Leopard gecko

The leopard gecko is a small, friendly-looking lizard covered in dark spots, a bit like a leopard's coat. It lives in the dry, rocky grasslands and deserts of countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north-west India. Grown-up geckos are only about as long as a pencil, from around eighteen to twenty-eight centimetres, with a plump, spotty tail.

This gecko comes out mostly in the evening and at night, when the desert is cool. During the hot day it hides away in rocky cracks and burrows to stay safe and out of the sun. When winter turns cold, leopard geckos rest underground in a long, sleepy time and live off the fat stored in their bodies.

One of the most special things about a leopard gecko is its fat tail. It stores food inside the tail, so if there are no insects to eat for a while, the gecko can still keep going. When it hunts, it may wiggle its tail from side to side before it pounces on a tasty bug.

Leopard geckos have a clever trick to escape danger. If a predator grabs the tail, the gecko can let the tail drop right off and wriggle away to safety. Later a new tail slowly grows back, though it usually looks a little shorter and stumpier than before. Unlike many geckos, they also have eyelids that move, so they can blink and shut their eyes to sleep.

Reference sources list leopard geckos as "least concern," which means they are not thought to be in global danger right now, though the exact assessment details still need a fresh check. Even so, wild ones can be harmed when their dry homelands are cleared or when too many are taken to be sold as pets, so it is kind to leave wild geckos where they belong and choose captive-bred pets.