Tokay Gecko Care

Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)

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Description

Tokay geckos are the common gecko people think of when they think of a gecko. They have a unique coloration and one of the largest species in the Gekkonidae family. They are solitary creatures with a unpleasant disposition and painful bite. Tokay's are however arboreal and have subdigital setae which allow them to climb glass with ease. They are also one of the more vocal gecko making a "to-kay" noise during the breeding season. Hence the name Tokay gecko.

Range: South-East Asia

Habitat: Tropical Rainforest, cliffs and trees

Nutrition: Insectivores

Lifespan: 15-20 years

Size: 12-14 inches males, 8-10 inches females

Tokay geckos are the common gecko people think of when they think of a gecko. They have a unique coloration and one of the largest species in the Gekkonidae family. They are solitary creatures with a unpleasant disposition and painful bite. So they should be a display animal only. Tokay's are however arboreal and have subdigital setae which allow them to climb glass with ease. They are also one of the more vocal gecko making a to-kay noise during the breeding season. Hence the name Tokay gecko.

Their care is basic and simple to care for. Here are a list of supplies that you will need for your gecko before bringing him home.

So now that you got everything that you need, your all set to get started setting it up. First thing to do would be to washout the cage (even if brand new). The best thing to do is use is a bleach and water solution. This is also the cheapest thing to use too. Mix 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. This will not be a safe and effective mix. Wipe down all the sides both inside and bottom with it. Then rinse and dry.

Now line the bottom of the cage with substrate. Then place the food bowls in around the center area or along the edge near the center. Add plants and other climbing material. Place one screen lid. Now place the domed heating lamp on top of the screen.

Substrate is the ground material used to line the bottom of their cage. Their is a few types to choose from. However mulch would be a good choice since it will hold in moisture.

Tokays require a mixed diet. You can feed them crickets, mealworms, superworms, pinkie mice, cockroaches, and other insects. Adults should be fed 3-4 times a week while young are feed daily.

A water bowl is not needed. Tokays require daily misting and a dripper. Remember when misting to use hot water. This is because the water cools very fast when coming out of the mister. Simply spray the plants and the gecko will drink the droplets.

For keeping a healthy pet, it is also required to keep your food well gutloaded. This is because your herp gets all the food and nutrition form it's food. An if a cricket has an empty stomach then your gecko will be getting no nutrition.

Crickets are basically an exoskeleton. They do not hold nutrition very well unless they have it in their stomach. This is way it is so important to provide you crickets with a well rounded diet. For the easy way, it is recommended to use poultry or chicken mash to feed to your crickets. Make sure that it does not contain any steroids or other growth hormones. You may also use cat food though it is not quite as nutritious. Their are also product's called cricket gutload or cricket feed. These are acceptable too. Not only should you provide a good source of dry food, but you should also provide a fresh veggies or fruits. This will complete a good diet to provide back to your herp. Also this will provide a good source of water for your crickets. Stay away though from using iceberg lettuce as this has very poor nutritional value. You may also purchase another product called cricket water. This provides an good source of water too. Or use a combination or the too. Do not use a water bowl as crickets are dumb and can drown in a drop of water. This also make's it to easy for bacteria and disease to spread as crickets will excrete their wastes everywhere.

Mealworms are easier provided that you feed well gutloaded crickets as part of their diet. Simply provide a container with a rolled oats or wheat bran for their food source and substrate. Five them also some sort of vegetable or fruit once a week.

Potatoes, mustard greens, and dandelion greens are an excellent source of nutrition. Potatoes, carets, and oranges provide a good source of nutrition with providing a great source of water. Please remember though to replace the fruits or vegetables every couple days as it will start to mold which can be harmful. Also when using dandelion greens, it advisable to get them from the supermarket or make sure that your lawn is not sprayed or have received overspray from the neighbors yard from any chemicals such as weed killers, pesticides, or fertilizers. They can be deadly for both your feed and herp.

Even with proper gutloading, it is still recommended that you supplement your herps food with vitamins and calcium. Providing these supplements is easy. The main way is simply adding a tiny bit of supplement to a baggy, add the food and shake a few times to lightly coat it. Their are also sprays, drops, and water drops. Dusting is the preferred way, unless needed to for health reasons.

You will also need to provide a bowl with calcium. This allows them to be able to eat extra calcium when needed. I also add a tiny amount of vitamins mixed it with mine, but this is just something extra that I do.

Dusting you their food is needed depending on the age, size and season of your geckos. Adults require dusting their food once a week with both calcium and vitamin powders. This generally provides the amounts they need without overdosing or becoming deficient. Use the Calcium with Vit.D3 on every other dusting with the adults as two much has been causing some debate as to Vit.D3 overdosing.

