Tokay Gecko

Tokay gecko care can get pretty interesting. This is largely in part because they are relatively easy to care for, but are absolute terrors when handled. They will routinely bite at anything in close proximity. I would have to say this is one of those lizards that people keep just because they are neat to observe. You can handle them, but I don't recommend it!

Just like most all pets, these lizards, originating from the forested regions of South East Asia, are a real responsibility. They can reach upwards of 12 inches in length, and live on average 10 years when properly cared for.

It is recommended that you find a local breeder, or question your pet shop as to where and how they acquired their Tokay geckos. Many of them are wild caught and have the potential to be loaded with parasites. All in all, this species of reptile does quite well in captivity.

Tokay Gecko Care : Housing

This species does not have to housed individually, but special care should be taken to ensure that males are not kept in the same enclosure. They will more than likely fight and injure one another. One gecko can be comfortably housed in a 10 gallon tank; however, I recommend a 20 gallon tank if you wish to house two together.

You are going to need a few additional items other than the tank

An Appropriate Substrate (Newspaper is Great!)

A Water Dish of Shallow Depth

A Heating Pad (Goes Under the Tank)

A Least One, if not Two Hiding Spots

Climbing Branches (Arboreal Species Like to Climb)

Thermometer and Humidity Gauge

It would be wise to place a hiding spot on both sides of the enclosure. This is to reduce stress and ensure that your gecko will feel comfortable moving all around his new home and not feel vulnerable and exposed.

The under the tank heating pad should be placed under one end of the enclosure. Be sure that it covers approximately 1/3rd of the total surface area of the tank. This side of the vivarium will be called the "hot" side. You will want to place the water dish on the cool side.

I recommend newspaper because I am lazy and it is very cheap. You will not only save money this way, but it is safer especially if you are feeding your tokay gecko inside of the enclosure. Other substrates (sand in particular among others) can accidentally be swallowed. This blocks the digestive tract and causes what is known as impaction. Many reptile owners tragically lose their pets this way every year. The newspaper should be changed at least once weekly.

You may opt to use aspen shavings, coconut fiber, or some other type of pet store available moss. These are all acceptable substrates as they are not dusty, easily swallowed on accident, and retain humidity nicely, and are not smell strongly.

Here are some characteristics of substrates you should avoid

Dusty

Too Fine or Small In Grain (Sand)

Strong Odor (Can Cause Respiratory Distress)

Sharp Edged (This Seems Obvious, but no Rocky Substrate)

Lastly, you will need to fully clean out the whole enclosure every few months. A 25+ parts water and bleach solution seems to do the trick. Just make sure to rinse well with water afterwards!

Tokay Gecko Care : Heating, Lighting, and Humidity

Tokay geckos are primarily nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night. They will not require special lighting of any kind such as full spectrum UVA / UVB lights. It probably wouldn't hurt to have it during the daytime, but there is little evidence suggesting it would help. For our purposes an under the tank heating pad covering 1/3rd of the total floor surface area will be more than sufficient.

Please stay away from heat rocks as they have a terrible reputation for concentrating heat when they malfunction. I have personally had a lizard badly injured because of this.

Ideally the temperature should range from around 75-87 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, dropping to approximately 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit at night. These temperatures should easily be attainable using only an under the tank heater. If you are having trouble maintaining a high enough temperature a ceramic heater may help.

You should try to keep the humidity fairly high. It is recommended that you give the enclosure a good misting in the morning and evening. This typically is enough to get the job done, but if your gecko is experiencing bad sheds you may want to create a humidity hide.

A humidity hide is simply a hiding spot that has a bedding of vermiculite or some other store bought moss. Mist the humidity hide daily and it should provide enough moisture to facilitate healthy tokay gecko shedding.

Tokay Gecko Care : Feeding

Your tokay geckos should thrive on on a diet of wax worms, meal worms, and crickets. Wax worms tend to be a little too fatty, so use them sparingly as a treat. You will want to dust the food items with a reptile multivitamin powder. The vitamins will lessen the chance of Metabolic Bone Disease, which is fairly common. Every respectable pet store carries multivitamins so it should be a readily available commodity.

To make sure all the food goes in and out without any type intestinal blockage it is a great idea to only offer food that is no larger than the width of your gecko's head. Also make sure to feed the crickets a nutritious cricket feed 24 hours or so prior to offering them to your tokays. I know its cliche, but you are what you eat! Lizards are no expection. :)

Hatchlings will need to be fed 1-2 times daily, and juveniles should be offered food once a day. You will only need to feed adults around 5 times a week. Some people like to offer their adults a pinkie mouse monthly as a special treat, but I personally don't do this. It doesn't bother me to feed mice. I just don't see how it could benefit their health.

Proper tokay gecko care requires that you remove any crickets that have not been eaten after 10 minutes or so. They can stress your lizard out if he is not hungry by crawling all over him. A lot of people don't know that crickets bite. They will try to nibble little chunks out of your reptiles!