Marbled geckos are excellent climbers that do not enjoy being handled. When stressed or alarmed, they may release their tail.
Captive turtles prefer large enclosures with plenty of places for them to hide and don’t require heating or UV light for optimal living conditions.
Marbled geckos consume a diet composed of small insects like crickets and flies, in addition to fruit that fits their mouths.
Contents
Crickets
A marbled gecko’s main diet should consist of crickets, flies and mealworms. Additionally, small pieces of fruit like fruit baby food may also be included in their daily meal. They may also enjoy waxworms or silkworms from time to time or the occasional pinkie mouse!
Crickets should be gut loaded a few hours prior to feeding them to your crested gecko, in order to increase their nutritional content and prevent digestive upsets. You could also dust them with multivitamin powder.
A marbled gecko’s habitat should be spacious with ample branches for climbing. Additionally, it should be fully enclosed for temperature regulation purposes and feature lighting to simulate day/night cycles. As this lizard is an adept climber, an enclosure that has been constructed carefully is ideal.
Mealworms
In its natural habitat, marbled gecko lizards primarily feed on insects, flies and spiders; in captivity however, this species will eat whatever fits in its mouth – mealworms/wax worms/mashed fruit/fruit baby foods are just some examples.
Your gecko should be fed a variety of gut-loaded feeder insects containing multivitamin and calcium supplements to ensure its diet stays fresh. Also ensure food items fit his small mouth, and remove any uneaten food within four hours to prevent spoilage.
These lizards are formidable climbers, so provide him with plenty of branches and vines for him to climb upon. Additionally, ensure his environment meets their specific requirements: daytime temperatures should range from 27degC to 24degC during daytime hours with an ideal humidity of around 80% (which can be achieved by misting his habitat several times daily) plus providing him with an area to bask.
Waxworms
The tan-olive marbled gecko (Christinus marmoratus) can be found throughout northern Victoria woodlands and heathlands, where it shelters under rocks by day and hunts invertebrates at night. With strong toes capable of gripping onto both smooth surfaces as well as slippery ones, this gecko makes a good night-time hunter.
Feed the habitat a varied diet of vitamin/calcium dusted insects such as crickets, mealworms, waxworms and silkworms as well as some baby food or prepared foods containing fruit or vegetables; uneaten food items must be removed within four to six hours to prevent spoilage.
Keep the housing cool and provide various hiding spaces. A shallow dish of clean, fresh water should always be available and should be changed daily; misting of the enclosure helps maintain humidity.
Fruit Baby Food
Geckos in their natural state are predominantly insectivorous, though they will occasionally consume some fruit (if it fits). Your marbled gecko can benefit from being fed a diet consisting of crickets, mealworms, flies, silkworms and waxworms as food sources; additionally it is wise to gut-load and dust insects with vitamin supplements before offering as snacks.
Once your marbled gecko begins to mature, it’s important to provide them with food specifically formulated for reptiles such as Pangea’s Gecko Diet Breeding Formula. This food contains a perfect balance of proteins, fats and minerals tailored specifically for breeding crested geckos; feed it every night prior to discarding in the morning. Also provide your gecko with access to water throughout their enclosure every day and mist their enclosure frequently for maximum success.
Prepared Food
Although recreating the diet of wild geckos in captivity may be impossible, providing various insects will help provide nutritional variety that would otherwise be found in nature. Provide crickets, mealworms, wax worms silkworms and locusts as food options. In addition, offer adult geckos pinkies (pet trade industry term for one-day old mice) once every week so they can simulate eating small rodents naturally.
Marbled geckos typically spend their days concealed within logs, fallen timber or rock crevices. Skilled climbers, these animals utilize large finger and toe pads with adhesive surfaces on which to grip with ease when climbing surfaces such as logs.
Provide your gecko with a shallow dish of water, misting it at least three times daily to maintain high humidity levels and adding variety in his diet with dried fruit mash such as baby food.
