Tokay Gecko Care, Feeding & Terrarium Design

[findiviglio]

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career of over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo.Pugnacious reptiles with “attitudes” have long been favored by herp enthusiasts. In the lizard world, perhaps none fits this description so well as the Tokay Gecko, Gekko gecko. It truly is the ultimate “big lizard in a small package”. Years ago, I liberated a group into a huge multi-species exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, mainly for my own interests. Although my fellow keepers were well-experienced in caring for venomous snakes, dangerous primates and the like, I was roundly criticized…no one wanted to chance accidentally grabbing one of these foot-long nocturnal terrors! But in the right hands (well, not literally “in hand”…most object strenuously!), Tokay Geckos make fascinating pets that may live into their 20’s. What’s more, they are beautifully-clad in an array of colors, and are not shy about exhibiting their behaviors, including reproduction. Read the rest of this article here Tokay Gecko Care, Feeding and Terrarium Design
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My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog

Best Regards, Frank Indiviglio

[Mentat]

Nice article Frank! Had a funny encounter with a wild one on a hotel room at Thailand. Imagine my surprise when, what I thought was a wall decoration above the bed, opens it's mouth and hisses at me .

[Truffs1178]

Great article Frank. I love tokay geckos but in Thailand they are caught and used as feeder lizards. There are a lot of videos on YouTube of people feeding them to monitor lizards.

Inexperienced keepers often get tokays not realising how aggressive they are then get rid of them thinking it was just that particular gecko. They're such little badasses.

[Monza geckos]

It was a shame but I had to get rid of mine as I had him for two weeks and he wouldn't eat and spent all his time cowering in the cold corner at the bottom of his tank, he was extremely loud and vocal. The pet shop

[findiviglio]

Great article Frank. I love tokay geckos but in Thailand they are caught and used as feeder lizards. There are a lot of videos on YouTube of people feeding them to monitor lizards.

Inexperienced keepers often get tokays not realising how aggressive they are then get rid of them thinking it was just that particular gecko. They're such little badasses.

They were woth quite alot in China for awhile..traditional meds and all; a co-worker in Vietnam said they were being collected there in huge numbers for transport to China..not sure if that is still the case, best, Frank