House Gecko

Hemidactylus frenatus

Housing & Substrate:

The minimum enclosure for one House Gecko is a ten gallon aquarium. 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, 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 70% and 80% to low or two high can cause medical problems. Do not let the humidity fall below 60 or be over 80. 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 90˙F (32˙C).  Like with all other diurnal (awake during the day) lizards. They will need a UVB producing light. This light needs to be on for 10-12 hours a day. During this time, the light will provide enough UV rays for proper digestion and release appropriate amounts of vitamin D3 to allow for calcium absorption. Without a UVB light it is extremely likely for your pet to get a medical condition called MBD. This stands for Metabolic Bone Disease which is fatal if not caught early enough.

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. Adults and juveniles need to be fed daily. Dust the crickets and other food items 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 preanal and femoral pores located near the vent. These pores are usually dark in color and raised as bumps. They will be aligned in rows. Females may have these pores to but will be barely noticeable and light in color.

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 UVB producing fluorescent light
• 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 House 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:

They are usually about 3 inches but can reach up to 5 inches long. 

 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.