Geckos are a common sight in tropical climates. Their special toe pads help them climb walls and ceilings effortlessly, making their presence known throughout.
Geckos are insectivores, meaning they eat insects such as crickets, waxworms, mealworms, earthworms, fruit flies and moths for sustenance. Before offering prey items to your gecko, remember to gut load all items first!
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Feeding
House geckos (and their various subspecies, such as leopards, african fat-tailed, tokays, and flying geckos) require a varied diet of insects for survival, including crickets, waxworms, mealworms, dubia roaches, fruit flies, moths, grasshoppers etc. Insect prey should first be coated in calcium/phosphorous supplement before feeding to your pet.
Add fresh greens and fruits to their diet as a supplement, making sure that any insects fed are appropriately sized for her; too large of an insect could bite and injure her, while gut loading them with high-quality multivitamin supplements will enhance their nutritional value.
Be wary when handling your lizard; she might try to escape its tank as soon as she senses you nearby. Instead, hold your lizard low over a soft surface using both hands; this will reduce her stress level and help avoid her jumping away or being squashed by jumping too quickly or too suddenly.
Substrate
At one time, most lizard owners relied on impaction-safe substrates such as paper towels and newspaper to house their reptiles – though these were excellent choices for quarantine or temporary enclosures, these were often poor choices overall because they failed to provide sufficient grip and often suffocated geckos’ feet.
Substrates that retain moisture such as shredded reptile bark or organic potting soil are the best choices, while never use calcium sand or sand can cause serious impaction, with full-grown leopard geckos even dying of such issues.
An ideal gecko habitat includes not only substrate, but also multiple hides and branches for climbing. A humid environment helps facilitate skin shedding more effectively. Their diet should consist of live insects such as crickets, roaches, mealworms, superworms and waxworms as well as fresh, safe fruit – as they age, their diet changes accordingly; young geckos require larger insects more regularly for fuelling growth and energy needs.
Lighting
Hemidactylus frenatus), commonly referred to as the nocturnal house gecko, can often be seen roaming porches during dusk hours, climbing walls and devouring insects attracted to artificial lighting sources. These invasive species have become essential components of urban ecosystems as they feed on pests such as cockroaches, moths, ants, bed bugs and other insect nuisances that pose threats to both health and sanitation.
Provide your house gecko with an ideal habitat by offering them a substrate (floor lining) that holds in moisture without becoming noticeably wet, such as reptile bark or cypress mulch. Replace soiled paper substrate two to three times every week; offer pieces of wood, live or artificial plants and branches as well as hiding spaces that they can use.
A 15w heat lamp should be placed at one end of the terrarium to simulate daylight conditions, and a UVB bulb can help combat metabolic bone disease. A 26W Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 Compact Coil bulb works perfectly in an average 12”x12” enclosure or multiple bulbs can be used if larger enclosures exist.
Water
House geckos in the wild are predominantly insectivorous but will occasionally feed on fruits and vegetables as well. Their diet should contain 30-50% protein for optimal health; to maximize this requirement, house geckos should be fed insects that have been gut-loaded to increase their nutrient content.
Your enclosure should contain a shallow dish of clean water for your gecko to drink from; this will increase ambient humidity levels.
Provide your gecko with an engaging environment by including branches, rocks and bark in its tank. This will encourage exploration while making cleaning simpler.
As part of an optimal gecko diet, it is advised that they consume dried fruit mix, crickets, mealworms and possibly live prey items like lizard wings or maggots. All food should be lightly dusted with phosphorus-free calcium powder before feeding to ensure maximum nutritional benefit.
