any of these, hydrate your leopard gecko with regular water supply.
What to Look Out For If Your Leopard Geckos Don’t Poop
Check for these if your geckos don’t take a poop when they need to:
Get tank temperature readings – Should be within 75°F – 90°F (24°C – 32°C). If you don’t have one already, you should consider buying a thermostat that will allow you to control the exact temperature of your leopard geckos warm hide. This is extremely crucial as temperatures that are too low could prevent proper digestion. Furthermore, temperatures that are too high could lead to burns and even death.
Make sure your gecko doesn’t experience stress – Geckos shouldn’t look swollen or find difficulty moving
Check substrate – Some geckos can ingest small-sized substrate. Be sure to check out our list of substrates we recommend.
FAQs
Do geckos poop?
Feces from geckos are usually brown in color and have a white substance called urate on top of it. Urates on geckos poop serve as the reptiles’ pee since they can’t urinate.
How do I know if my leopard gecko is impacted?
Signs that your leopard gecko is suffering from impaction
- Bloated appearance
- Swollen belly
- Loss of appetite
- Inability to fart
Where do leopard geckos go to the bathroom?
Some vivarium designs have an enclosed space on the corner that serves as a bathroom for reptiles. Potty-trained geckos can use this space and make life easy for their owners. Such enclosed spaces usually have a receptacle to support easy disposal of feces and tank maintenance.
How do you get rid of gecko poop?
Ways to get rid of gecko droppings (poop)
- Remove them with a vacuum cleaner that has HEPA filtration to reduce spread of allergens
- Wipe the dung off with clothing without touching it. Spot clean surface with disinfectant after removal
- Remove dung with tissue paper. Wipe surface with clean cloth and soap water, and sprinkle baking soda on surface before cleaning
Final Thoughts: How Often Do Leopard Geckos Poop?
How often doesn’t a leopard gecko poop? The frequency of leopard gecko poop depends on several factors. Some of the most common factors are age, health status, and diet. The digestive cycle of your leopard gecko could also influence how many times it poops.
If you don’t feed your leopard gecko with the right amount of food, it may not poop at all. But if you give your leopard gecko excess food, it’s more likely that it’ll poop frequently. Besides checking out the poop frequency of your leopard gecko, proper maintenance is a must.
Ensure your leopard gecko’s tank gets thorough cleaning at regular intervals (2 – 3days recommended). Clean up your leopard geckos tank and make sure to disinfect with a non-toxic terrarium cleaner. Spot cleaning spots where your leopard gecko pooped is also very important. Maintaining the tank prevents your gecko from having odors and keeps it healthy.