How to Care for a House Gecko

The house gecko is called the house gecko because it lives almost entirely in cities. It makes its home in buildings in urban areas. The house gecko is able to walk on vertical surfaces and even ceilings and can be quite fun to watch. They are nocturnal and therefore not very active during the day. A house gecko can live five to ten years if cared for properly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Enclosure
• Aquarium lid
• Heat lamp
• Thermometer
• Spray bottle
• Vitamin and mineral supplement
• Cage decorations
• Substrate
• Full spectrum lighting
• Night light

1. Provide your house gecko with an appropriately sized aquarium. A vertically oriented tank is best because the gecko is arboreal. The tank should be at least 10 gallons in size. Be sure to have a secure screen top lid for your tank.

2. Use two or three inches of a substrate that will help maintain humidity like peat moss, orchid bark or mulch. Live plants can also be grown in these substrates.

3. Heat one end of the tank to 90 degrees Fahrenheit while maintaining a constant 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the rest of the enclosure. Accomplish this with a heat lamp on one end of the tank.

4. Supply full spectrum lighting in the aquarium as it will benefit the live plants as well as the gecko. However since the gecko is nocturnal it does not need any special lighting.

5. Maintain a humidity level in the cage of 80 percent by misting the cage with a spray bottle daily. You do not need to provide a water bowl but instead keep the cage well misted. The house gecko will drink water off the leaves in the cage.

6. Add plenty of climbing areas and fake or live plants to the enclosure so the gecko can climb as it pleases.

7. Feed your house gecko with feeder insects from your local pet store like crickets and mealworms. Feed the insects before feeding them to the geckos, this is called gut-loading. They should be fed daily as juveniles and every other day as adults.

Tips & Warnings

• Use night lamps to view your house geckos at night.
• Do not try to handle your house gecko, they are meant to be watched and not played with.
• Be sure to turn the full spectrum light off on a regular basis in the cage so that the lizards can experience "night" and become more active. If not you will disrupt their body cycle and could even kill them.

Resources

• Visit Anapsid to find your local herpetological societies and rescues.