House gecko care sheet

The house gecko could very well be the pet lizard for you. They are inexpensive and relatively easy to care for. The drawback is they are quite small and extremely fast. This means handling them is probably not a good idea, as they are likely to fall which could lead to their injury or possible escape.

Cage

This gecko species is quite small, ranging from 3 to 6 inches, so a 10 gallon cage would be adequate. You will want to provide a cage that is more vertically oriented -as this pet gecko is a climber.

Since the House gecko is fond of climbing, you need to provide multiple climbing opportunities in the form of vines, tree limbs or fake rock (or tree) structures. This type of pet gecko is a little skittish and can be easily stressed, because of this -multiple hides are necessary to help the lizard manage it's stress.

Never put two males in the same cage, as they are very territorial and will likely fight even if there is not a female in the cage with them.

For the substrate, you can provide newspaper or paper towel or nothing at all. Sand or even calcium sand is not a good idea because of the risk of impaction due to accidentally ingesting some of the granules when the House gecko eats.

Lighting and Temperature

The house gecko is nocturnal, so a UVB bulb is not necessary although some owners claim there is a difference when a small level of UVB is provided.

Even though this gecko species is a climber, and because of that it's cage should be vertically oriented; you should still try to produce a temperature gradient whereby your pet gecko can regulate its body temperature by moving from one side of the cage to the other.

The warmer side of the cage should be in the upper 80°s, while the cooler side of the cage should be in the lower 80°s. Nighttime temps can fall to 65°. If at night, the temperature falls below 65° you will have to supply an additional source of heat such as a ceramic heat emitter -which does not emit light.

You need to try and simulate its wild environment by providing 12 hours of light each day. This is easily achieved with the use of a basic light timer.

For the house gecko, you need to maintain proper humidity levels. A range of 65% to 80% humidity is needed. You can monitor this with a hygrometer. The regular temps can be monitored with a temp gun.

A way of increasing the humidity is to spray mist the cage of your pet gecko. You can also supply a very shallow bowl of water for drinking and soaking.

Food

This type of gecko is a meat eater. Insects such as crickets, feeder roaches or silk worms are very nutritious for your pet gecko. Ideally you should have a variety of the above three.

24 to 48 hours before you feed your gecko you need to gut load the bugs with nutritious fruits and vegetables. Every other feeding you need to dust the bugs with a calcium powder. Twice a week you should dust the bugs with a multivitamin powder.

Baby house geckos should be fed every day, while adults can be fed every other day. Care needs to be taken to make sure the size of the insect is smaller than the width of your pet gecko's mouth.

As stated earlier, misting their cage with water and providing a very shallow bowl of water will meet their water needs. They will usually lick the water off of the glass in their cage.

If you intend on purchasing a house gecko be sure and read a few more care sheets or possibly a book on this interesting gecko species.