Tokay Gecko

HISTORY

Tokay Geckos come from Southeast Asia. They are a robust species of gecko with big personalities. As more are captive-bred, more morphs arise. There are an array of morphs, including patternless, granite, yellow spotted, powder blue, high red, and calico. These geckos can be quite feisty, but with work, can become as tame as a Crested Gecko. They prefer hot and humid environments, but easily adapt to other environments. They are actually an invasive species in Florida. This hardy gecko can make a great pet if you're willing to put the time and energy into the species.

 

SIZE & LIFESPAN

Wild-Caught Tokay Geckos have been know to live in captivity for 10 years. Because captive breeding of this species is fairly new, lifespan of captive-bred species is still unknown. Our guess is that captive-bred species may make it to 15-20 years old depending on care. If you properly care for them, and give them the correct diet, this is a gecko that you'll have as a pet for more than a decade. Tokay Geckos are a larger gecko weighing approximately 100 grams when full grown and measuring approximately 12-14 inches in total length

 

HEAT & LIGHTING

Tokay Geckos come from a warm, humid environment. We provide Tokay Geckos with a basking spot of 95 degrees via a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat. We like using CHE (Ceramic heat emitters) because they produce no light and can be used during the day as well as the night. Be sure to provide the gecko with a cooler area between 78-82° so that they can properly thermoregulate. We usually turn the heat off at night and let the whole tank drop down to the mid 70s. If you have a cooler house, you may need to adjust your thermostat at night to get the proper night-time drop. We also find that Tokays benefit from UVB. We provide all our Tokays with Arcadia 6% T5 lighting & find our geckos basking under them during the day.

 

DIET

Tokay Geckos are great eaters! They will eat a variety of bugs including: crickets, dubia roaches, phoenix worms, meal worms, and super worms. We dust all prey items in Calcium D3 supplement every other feeding. We recommend Minerall because it is a human grade calcium based supplement with over 50 trace minerals that help with growth and bone density. We also recommend placing all food in bowl to reduce the geckos likelihood of ingesting bedding. Along with that, we put a vitamin supplement on the insects every 2 weeks. Give the gecko as many insects as it can eat in 15 minutes. We usually give the geckos about 8-10 insects each feeding. Be sure to feed the right sized insects. Baby geckos should be fed small roaches and ¼” crickets, whereas, adults can eat larger roaches, superworms and ½” crickets. All our geckos, no matter the age seem to prefer roaches and superworms over crickets. They go after these two types of insects more vigorously. Be sure to offer your gecko a varied diet and find what your gecko personally prefers most.

 

HOUSING

A hatchling should be kept in a smaller container. We keep them in 10 gallon tanks when younger. Then, once they reach 15 grams, you should move them to their adult enclosure which should be 30 gallons in size. The cage should be at least 24” tall for an adult. We prefer to keep single adults in 18x18x24” enclosures and pairs in 20x20x36” enclosures. Height is important with this species, so be sure to provide enough height for them so that they can properly thrive.

 

BEDDING

We use eco earth or organic potting soil in all our Tokay Tanks. Try to provide them with 4-6 inches worth of bedding. This will help keep humidity high and will also make it possible to provide them with live plants if you want to go bioactive. If you have trouble keeping the humidity up in the tank, try adding sphagnum moss into the substrate or add pillow or sheet moss to the surface of your bedding. All three options will help raise your humidity.

 

DECOR

Tokay Geckos live in the trees in Southeast Asia and will appreciate elevated hides and space to climb inside their enclosure. We recommend using either a Magnatural ledge or hide, mossy hide, cork bark rounds, and or PVC piping to provide them with proper hiding space. The hanging hides are more natural looking 'and look great in display tanks, whereas the PVC pipe is not as aesthetically pleasing, but it does the same exact job! We like to get fake leafy vines and hang them throughout the cage with the assistance of suction cups. Be sure to rinse off all plastic plants before you put them in the tank. You can also place live plants such as a sturdy Ficus and Pothos plants. Tokay geckos wreck havoc in their enclosures, so be sure to get plants that will withstand the geckos weight. Be sure to rinse off the plant's leaves and re-pot any plants so that there is no way for your gecko to come in contact with pesticides or fertilizer.

 

HUMIDITY

Because Tokay Geckos are a tropical species, they require higher levels of humidity. We recommend keeping their humidity between 60-80%. Having a digital hygrometer in the cage will help measure the humidity levels in your tank. We recommend misting 1-2 times daily allowing for a drying out period during the day. so that your gecko can drink water from leaves or decor in your tank. If humidity requirements are not met, the gecko will have issues shedding as well as the risk of becoming dehydrated. If you cannot mist daily, we recommend purchasing a MistKing so that the tank will automatically be misted daily.

 

HANDLING/TEMPERAMENT

Captive-bred Tokay Geckos tend to be less aggressive than wild-caught species, but can still be a handful. You must earn the Tokay Geckos trust in order to have the privilege to handle it. We have handling videos available for you to watch if you want to see the way we handle and tame down babies. Message us on facebook and we can send the videos to you!
 

WATER

All geckos should be provided with a small, shallow water dish. Although these geckos do not usually drink from bowls it is always good to offer water in case the gecko gets thirsty. When using water, be sure to either use spring water or tap water with de-chlorinator added to it.

 

CLEANING

We recommend spot cleaning the cage at least once a week and doing a full bedding change and tank cleaning once a month. Every week look for poo, dead insects, shed, and food smears on the ground or glass and remove it from the enclosure. When cleaning the entire cage out, first remove all bedding and wipe down all surfaces with hot soapy water. Put the bowls, fake foliage and decor into a bucket with warm water and a capful of bleach. Let it soak for 15 minutes and then rinse off the items and place them in bucket of hot water. Once the decorations have soaked for 15 minutes, rinse them off again and then they are ready to go back into the tank once cleaning is complete. Then you want to be sure to disinfect the tank with either bleach, vinegar or a commercial reptile cleaning product. Once you have disinfected the tank, thoroughly rinse your tank out with hot water until it is completely free of any cleaning products.

 

SUPPLY LIST:

☐ 10 gallon tank (for babies and juveniles)
☐ 30 gallon tank at least 24” tall (for adults)
☐ Crickets, Roaches, Dubia, Superworms, etc.
☐ Elevated Ledge for feeding
☐ Water Dish
☐ Mister Bottle or Spray Bottle
☐ Vines for climbing
☐ Plastic plants or Live plants
☐ Moist Hanging Hide or Cork Round
☐ Eco Earth Bedding or Organic Potting Soil
☐ Ceramic Heat Emitter and Fixture
☐ Thermostat
☐ UVB tube light
☐ Mister or Fogger (Optional)