Post by Lee on Apr 3, 2007 0:53:33 GMT 1
Introduction
The tokay (Gecko gecko ) is a medium sized lizard which are part of a group of lizards called geckos…tokay geckos are increasingly nervous animals and being most of a wild caught nature they are not too good for the beginner keeper but for someone who is looking for a nice display animal they are perfect in the right set up and usually feed very well and are very active if provided with plants.
Tokay geckos get their names from their calls usually heard during mating by males trying to attract females which sounds like ‘tok-eh’ and are usually found near houses in their native Asia most probably attracted by the insects to eat but are very defensive letting out squeaks when unhappy or threatened and will usually bite very hard causing injuries in result to it which gives them the reputation as the put bulls of the geckos so caution is needed with such animals.
Distribution
the tokay gecko originates from south east Asia in places like Indonesia and Thailand where they inhabit tropical rainforest areas where they seek refuge in bushes and trees and crevices during times of inactivity to keep away from predators and to keep out the sun with them being nocturnal animals(active only at night) , being cold blooded which means they are unable to regulate their own body they have to find other means of warming up they do this by basking on warm rocks that have been warmed by the sun during the day
Appearance and size
The tokay gecko is a chunky lizard with a large head usually with orange spotted markings with a light blue background. Which becomes darker with mood and environmental changes.
Tokays geckos attain lengths of 25 -30cm but larger animals are heard of particularly in the wild and they have hair on their feet called emallae which help them grip to smooth surfaces and to climb with ease and a long tail.
housing in captivity
tokay gecko housing is relatively easy to get and set up and a large range of housing is available for snakes in many pet shops today….security is one of the most important things when considering housing as they are very good escape artists and very clever/inquisitive to the slightest hole/gap left and is amazing how little they are able to squeeze through and height is also important as tokays are arboreal in nature(tree climbers) so a tall set up is needed to accommodate for it.
Wooden vivariums are a good cage for adult geckos being very securely built and with only the front viewable it has a calming effect on nervous/new lizards as it gives them a sense of security and with vents fitted allows good air circulation as well as coming in many different sizes
Plastic housing such as geoflats,conticos and large large boxes are also used with high success with keeping geckos as they also have the advantage of variety of sizes and secure fitting lids many of which are clipped from the outside which means the lizard cannot open it from inside the cage or try and squeeze out
Glass tanks used in fish keeping are very ill fitting with regards to lids and don’t really allow much air circulation but there are ranges that are suitable for reptiles like the perfecto range
A good sized vivarium for a tokay gecko of up to a pair would be a 24 18x24 cage but large boxes and other housing has been used successfully of which a good substrate needs to be used and is really up to personal preference to what to use but substrates such as potting soil and shop bought bark are very popular but is worth looking out for with particle substrate such as small wood chips as they are very easily swallowed while feeding and can cause real problems to the animal even fatally injuring it so putting things like mealworms into a dish during feeding days are good to prevent such happenings.
Although many breeders/keepers keep their tokay geckos in colonies with spacious surroundings and living well together it is best to keep tokay geckos separately or very small group housed to check its health and feeding well in your care and is best to keep males separate still to prevent premature breeding attempts that will wreck your females condition and health using up calcium reserves that help with growth and until can be properly sexed to stop fighting that will cause injuries and tokays are known to eat smaller casemates.
Heating the cage is by red bulb/lamp of which must be controlled by a thermostat that is designed to control such equipment(pulse is best as high load and perfect for controlling non light emitting equipment and can be used to heat multiple cages dependant on wattage output) and when using bulbs a guard must be fitted….both of which will stop your lizard sustaining injuries or overheating both of which are extremely fatal …leopard geckos do well at a temperature of 80-85f with a drop to 78f at night and room humidity is fine but sprays to dry environment is needed sometimes during shedding.
