Golden Gecko
Gekko ulikovskii
Housing
& Substrate:
The minimum enclosure
for one adult Golden Gecko is a twenty gallon tall tank. They can not be housed in a plastic, cardboard, or wooden
box. Add ten gallons per every extra Gecko. Appropriate substrates include; reptile carpet, newspaper, paper towels, compressed
coconut fiber, organic potting soil, shelf liner, and tile.
Humidity
& Water:
The humidity can be
maintained by misting the enclosure at least 3 times daily, providing a reptile fogger, reptile mister, or water drop mechanism.
The ideal humidity should be kept between 60% and 75% to low or two high can cause medical problems. Your Gecko will
drink up the droplets left on the leaves and decorations in the enclosure after misting. You also need to provide a small
shallow water dish for drinking and bathing. Replace the water daily.
Temperature
& Lighting:
The enclosure needs
to be kept between 75˙F (24˙C) and 80˙F (27˙C) during the day and between 70˙F (21˙C) and 75˙F
(24˙C) at night and a basking temperature (near the heat light) of 85˙F. Don't let the tank get over that temperature
as it can be dangerous. These lizards only because they are nocturnal
do not need UV lighting, however supplying it will not do any harm and actually brings out the intense and bright colors.
Feeding
& Supplements:
Juveniles and adults
can eat a staple of crickets (no bigger then the space between their eyes) with a variety of butter worms, super worms, and
silk worms. They are omniverous and should also be fed a fruit baby food mix or fresh fruit and vegetables. Adults
and juveniles need to be fed daily. Dust the crickets and other insects with a calcium/multivitamin supplement. This
is crucial to your pet’s health and needs to be done to all food items every other feeding. Dust the insects with a
calcium/D3 supplement at least once a month.
Gender:
Adult (about 6 months
of age) males have post anal hemipenile bulges located near the vent (anal opening). There will be two of them
located side by side with an indent in the middle. Females will have one large bump or no bulge at all. The males will also
have prominant preanal pores located near the vent. They will appear to be dark rows of bumps, the females can also have these
pores but they are usually not visible or very light in color and not as prominant.
Shopping
List / Minimum Requirements:
- An enclosure as mentioned above with a screen lid
- Plenty of fake or real plants and branches logs and other
items to climb on
- A couple of hiding places
- A heat lamp, or a ceramic heat emitter (this basking light
should be outside of the enclosure so the Gecko does not get burned)
- A digital Hygrometer (humidity gauge)
- A digital Thermometer (the stick on plastic dials can be up
to 20 degrees inaccurate )
- A reptile mister (spray/mist bottle for water) or a water
drip mechanism
- A small water dish
- Substrate (above)
- A nocturnal /red heat
bulb or a ceramic heat emitter to maintain night time temperatures
Not
Appropriate:
There are
many items that Golden Geckos should not have. Heat Rocks and Heat Caves can severely burn your lizard’s
stomach and feet and should be avoided for all lizards. The only advantage to using a Heat Pad is to keep the substrate warm
for humidity purposes they use over head heat not ground heat to stay warm. Do not use any Sand, Gravel, or Repti-Bark substrates. Do not feed mealworms, their hard exoskeleton can easily cause impaction they are
also very low in nutrients and aren’t healthy for your pet.
Other
Information:
The adult
and if large enough Golden Geckos can eat pinkie mice but its not required and they live happy and healthy even without them
so its your choice.
They should
not be handled and aren’t for young kids. They don’t play and should remain in their enclosure unless its time
to clean it out. Never house two males together they can become territorial and fight sometimes to the death
