Floor Heat Comes First in Any Leopard Gecko Plan
A holiday care plan for a leopard gecko starts at ground level, because this gecko warms its belly on heated floor rather than basking under a lamp. State the temperature the floor inside the warm hide should read, the cooler temperature at the far end, and the thermostat setting that holds them. The plan must say exactly where the thermostat probe and thermometer sit — fixed over the heat mat where the gecko actually lies — because a probe knocked loose during cleaning can let the mat run hot while the display looks calm. Tell the sitter to read the floor temperature with the infrared thermometer if you use one, and to message you about any reading that stays outside your stated range rather than adjusting equipment by guesswork.
Three Hides, Three Jobs, and the Sitter Needs to Know Each
A leopard gecko's enclosure holds a warm hide, a cool hide, and a moist hide, and the holiday plan should explain what each is for so none gets tidied away or left dry. The moist hide matters most on a checklist: its damp paper towel or moss lining is what lets the gecko loosen shed skin, and it needs re-wetting whenever it dries out. The plan should name which hide the gecko usually sleeps in, so a sitter who lifts the wrong one at midday is not alarmed to find it empty. Ask for a quick look at the toes and tail tip whenever the gecko is out in the evening, because retained shed builds up on leopard gecko toes quietly and is far easier to flag early in a photo to you than to fix later.
Live Insects, Counted and Dusted, on Named Nights
Feeding a leopard gecko on holiday means live insects, so the plan has to remove every judgement call. Name the insects your gecko takes — crickets, roaches, or worms from your usual supply — the number to offer per feed, and the evenings feeding happens. Explain gut-loading in one line: the feeder insects eat their own supplied food before they become dinner. Explain dusting the same way you explained it for any powdered routine: insects shaken lightly in calcium powder before serving, with vitamins on the nights you mark. The shallow dish of plain calcium that lives in the enclosure stays topped up, the water bowl gets washed and refilled daily, and any uneaten crickets come out the next morning so they cannot nibble at a sleeping gecko.
Cleaning and Quiet: This Gecko's Holiday Runs at Night
A leopard gecko holiday plan should set the rhythm of visits in the evening, when this nocturnal hunter is awake and a check actually tells the sitter something. Spot-cleaning means lifting droppings from the gecko's usual toilet corner — leopard geckos reliably choose one — and replacing soiled paper or substrate patches, not a full enclosure strip-down in your absence. Handling stays minimal: no waking the gecko for a cuddle, no chasing it around the enclosure for a health check that a torch-lit look through the glass can do. The watch-outs to write down are specific: a gecko off its food with a thinning tail, white or grey patches of stuck shed that survive a night in the moist hide, or a swollen belly with no droppings — all are reasons to call your reptile vet, whose number belongs on the plan.
One Walkthrough at Dusk Makes the Plan Real
Before you travel, run one evening feed with the sitter present: probe placement, insect count, dusting, and the moist hide check all become obvious once seen. With KinsLe's Care Pass, whoever covers your trip can pull up the warm-hide temperatures, insect schedule, and moist-hide reminders on their phone each evening, without phoning you for details you already wrote down.