The interior of the cage is up to personal preference with regards to decoration but cork bark and bits of wood make good hiding for geckos but make sure all are free from sharp edges which could injure the lizard and stable enough to hold the geckos weight comfortably and treated with miltons or any reptile disinfectants proir to be put back in the cage after thourough washing afterwards to kill germs and to keep your snake healthy as well as a box with damp kitchen towelling to be used a moist hide but placing the gecko in a box filled quite shallow with water during shedding will remove skin even if they don’t use the hide but make sure this is supervised and a small dish of calcium carbonate is another good addition so the gecko can lick it at will as well as supplementing its food with multis vits and supplements such as nutrabol,zolcal D in drinking water and many others and branches and a few plants to provide places to climb and for a little bit of cover for nervous geckos and because they are arboreal it is best to spray foliage so they can lick the droplets as a free standing bowl wouldn’t be used.
Foods and feeding
Tokay geckoes are insectivores, they eat crickets,locusts,mealworms and the occasional wax worm/silkworm or pink mouse as adults but I like to vary their diet further by offering them roaches and wax moths as they are more filling for the gecko all of which must be gut loaded with supplements available today such as nutrabol but a separate calcium carbonate supplement should be offered to maintain good health but they occasionally will take fruit which soft fruits mashed up into a paste with some calcium or electrolyte formula can be used to get reluctant feeders/ill geckoes to feed and get important nutrients to help it get back to full health but fruit baby foods are also good for this purpose
The geckoes either like to hunt the insects or take it from your hand which is a good way to get your gecko to trust you even if its to take the food
Feeding can be daily for younger geckoes or every 2 days in adults, its better to go for a time limit more than amount of insects to feed, a good guide would be amount eaten in 5-8 minutes but its best to watch for a while when you do to stop them biting each other while going for food.
Handling your gecko
As said previously these are not a handle able gecko and are very fast and agile so will be difficult to catch if they escaped as they can climb walls and their quick speed but occasionally you do get the tame individual that will accept tame handling but is not advised as they do have strong jaws that can cause some injuries
The best way to handle a gecko is having a firm but not constricting hold of your gecko and gently let it walk from hand to hand and make sure theres no open doors or things that can cause the gecko to have a sudden fright as their main defence is to drop their tail or to run off
These geckoes look much better in vivaria than out of them personally so is best not to attempt handling unless necessary to avoid injury and unneeded stress to your tokay gecko
The tokay (Gecko gecko ) is a medium sized lizard which are part of a group of lizards called geckos…tokay geckos are increasingly nervous animals and being most of a wild caught nature they are not too good for the beginner keeper but for someone who is looking for a nice display animal they are perfect in the right set up and usually feed very well and are very active if provided with plants.
Tokay geckos get their names from their calls usually heard during mating by males trying to attract females which sounds like ‘tok-eh’ and are usually found near houses in their native Asia most probably attracted by the insects to eat but are very defensive letting out squeaks when unhappy or threatened and will usually bite very hard causing injuries in result to it which gives them the reputation as the put bulls of the geckos so caution is needed with such animals.
Distribution
the tokay gecko originates from south east Asia in places like Indonesia and Thailand where they inhabit tropical rainforest areas where they seek refuge in bushes and trees and crevices during times of inactivity to keep away from predators and to keep out the sun with them being nocturnal animals(active only at night) , being cold blooded which means they are unable to regulate their own body they have to find other means of warming up they do this by basking on warm rocks that have been warmed by the sun during the day
Appearance and size
The tokay gecko is a chunky lizard with a large head usually with orange spotted markings with a light blue background. Which becomes darker with mood and environmental changes.
Tokays geckos attain lengths of 25 -30cm but larger animals are heard of particularly in the wild and they have hair on their feet called emallae which help them grip to smooth surfaces and to climb with ease and a long tail.
housing in captivity
tokay gecko housing is relatively easy to get and set up and a large range of housing is available for snakes in many pet shops today….security is one of the most important things when considering housing as they are very good escape artists and very clever/inquisitive to the slightest hole/gap left and is amazing how little they are able to squeeze through and height is also important as tokays are arboreal in nature(tree climbers) so a tall set up is needed to accommodate for it.
