General Information
The Tokay gecko is a member of the genus Gekko. These are mostly an Asiatic genus that are wide-ranging and have some 32 or
more members. Tokays originate from principally Southeast Asia, but also parts of India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, they
have also been introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and some Caribbean Islands. Tokay geckos are among the largest geckos in the
world, with adults attaining an average total length of 10-12" (30cm). Tokay geckos are an arboreal species, mainly inhabiting
rain forests, but in many parts of their range they are commonly found in people's houses. They inherit an adhesive lamellae
on their feet, which enables them the ability to climb the smoothest of surfaces, even wet glass.
The Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) is primarily nocturnal and will normally only come from hiding in the evening to hunt for their
prey. They have a distinctive call, from which comes the name "tokay" - the call is said to sound like "to-kay". Tokays are
very vocal and can often be heard during mating rituals, territorial disputes and often when being restrained by the human
hand.
In appearance they usually obtain a pale blue background in colour, sometimes more green or grey with numerous light blue
and orange or red spots and tubercular scales. The tails have bands of these colours. As with some geckos there are also available
morphs and I have seen an albino Tokay gecko specimen, but I believe these are very rare. Tokay geckos are widely noted by
reptile enthusiasts for their aggressive reputation and nature. However they can become tamed especially if raised in captivity
and handled regularly and sensibly. These geckos can give a painful bite, often gripping tightly for a long period of time,
and periods in excess of 10-15 minutes are commonly reported. It is a sensible precaution to use a pair of gloves when cleaning
the enclosure or handling your animal, as they have also been noted to attack the “intruders” fingers.
Housing
Tokays are known as being solitary animals and are recommended to be kept individually, but can be kept in pairs or trios
as long as there is only one male. Males should not be kept together as they are extremely territorial and will almost certainly
fight.
Tokays need to have plenty of space available in order to be kept successfully. A vertical enclosure with dimensions of 75x40x75cm
is recommended for a pair. It is a good idea to provide a variety of branches or other cage furnishings for them to climb
on such as branches, all of which must be easy to remove to find eggs, although they often choose to just stick to the walls
of their enclosures.
The vivarium should include sufficient hiding places; I use vertical or angled slabs of cork bark, which too must be easy
to remove to find eggs. They will frequently hide throughout most of the day.
Temperature, heating, and lighting
Temperatures for Tokays should be left to reach the mid 80°F's during the day, and a temperature gradient within the enclosure
is desirable. This can be accomplished by the use of lamps or heat emitters. Under-tank heating methods such as heat-mats
are not a good choice as Tokay Geckos do not spend much time on the ground. Instead Tokays like to warm themselves by basking
on a rock or branch. This effect can be reasonably recreated by having the heat source at the top of the enclosure, preferably
on a timer to allow regular light cycles. I use a red spot lamp bulb since the light does not interfere with the Tokay. In
the tropics the light cycles do not alter much over the year: in equatorial parts the difference may be about three hours
between summer and winter day lengths and in tropical areas possibly even less. I would recommend setting the timer to turn
on at 8.00, and to turn off at 21.00. This can then be decreased by an hour in the winter – 8:00 – 20:00.
Tokays do not require extremely high humidity, but still should not be kept too dry, as the humidity is equal in importance
to proper heating for breeding success. At least 50% relative humidity is recommended. Misting the enclosure once a day should
be sufficient. If you have live plants growing in soil in the enclosure this will help. I use airplants, which are available
from livefood.co.uk. Plants should be sturdy, as these large geckos will want to climb on them and they will damage small,
fragile plants.
Diet and Feeding
If you have chosen a healthy gecko, alert gecko than feeding is one of the easy parts of keeping Tokay Geckos, since they
are voracious and tend to have large appetites. I recommend feeding every other night with a recommended varied diet, Tokays
will accept the following:
King Mealworms
Mealworms
Waxworms
Grasshoppers
Cockroaches
Locusts
and even Pinkies
however a staple diet of crickets is sufficient. The crickets themselves must be gut-loaded. Adult Tokay Geckos will take
the larger sizes of crickets. Supplementation with calcium and vitamins such as Nutrabal is recommended. From what I have
seen Tokay Geckos tend to lunge with their whole bodies, much as Leopard and Fat Tailed Geckos do.
Some Tokays have been known to accept fruit, but in general they are insectivorous.
Water is primarily obtained from the drops of water that have accumulated on the leaves or sides of the tank. This can be
achieved by spraying/misting the enclosure and its furnishings. It seems that most if not all Tokay Geckos will not drink
from a water bowl. However I tend to keep 2 water bowls within the enclosure, 1 of which is elevated on a tree branch and
the other on the enclosure floor. This also helps to keep the humidity at a sufficient and constant level.
Breeding
Tokay Geckos have a reputation for being good breeders in captivity, but I do not share this enthusiasm. As with many species
of gecko certain steps should be taken to prepare and condition them in order to breed. The winter cooling is not necessarily
important but I recommend for best results this is followed. As stated the photoperiod does not change much throughout the
year. I simply cool the geckos by reducing the heat, food and humidity slightly for a few weeks. Once the cooling period is
over, breeding can be stimulated by increasing the humidity, the photoperiod and the available food supply in the spring.
Breeding females should always be provided with plenty of food and calcium supplementation, including a dish of calcium in
the enclosure. This can be grinded cuttlefish backbone or even specially made calcium tablets which are also grinded to a
fine powder; these were made specifically for this purpose. This is a good time to give them an occasional pinkie as well.
Female Tokay Geckos lay pairs of hard shelled adhesive eggs and are deposited in secluded areas. With her hind feet, the female
manipulates the eggs into the spot she has chosen; usually a hollow tree but in captivity they will often lay their eggs on
the walls and furnishings of the enclosure. These eggs cannot be moved without damaging them. However, it is easy to provide
them with attractive alternative laying sites that can include large bamboo tubes, cork bark, or wood tubes. Once the female
has adhered her eggs to these, the section can be simply sawn off and removed to an incubator.
Eggs can be incubated on slightly moistened vermiculite at a constant temperature between 80° to 86°F. Tokay Gecko
eggs take
more time to successfully hatch than most other gecko species. They will normally hatch anytime from 60 to 200 days, but with
most hatching at around 90 to 120 days. If incubated at the lower temperatures, this will of course lead to longer incubation
time. As with gecko species such as Leopard and Fat Tailed geckos, Tokays sex is also temperature dependent whilst incubating,
with higher temperatures producing male hatchlings and the lower temperatures producing females.
The hatchlings should be removed and placed in their own enclosure as there is a potential risk of the hatchlings being eaten
by the parents. However the mother and sometimes the father show some signs of maternal protectiveness towards the eggs at
least, so get them gloves ready for when you remove the eggs.
Caresheet Courtesy of Ray Curtis @
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