Hailing from Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Philippines, tokay geckos, though misunderstood by many, make the right pet for seasoned reptile owners.
Known for their spots and vibrant colors, they are heavy-bodied and nocturnal. They are fascinating to observe, and with patience, can make great pet geckos. If you plan to get a tokay gecko, you should first know everything about its needs, mainly its living conditions.
Given below are the ideal living conditions for tokay geckos.
Table of Contents
Ideal Housing Conditions
You can house tokay geckos in different types of enclosures. If you live in a temperate or tropical region with acceptable humidity levels and ambient temperatures, you can accommodate the geckos in screen enclosures like the ones used for chameleons.
Suppose you are housing them in glass terrariums, then securing them with screen lids is an ideal choice. For housing a baby tokay gecko, you can use enclosures similar to the standard 10-gallon terrarium.
For a single adult or a male and female pair, a 20-gallon tall terrarium will be ideal. As tokay geckos can be active foragers, they will need more space, especially when you have more than two adult animals in the same enclosure.
Lighting and Heating
The tokay geckos are usually found across southeast and east Asia. In their native habitat, they are found in the rainforests, living in the trees. As they are tropical species, the geckos will require high daytime temperatures and relatively cooler evening temperatures.
The daytime high has to fall between 85 and 90° in the enclosure. You can use an infrared bulb, a standard heat lamp, or a ceramic heat emitter in the terrarium to attain this.
If your house naturally remains around 70° during the nights, you can refrain from providing nocturnal heating. But during winter, if the temperature drops below 60°, you must invest in red heat bulbs or under tank heating pads for night-time warmth.
Furnishings and Substrate
The beddings you use for your tokay geckos should promote high levels of humidity. And the bedding should also not rot or become stagnant soon. There are different types of substrates that are ideal for a tokay gecko that you can choose from.
As these geckos like to hide in the daytime, there should be many hiding spots in their enclosure. They also prefer vertical or elevated areas, and you can use cork bark slabs, dense elevated foliage, etc., to provide such spaces.
Climbing structures like rocks, tree limbs, sticks, artificial and live plants can also give the geckos a functional and ideal living condition.
Humidity and Water
A sturdy and large water dish filled with clean water should always be present in the tokay geckos’ enclosure. The water from the bowl will evaporate and increase the ideal and ambient humidity in your pet’s cage.
The ideal humidity level for tokay geckos is moderate to high. You can use a spray bottle of water and mist the enclosure and all the content in it at least twice a day.
As sometimes tokay geckos can seem aggressive, make sure you handle them carefully. Remember, they are not cuddly pets. Before you get a gecko, make sure you have the proper setup mimicking its natural habitat to give your pet a good home.
