African fat-tailed gecko
Hemitheconyx caudicinctus
Humid retreats, varied insects, juvenile care and the demands of repeated clutches.
Read the full guide →The YoGecko care atlas
Care from hatching onwards.
14 guides for UK keepers cover food, water, behaviour, growth, seasonal change and reproductive care, as well as the enclosure. Each guide links the sources behind its advice.
Choose a species
Start with the animal.
Browse lizards and snakes by type, then follow each guide from hatchling to adult. Every guide covers breeding and hatching, with a deeper incubation reference. Measurements use cm, °C and relative humidity.
01 / CARE ATLAS
Lizards
Geckos
Crested gecko
Correlophus ciliatus
Canopy space, prepared diet, insects, drinking, hatchlings and repeated laying.
Read the full guide →Dune geckos
Stenodactylus petrii / S. sthenodactylus
Two commonly confused Stenodactylus species, with different microhabitat clues and tiny hatchlings.
Read the full guide →Frog-eyed gecko
Teratoscincus scincus
Stable burrows, drinking choices, insect variety and careful egg and hatchling handling.
Read the full guide →Gargoyle gecko
Rhacodactylus auriculatus
Canopy space, drying cycles, complete diet, insects and individually raised hatchlings.
Read the full guide →Leopard gecko
Eublepharis macularius
From a new hatchling’s first feeds to adult body condition, sheds and seasonal slowdown.
Read the full guide →Pictus gecko
Paroedura picta
Warm cover, a humid refuge, small insects and the cost of repeated two-egg clutches.
Read the full guide →Agamids
Bearded dragon
Pogona vitticeps
Lighting, greens, insects, calcium, brumation and the demands of egg laying.
Read the full guide →Uromastyx
Uromastyx spp.
Species comparison, high-output UV and heat, plant nutrition, burrows and egg-laying care.
Read the full guide →Chameleons
Panther chameleon
Furcifer pardalis
A planted forest edge, measured light, nightly moisture and careful feeding for solitary climbers.
Read the full guide →Veiled chameleon
Chamaeleo calyptratus
A tall leafy home, bright measured light, cool nights and an early lay-site plan for females.
Read the full guide →02 / CARE ATLAS
Snakes
Colubrids
Corn snake
Pantherophis guttatus
Prey size and feeding frequency from hatchling to adult, with shedding, winter cooling and clutch preparation.
Read the full guide →Milksnakes
Lampropeltis triangulum / L. polyzona / L. abnorma / L. annulata
Eastern, Pueblan, Honduran and Mexican forms compared, with shared snake care and local differences.
Read the full guide →Pythons
Royal python
Python regius
Secure cover, prey and body condition, winter fasting, maternal brooding and hatchlings.
Read the full guide →The next generation
From lay site to first shed.
Egg care begins before laying. Our incubation field guide follows the female, egg box, egg-level measurements, hatching and the first feeds, with a species-by-species evidence table.
Read the incubation guideLighting review · 28 September 2026
Measure exposure where the animal lives.
UVB tube percentage is a product label. Actual UVI depends on the lamp, reflector, distance, mesh, age and the height the animal can reach.
What recent work says
A controlled 2020 leopard gecko study found higher circulating 25(OH)D₃ with low UVB, but no difference in growth over six months among supplemented juveniles. It does not settle every life stage.
A small 2023 BHS lighting experiment did not show a simple behavioural response across its conditions. A 2024 paper on some UVB LEDs raises spectral safety questions. A measured UVI alone cannot establish whether an LED’s spectrum is appropriate.
The IHS lighting sheet gives a valuable natural-history framework, but its text dates to May 2017 and its statement about UVB LEDs predates current products. Read it alongside newer evidence.
A practical lamp audit
- Map the basking surface and every perch the animal can reach.
- Measure warm and cool air with probes, and surfaces with an appropriate infrared thermometer.
- Check UVI at the animal’s back height, then in shade and hides. Account for mesh and reflector changes.
- Align chosen heat, visible light and UV where appropriate, with a genuine retreat from all three.
- Log lamp model, date, distance and readings. Recheck after moving décor or changing a bulb.
A reptile vet can interpret health concerns; these measurements help explain the environment the animal has actually experienced.
Editorial method
Where guidance disagrees
Specialist, veterinary and keeper sources sometimes give different humidity, UV or feeding ranges. The guides name those differences and favour the animal’s access to choice, direct measurement, body condition and veterinary input over a universal dial setting.
A real example / adult bearded dragon
The FBH code gives an enclosure formula of 6 × 3 × 3 times the dragon’s snout–vent length: its 20 cm example is 120 × 60 × 60 cm. The current specialist planning target is around 180 × 60 × 60 cm for many adults. The figures describe different thresholds; the guide shows both and asks the keeper to size for the actual animal.
- Responsible Reptile Keeping: writing your own care guidesNatural-history method; accessed 28 September 2026
- Federation of British Herpetologists: enclosure size code2023; welfare-focused minimums
- FBH: recommended minimum enclosure sizes, full codeMay 2022 code; Pogona example uses 6 × 3 × 3 times snout–vent length
- ReptiFiles: bearded dragon enclosureUpdated specialist recommendation of 180 × 60 × 60 cm for many adults
- International Herpetological Society: lighting care sheetText dated May 2017; product statements require rechecking
- Royal Veterinary College: reptile heating and lightingReviewed December 2024
- Oonincx et al.: low UVB in juvenile leopard geckosControlled study, 2020
- British Herpetological Society: heat and light source experimentSmall experiment, 2023
- UVB LEDs and non-solar spectraResearch paper, 2024
- Moisture effects in egg-laying reptiles: systematic reviewMeta-analysis of 37 studies across 28 species, 2025