A leopard gecko should come home to a warm floor, three good hiding places, and an evening of peace. Tip the tub gently so the gecko can walk out onto the substrate, let it make its slow, deliberate way into the warm hide, and dim the room. This gecko is a dusk-active ground hunter from dry, rocky country, and it will do its exploring after dark, so the first day looking empty is the plan working, not failing.
Three hides and plain paper: a leopard gecko's first setup
A leopard gecko needs a hide over the warm end of its floor heat, a hide at the cool end, and a humid hide lined with damp paper or moss where it can loosen a shed. Keep the heated area controlled by a thermostat, because this species regulates by moving between floor temperatures and an unregulated hot spot can burn a resting gecko. For the first few weeks, plain paper towel beats loose substrate: you can spot the white urate and dark droppings that prove the gecko is eating, and a new arrival cannot accidentally swallow flooring while lunging at insects. Add a shallow water dish and low, rough surfaces it can rub against when a shed starts.
First insects for a leopard gecko in a new home
A leopard gecko usually hunts within the first few evenings if the floor is warm enough. Offer a few live insects, such as small crickets or roach nymphs, in the early evening, dusted lightly, and remove any that remain by morning so they do not harass the gecko. A fat tail is this species' fuel tank, so a healthy adult that skips the first night or two is spending reserves, not starving, and should be left to its own timetable. Note which insect it takes most keenly and how many, because that preference note will guide the rotation of feeder insects you build over the first month.
Handling a leopard gecko that is still learning your hands
A leopard gecko should not be scooped up during its first settling days, and never grabbed from above or by the tail. This gecko can shed its tail when seized, and although the tail regrows, it regrows shorter and plainer, so the tail is a reason for technique, not a handle. Start contact by resting a flat hand on the enclosure floor and letting the gecko walk across it while hunting, then progress to slow lifts from underneath, low over a lap. Sessions that end with the gecko calm teach faster than long sessions that end with it scrambling, and a gecko that approaches the glass at dusk expecting food has fully accepted the household.
What to watch in a leopard gecko's first month
A leopard gecko that is settling will shed in private, eat the shed skin, and leave regular droppings in one chosen corner. Watch for shed skin clinging to the toes, which can tighten and cost a toe if it builds up over several sheds, and help with a shallow lukewarm soak and a gentle rub; if toes look swollen or discoloured, a reptile vet should see them. A gecko that will not eat for several weeks, has a thinning tail, runny droppings, or stays in the cool end despite a correct warm end also needs a vet visit. Logging meals, sheds, and that chosen toilet corner in KinsLe Family Sharing keeps this gecko's quiet progress visible to everyone helping with its care.