A great way to examine a leopard gecko’s health is by observing its sleeping habits. If your gecko is sleeping more than 12 hours or from dawn to dusk, it’s probably a sign that something is wrong with them. But why do leopard geckos sleep so much?
Lethargy and oversleeping in leopard geckos is mainly a sign of stress, overfeeding, sickness, improper tank conditions, and more. So, the best way to address their sleeping issues is by enhancing their environment and providing a healthy diet. If unsure of why your leopard gecko is oversleeping, consult your vet.
We have compiled the 9 common reasons why your leopard gecko might be sleeping longer than usual and the cause of their lethargy.
1. Overfeeding
Like humans, leopard geckos are lethargic after overeating. That’s why you should not feed your gecko more than once a day. Besides, you should not feed them too many worms in a sitting as it can make the leopard gecko more lethargic than usual.
2. Improper Diet
If the leopard’s gecko diet is low-quality and less nutritious, it can cause lethargy and fatigue, making it sleep longer. To ensure this does not happen, provide feeder insects that are gut loaded with nutrients like calcium and vitamins.
Remember to dust the insects with pure calcium powder to prevent illnesses like Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD).
3. Improper Tank Temperatures
When a leopard gecko’s tank is too cold or hot, they tend to sleep more to cope. Remember, geckos are exothermic, which means they rely on external heat sources. Low temperatures are known to slow down the metabolism, affecting their mobility.
This can easily trigger brumation. Improper temperature for extended periods can lead to dormancy.
4. Improper Lighting Hours
Like most animals, leopard geckos depend on the light to know when it’s sleeping and at night time. In the wild, the light from the sun acts as their guide to sleeping.
So, if you leave the lights on in the tank all day, they will keep sleeping, hoping it’s still daytime. Ensure the leopard gecko gets 12 hours of light, and the other 12 should be darkness. Use a timer to ensure this switch and prevent sleeping issues.
To avoid having any lights at night that can make them sleep, you should turn them off. This includes turning off everything from LED lights, lamps, night lights, and all other lights.
If you stay with them in your room, you may need to sleep in the dark or take them to a different room. Still, ensure no light reaches the cage because geckos have amazing eyesight.
5. Stress
Just like humans, we want to sleep when stressed. It can particularly make geckos lethargic and sleep a lot. Fortunately, if you can determine the stressor (e.g., another pet), they’ll return to normal.
Common stressors of leopard geckos are lack of food, sudden and loud noises, inadequate food, or the presence of other animals in the tank.
6. Parasites
When a leopard gecko is infested with parasites, it can suffer from reduced appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, and weight loss. They are even likely to sleep more than usual. How long these symptoms persist will depend on the severity of the infestation.
More parasites mean the symptoms will be severe and linger longer. A few parasites may not lead to any symptoms, and your gecko’s immune system may even wipe them out.
To know the extent of the parasite problem in your leopard gecko, you should visit the vet, who can take the poop sample and test for parasites.
Deadlier parasites like Crypto can take longer to clear, even in low numbers. The parasite is associated with reduced appetite and weight loss.
7. It’s Normal Sometimes
It’s normal to catch your crepuscular gecko sleeping most of the night. This is common in captivity because they don’t have to be as active and alert as they do in the wild, where there are numerous predators.
In captivity, everything has been provided for them; they don’t have to hunt for food or worry about being attacked. As a result, they might prefer to chill a bit more than they normally would.
So, if sleeping happens occasionally, there’s nothing to worry about. Even we as humans might prefer to take naps during the day.
8. They Are Not Actually Sleeping
Sometimes the leopard gecko may appear to be sleeping, but there’s a possibility they are just resting, even at night.
Just because you glanced into their tank before bed and saw them catching sleep does not mean they are asleep throughout.
9. Diseases
A variety of diseases can cause lethargy in leopard geckos. Since they weaken their immunity, they sleep more to recover. Common illnesses that can affect leopard geckos:
10. Metabolic Bone Disease
Commonly known as MBD, this disease results from inadequate calcium in the body. Common symptoms of MBD and leopard geckos include crooked legs, immobility, tiredness, and general body weakness.