Wooden vivariums are a good cage for adult geckos being very securely built and with only the front viewable it has a calming effect on nervous/new lizards as it gives them a sense of security and with vents fitted allows good air circulation as well as coming in many different sizes
Plastic housing such as geoflats,conticos and large large boxes are also used with high success with keeping geckos as they also have the advantage of variety of sizes and secure fitting lids many of which are clipped from the outside which means the lizard cannot open it from inside the cage or try and squeeze out
Glass tanks used in fish keeping are very ill fitting with regards to lids and don’t really allow much air circulation but there are ranges that are suitable for reptiles like the perfecto range
A good sized vivarium for a tokay gecko of up to a pair would be a 24 18x24 cage but large boxes and other housing has been used successfully of which a good substrate needs to be used and is really up to personal preference to what to use but substrates such as potting soil and shop bought bark are very popular but is worth looking out for with particle substrate such as small wood chips as they are very easily swallowed while feeding and can cause real problems to the animal even fatally injuring it so putting things like mealworms into a dish during feeding days are good to prevent such happenings.
Although many breeders/keepers keep their tokay geckos in colonies with spacious surroundings and living well together it is best to keep tokay geckos separately or very small group housed to check its health and feeding well in your care and is best to keep males separate still to prevent premature breeding attempts that will wreck your females condition and health using up calcium reserves that help with growth and until can be properly sexed to stop fighting that will cause injuries and tokays are known to eat smaller casemates.
Heating the cage is by red bulb/lamp of which must be controlled by a thermostat that is designed to control such equipment(pulse is best as high load and perfect for controlling non light emitting equipment and can be used to heat multiple cages dependant on wattage output) and when using bulbs a guard must be fitted….both of which will stop your lizard sustaining injuries or overheating both of which are extremely fatal …leopard geckos do well at a temperature of 80-85f with a drop to 78f at night and room humidity is fine but sprays to dry environment is needed sometimes during shedding.
The interior of the cage is up to personal preference with regards to decoration but cork bark and bits of wood make good hiding for geckos but make sure all are free from sharp edges which could injure the lizard and stable enough to hold the geckos weight comfortably and treated with miltons or any reptile disinfectants proir to be put back in the cage after thourough washing afterwards to kill germs and to keep your snake healthy as well as a box with damp kitchen towelling to be used a moist hide but placing the gecko in a box filled quite shallow with water during shedding will remove skin even if they don’t use the hide but make sure this is supervised and a small dish of calcium carbonate is another good addition so the gecko can lick it at will as well as supplementing its food with multis vits and supplements such as nutrabol,zolcal D in drinking water and many others and branches and a few plants to provide places to climb and for a little bit of cover for nervous geckos and because they are arboreal it is best to spray foliage so they can lick the droplets as a free standing bowl wouldn’t be used.
Foods and feeding
Tokay geckoes are insectivores, they eat crickets,locusts,mealworms and the occasional wax worm/silkworm or pink mouse as adults but I like to vary their diet further by offering them roaches and wax moths as they are more filling for the gecko all of which must be gut loaded with supplements available today such as nutrabol but a separate calcium carbonate supplement should be offered to maintain good health but they occasionally will take fruit which soft fruits mashed up into a paste with some calcium or electrolyte formula can be used to get reluctant feeders/ill geckoes to feed and get important nutrients to help it get back to full health but fruit baby foods are also good for this purpose
The geckoes either like to hunt the insects or take it from your hand which is a good way to get your gecko to trust you even if its to take the food
Feeding can be daily for younger geckoes or every 2 days in adults, its better to go for a time limit more than amount of insects to feed, a good guide would be amount eaten in 5-8 minutes but its best to watch for a while when you do to stop them biting each other while going for food.
Handling your gecko
As said previously these are not a handle able gecko and are very fast and agile so will be difficult to catch if they escaped as they can climb walls and their quick speed but occasionally you do get the tame individual that will accept tame handling but is not advised as they do have strong jaws that can cause some injuries
The best way to handle a gecko is having a firm but not constricting hold of your gecko and gently let it walk from hand to hand and make sure theres no open doors or things that can cause the gecko to have a sudden fright as their main defence is to drop their tail or to run off
These geckoes look much better in vivaria than out of them personally so is best not to attempt handling unless necessary to avoid injury and unneeded stress to your tokay gecko