Bare minimum equipment needed:
*10 gallon tank or larger, or equivalent-sized reptile cage (for one lizard), or 20 gallon or larger for 2 to 3 lizards. A tank which is tall is better than a long, low tank, as these reptiles are almost exclusively arboreal. A reptile cage with a door opening on the front may be more suitable.
*Metal screen or mesh top for tank or cage (may be built in to some reptile cages). Should not be plastic, if you plan to use an overhead heat lamp. Must be tight-fitting--the type which attaches with velcro is very suitable.
*A radiant heat source. Either an overhead heat lamp, or an undertank heater. This should be small enough to cover no more than half the cage. Hot rocks are not recommended.
*If you have selected an overhead heat lamp, an appropriate bulb for the lamp, such as a reptile daylight bulb.
*A small, fairly shallow dish for water. Should be deep enough to just cover an airstone.
*An airstone, line and air pump made for aquariums.
*A shallow dish for small food items, such as mealworms.
*A substrate. You can use bark chips (remove small pieces that might be swallowed), a forest bedding, or a coconut-fiber based reptile bedding. Do not use sand, aquarium gravel, or beddings that mold if exposed to moisture, or that pose a hazard if accidently ingested. The substrate will be kept slightly damp, so mold-resistance is a priority.
*Two temperature gauges (thermometer).
*One humidity gauge (hygrometer).
*Climbing branches of various widths, particularly broader ones. Slabs of bark are very suitable.
*Calcium/mineral supplement powder
*Vitamin supplement powder (vitamins and minerals can interfere with one another's absorption, so all in ones are not the best choice).
*Small container for keeping crickets or mealworms.
Optional equipment:
*Plastic and/or live nontoxic plants (pothos in a pot works well).
*Blue light (reptile night time bulb)
*Cricket/mealworm gutloading formula.
*Backdrop for cage, if using aquarium.
*Cricket cave (allows you to dust crickets, place cave in cage, and remove plug to release crickets one at a time).
*Feeding tongs--hand feed your reptiles without getting nipped.
*Book on house gecko care (necessary if you plan to breed them, a good idea even if you aren't).
*A timer for your lighting and heating.
*Thermostat and/or rheostat for controlling heating devices.
Setting up the enclosure:
Rinse out the cage with very hot water, and dry it. Place the substrate in the bottom, and dampen it, if necessary (some come pre-moistened). Place the water dish in a corner, with the airstone in it. The bubbling will attract the lizards to the water. These lizards will not usually drink still water. Place food dish, climbing branches, and other decorations as you please. Stick one thermometer about mid level on the side of the cage away from the heat, on the inside of the cage so that you can read it. Stick the other thermometer on the opposite side of the cage, at the level of the highest branch that the lizard might climb to (if using overhead heat). Place the humidity gauge down low in about the middle of the cage. If you are using an undertank heater, place this beneath one side of the tank, as far to that side as possible. If you are using an overhead heat source, screw in the bulb, and place the lamp on top of the screen on the side with the higher thermometer, as far to that side as possible (take care not to overlap plastic tank edges), so that it is pointing down into the tank.
Turn on the lamp, and leave the tank for about an hour. Come back, and read the temperature gauges. The warmest area of the cage should be 85 to 90 degrees. The cool side should be no more than 80 degrees. If the warm side of the cage is cooler than this, you will need to either add another heat source (if using an undertank heater), or use a higher wattage bulb in your overhead lamp. If the cage is warmer than this, you will need a thermostat or rheostat for your undertank heater, to lower the temperature, or use a lower wattage bulb in your overhead light. It is important to set this up before putting your lizard into the enclosure, and preferably before bringing it home. A thermostat and rheostat is a good idea for regulating either of these devices, particularly if your indoor temperatures are subject to changes.
Most reptiles, including house geckos, do best with a night time temperature drop. If your room stays at about 70 degrees Farenheit, you can simply turn off the heating elements at night, or when you are done viewing your animals. If it drops too much lower (below 65 or 66), you may need to leave a heating source on overnight. Check your night time temperatures, and try to arrange it so that they fall 5 to 10 degrees at night. Try to provide your lizard with very regular day and night schedules (a timer comes in handy). 12 hours of each is good. The humidity level in your lizard's tank should be kept at around 80%. Mist the tank once or twice a day to keep the humidity level up, and encourage the lizards to drink water (they will drink from the droplets).
Purchase crickets or mealworms to feed your house gecko. 1/4 to 1/2 inch Crickets should be the mainstay of the diet, with mealworms being offered occasionally for variety. (Crickets are in general more nutritious). House geckos are insectivorous. Vary the diet with occasional offerings of butterworms or wax worms. If available, silkworms are extremely nutritious and make an ideal staple for most insectivores. They may occasionally take small amounts of fruit puree, offered in a tiny cup attached to one of their branches. Commercial crickets and mealworms are the safest and least expensive food items. You may catch wild insects to feed your lizard, but this is risky, as you cannot be sure they have not been exposed to pesticides or other toxic chemicals, and there is also a chance that some may transmit parasites.