Apart from a lack of enough calcium, metabolic bone disease is also caused by too much phosphorous in their diet. To avoid it, ensure you gut-load your insect and dust them with calcium and vitamin D3.
If this disease is addressed at an early stage, it’s possible for your ailing gecko to recover.
11. Mouth Rot
Also known as stomatitis, this is a bacterial infection that attacks the mouth and may cause excruciating pain. There are many causes of mouth rot, but it’s mostly caused by stress brought about by inaccurate tank humidity levels, poor hygiene and nutrition, and poor immunity.
Also, two leopard geckos fighting may lead to mouth injuries that make way for bacterial infection. Try to keep the tank clean, meet their temperature requirements and provide a nutritious diet to reduce the likelihood of mouth rot.
12. Impaction
This is not an illness but one of the health problems that leopard geckos are susceptible to. It occurs when the leopard gecko ingests a foreign body, like small rocks, big insects, and such, which causes obstruction in the digestion system.
Common symptoms of impaction include a lack of appetite, a puffy stomach, and lethargy. If your gecko suffers impaction, try offering three to four drops of olive oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum jelly.
13. Respiratory Infections
Respiratory infections in leopard geckos occur due to bacterial agents, low temperature, and high humidity in their habitat. Affected geckos will have bubbly breathing, wheezing, lethargy, and weight loss.
Washing their nose with some chamomile does magic, but you also have to adjust the temperature and humidity levels in the tank.
14. Egg Binding
This happens when female leopard geckos can’t pass the eggs. Geckos with egg binding act depressed and sleepy and may show poor appetite. If not addressed immediately, dystocia can lead to the death of leopard geckos.
It’s caused by a lack of adequate calcium to assist in the contraction of smooth muscles that propel and push the eggs.
15. Prolapse
Another serious condition in leopard geckos is prolapse, where an organ or tissue slips out of the vent. This can be caused by impaction, improper sexing, or trauma, but low humidity increases the risk of developing prolapsing in leopard geckos.
16. Parasites
Parasites breeding and feeding inside the body of a leopard gecko can weaken him. Left to stay long enough, the gecko will lose weight, suffer stunted growth and have low immunity.
Increased emphasis on hygiene ends the parasite problem within a few weeks. Also, the vet may prescribe a worming medicine to kill any parasites.
Why Do Leopard Geckos Sleep During the Day?
Well, the native locations of wild leopard geckos, the desert of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Due to the extreme temperatures in these regions, sometimes getting as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit or even more, it becomes hard for these reptiles to be active in the daytime.
So instead, leopard geckos choose to hide during the day and sleep until the temperature lower during sunset.
That said, don’t be surprised to see bearded dragons in captivity sleeping during the day, as this is attributed to their native environment.
Besides, your pet gecko may not clearly distinguish its tank from its natural habitat because it’s uniquely designed to resemble its natural environment.
One more thing to keep in mind is that leopard geckos do not digest their food properly during the day because of the high temperatures, nor do they replenish their fat reservoirs.
This explains why you’ll notice your gecko eating at night because they’re most active at this time.
Why Does My Leopard Gecko Sleep Too Little?
The following issues can make your leopard gecko sleep less than the required 12 hours-these issues can as well make your pet sleep too much.
- Improper lighting hours-geckos will stay awake longer than usual if the lights in their aquarium are kept off for 12 hours
- Improper tank temperatures
- Stress-for instance placing your gecko’s aquarium in a noisy room can make him too skittish to fall asleep.
- Diseases-Illnesses such as gout and metabolic bone disease can cause restlessness to your gecko, making him experience trouble sleeping
- Parasites-Just like diseases, some parasites can also make your leopard gecko restless
Conclusion
On normal schedules, your leopard gecko should sleep for about 12 hours. However, how you feed and house them will determine whether they adopt a healthy sleeping pattern.
Sometimes they may deviate from their daytime sleep or active nighttime routine, but you don’t have to worry if it’s occasional.
However, if they seem to oversleep, you can try to address the cause, as we have highlighted above. Ensure you keep lights on half a day and off for the night.
Also, ensure the temperature is adequate to keep their metabolism running. If unsure, consult your vet.