For hatchlings, juveniles, and gravid females, it is recommended every other day to dust their prey. Please note, you will only want to use the calcium with vit.d3 once a week. Other then that use the regular calcium.

Calcium is important in proper bone growth along with egg production in gravid females. Without the proper about of calcium, they will develop MBD. This will include signs of weakening of he animal, limbs not growing strait, mouth line uneven or not strait, and improper development of the jaw. Females need it when producing eggs. They will require high levels of it for strong eggs and to lay the eggs. Not enough calcium will cause soft and brittle shells along with the female becoming egg bound which can kill her. Even if you don't breed your female. She will still need extra calcium during the breeding season as she will still lay infertile eggs. MBD is one of the main killers of herps.

Heating is required as your herp is cold-blooded and receives it's body heat from outside sources. It cannot make its own body heat and will simply freeze to death. Not only does it need heat to keep warm, but it need's it to properly digest it's food. Too cold of a temperature if not cold enough to kill your herp right away will cause a loss of appetite, slow growth rates, vitamin deficiencies, impaction problems, and weaken his immune system. A week immune system will also leave your herp more susceptible to worms and other parasites. Your herp will also be less active, more stressed, and eventually die a painful death. So proper heating is extremely important.

Proper heating can be supplied by a heat lamp. Do not, I repeat, do not use a heat rock. Heat rocks are been known to cause extreme burn to your lizard and also have a tendency to cause burns. Heat pads are not suitable for this type of gecko since they are arboreal.

Tokay geckos require a daytime temperature of 76-90 degrees with 90 degrees being in the basking spot. It can be allowed to get up to 95 degrees at times but no higher and should not stay at a constant 95 degrees for very long. 85 degrees is required for most lizards to properly digest their food.

To control the heat when using a heat lamp, their are two main ways. First you want a correct wattage bulb. This will get you close in the heat range. Some bulb manufactures red heat bulb place out less heat then others. So a cheap bulb may require a 100 watt or higher. To control the heat, you will now need to control the distance that the bulb is away from the surface of the substrate. That is the most common way. The second is to use the bulb on a dimmer switch. This will allow you to precisely control how much electricity is going to the bulb in turn control your heat. One thing to remember is that when the temperature in the room changes so does the cage temperature when using a heat lamp.

The best way to check you temperatures is buy using a digital thermometer which you can generally get for around $10. Make sure you get one that has an outdoor probe and duel display is recommended. Simply place the outdoor probe under the heat lamp and the main unit in the colder section. This will allow you to keep an constant eye on both sides at once. Most thermometer's have a max and min feature that tells you the highest temperature and lowest temperature recorded sense the last time reset was pushed. Some models even have an alarm feature that you can set when a certain temperature has been reached.

Lighting is not a major issue with tokay geckos as it is with most other lizards. This is because they are nocturnal. They come out at night when the temperatures are cooler and have adapted to make their vit.D3 more efficiently. They generally nocturnal geckos may come out 30 before sunset in the while and stay out till a half an hour after sunrise. They will from time to time come out in the daylight hours but not for long or very often. This is why lighting is not a main issue.

Basically for the lighting requirement you need 12 hours of sun or light. Less in the winter, more in the summer. But this is not a major issue. As long as they have their night time they will generally be happy. Special UVB bulbs are not required.

Their is however a ongoing debate whether or not UVB lighting is helpful. People have noticed that their geckos seem more active, healthier, have increased appetites, better moods, better coloration, and increased growth rates however. So their maybe a big plus to using full-spectrum lighting. It is not known though yet as to whether or not as if it will replace the use of using calcium in adults. This has been a discussion by many keepers and breeders and will be debated until essential testing has been done to confirm whether or not it helps for sure and how much.

I have written this care guide to be in acceptance with all the new and best theories and ways to provide optimum care for your herp. I believe this guide hill help you of better understand the care requirement's in keeping your pet healthy. Some of the idea's in here are debated and it is best to use you best judgment and consult with a qualified vet that specializes in exotic animal care and has proper knowledge of you gecko. I have tried to provide you will the best up-to-date info and make sure that it is accurate. Please beware that these are my ideas from my best judgment and may or may not fit the care requirements for you individual animal. You use this document at your own risks and agree not to hold us liable for any info within or provided on our site.

I have never owned or have had any experience with Tokays so I may have some of the information a little off. If you find any problems with any of the info provided, please contact me at mstinso@geckonetwork.com and let me know. I take pride in my information I provide and want to make sure everything is as accurate as possible.

For more information along with questions and answers, try our Gekko sp. Gecko Forum.