Place your crickets or mealworms in a seperate escape-proof cage. A plastic "critter keeper" works well. You should feed crickets or mealworms for 48 hours before giving them to your lizard. Ask your pet store what, if anything, they feed their crickets. If they use a cricket gutloading formula, you will not need to wait. Most stores house mealworms in refridgerators, where they are dormant, so these will always need to be fed. Feeding insects nutritious food before giving them to your reptile is called "gut loading". A reptile eats not only the insect, but the contents of its gut as well. An empty insect is much less nutritious than one full of good food. Provide a piece of fruit or commercial cricket drink for water, and nutritous food--either a gut loading formula or fruits and vegetables to feed them. Wash these thoroughly first to get rid of pesticide residues.
Crickets and mealworms are very low in calcium, one of their drawbacks. As a result, even if you use a gutloading formula that contains calcium (which substantially increases their calcium content, but may kill your crickets if used for more than a couple of days), you will need to dust them in order to balance out their mineral content. Every other feeding, place the crickets in a small baggie with a bit of mineral powder, and shake until they are coated, just before you feed them to your lizard. Once a week, use a vitamin powder instead. The difference these supplements have made in reptile husbandry cannot be overstated....they will allow your pet to have a healthy, long lifespan. Baby house geckos will eat only small mealworms and true "pinhead" crickets, or flightless fruit flies. Adult house geckos can eat 1/2 inch crickets. You should not offer crickets larger than this. An adult gecko will consume about 1 to 3 crickets per feeding, and they should be offered food every other day. Babies should be offered food every day. Offer crickets one at a time, until the lizard refuses further food...remove the last cricket. Never leave food insects inside the cage, as they may nibble toes and tails. Crickets are particularly known for injuring sleeping reptiles, particularly if they have no other food sources. A reptile will not kill a pesky insect in self-defense.
About House Geckos (Hemidactylus ssp.):
These lizards are hardy "hands-off" reptiles, and are suitable for beginners. They are best not handled, as they are delicate, and EXTREMELY quick. Small geckos are excellent candidates for inclusion in elaborate, planted vivariums. They are generally hardy, and easy to care for, but can be quite nervous and jumpy. They reach a size of around 3 to 5 inches as adults, and can live for 6 to 10 years. Captive bred animals tend to live longer than wild caught animals. They usually reach near adult size in about 18 months (so feed your babies plenty, they grow very fast). House geckos are nocturnal, so you probably will not see them during the day, which they typically spend hiding behind bark or plants high up on the sides of their cage. If you wish to view them at night while they are active, a blue light (or reptile "moonlight" bulb) will not disturb them.
Most house geckos available are wild-caught, and most are older juveniles or adults. This means they may carry internal parasites, so have a veterinarian do a fecal check after you have them settled in, and quarantine and test any new animals before adding them to an existing group (always a good idea, even with captive bred animals). A few wholesalers will treat wild-caught animals for parasites, but this treatment does not always clear the animals completely of internal parasites, and not all wholesalers do this. Internal parasites will eventually build to lethal levels in a captive situation, so it is very important to have them dealt with right away. Keep animals in an easy-to-sterilize quarantine cage (with proper warmth and hiding places) until they are declared parasite-free.
If you must handle your house gecko, take care, because they can quickly leap out of your hands and run underneath or behind furniture, straight up the walls and across the ceiling, etc. Be very cautious when opening the cage, to make sure you know where the gecko is. If it is lying just beneath the rim of the lid or door, you may want to try to encourage it to move before you open the cage. They can be extremely difficult to recapture. You may choose to capture a gecko using a deli cup, and sliding a piece of cardboard beneath it to trap the gecko, rather than using your hands--be careful not to pinch toes. House geckos may also bite, though this pinch is seldom painful...take care that they do not injure their jaws in their attempt to defend themselves, though. Reptiles, unlike mammals or birds, do not usually appreciate affection, and they are not social. Tolerance is the best you can expect from any reptile or amphibian. The fun of these animals comes from observing their natural behavior and appearance. In that respect, keeping reptiles and amphibians is much like keeping fish.
House geckos have specially designed structures on their toes, so that they can climb walls or glass, and even run across a ceiling upside-down. House geckos have detachable tails, so if roughly handled, their tail may break off. This is stressful for them, so do your best to avoid it, but the tail will grow back, though it won't look as nice as the original. Male and female geckos look very similar. With a bit of practice and reference to some photos, you will note that male geckos have two visible bulges on their tail just behind the vent--these are their inverted hemipenes. They also have a line of pores running in a V shape along their inner thighs. These pores are less noticeable or absent in females. Male geckos "call" at night during the breeding season...a barking, or chirping sound. Geckos of both sexes may also bark or squeak when disturbed or frightened. As with most reptiles, never keep more than one male in an enclosure--males will fight one another. You may keep one male with several females.
To maintain them in the long term, have your lizard checked by a veterinarian once a year for parasites or other health problems. If you notice your lizard behaving abnormally, particularly if it stops eating, or seems less active than usual, seek medical care for it immediately. Reptiles do not usually show illness until they are seriously ill. Lizards can be somewhat fragile if they become ill, so quick treatment can make all the difference.
With the proper care, your house gecko should thrive problem free for its full lifespan.
© Eclipse Exotics, 2005. Distribute, copy, print, and pass on as you wish. :)