Captive Care of Golden Geckos
by Joshua Fast and Psyco S.C
Introduction
Golden Geckos (Gekko ulikovskii)
originate in the lush tropical forests of Vietnam. Goldens are commonly found
as common residents in peoples homes. They are nocturnal and range in size from
six to eight inches total body length. Goldens with the proper care and
evironment are very inquisitive, active geckos that make great display animals.
Acquisition
Choosing a golden gecko should not
be done under an impulse, they require a lot of space and are not great pets
for the beginner gecko keeper. I would highly recommend you buy a captive bred
golden from a reputable breeder. This way you are insuring you have purchased
the highest quality animal. I do not recommend you buy a golden from a pet
store or on a table of a reptile show. These goldens generally are imported and
need specific meds to rid them of parasites. If you absolutely want to buy a pet
store golden then take the time to examine it first. Ask to pick it up (at your
own risk) A healthy golden will struggle when you are holding it. Look for
injuries and missing digits, look at the vent to check for smeared feces (a
very good sign of parasites). Examine the skin looking for depressed or
projecting areas around the torso, indicating broken ribs. Check for protruding
hip or back bones, a sign of malnourishment, make sure it has good weight to it
and a decent size tail. Make sure there are no signs of external parasites. The
golden might gape at you, which is a typical threat display. Use this time to
check the inside of the mouth. Make sure there are no white lumpy areas around
the gum line, or packets of mucous anywhere in the mouth. If everything checks
out and you still would like to make the purchase, make sure you have an
enclosure for him already set up. You are going to want to keep him in a
separate room away from any other herps in a quarantine setup. Use minimal cage
furnishings and butcher paper or paper towels to line the bottom. Any tools
used for the care of the reptile should not leave the room until disinfected
with a 10% bleach/water solution. Work the quarantine room after you have taken
care of all of your other reptiles. Make sure you use latex gloves and practice
good hygiene when working in this room. You should establish quarantine for a
minimum of 90 days. Use this time for observation, checking for further weight
loss and/or runny feces. You should also find a reputable exotic animal
veterinarian and get a fecal sample in to be tested for internal parasites. If
four consecutive fecals turns out negative and your gecko is eating well, then
you may introduce him into his permanent caging in your reptile room.
Housing
Goldens are not as big as tokays but are still very active. I recommend, as a
minimum, a 30 gallon aquarium for a single golden or a 55 gallon for a pair.
You have several different options when searching for an enclosure. Just keep a
couple things in mind. The first is that goldens prefer vertical space to
horizontal space, as they are arboreal geckos. Next make sure that it has ample
ventilation, but enough closure to where it will maintain humidity. This is why
using caging such as reptariums and other mesh caging is not recommended due to
its inability to hold humidity. Substrate should be something that will hold
humidity well such as crushed coconut fiber or pure, clean soil. Please do not
confuse this with potting soil, which contains perlite and fertilizers. Do not
use substrates such as bark, sand, or gravel, they are dangerous to your golden
because of their risk of impaction, not to mention they will not hold humidity
as well. Enclosures should be well planted with either live or artificial
plants, and have plenty of vertical orientated hiding spots for them to rest in
during the day. Vines, for example hung along the top provide something they
can get behind during the day but still allowing them to still be high in their
enclosure. Wood and rock can also be provided to allow them some climbing
furniture although don't be surprised if they prefer to hang out on the glass.
As a side note never house golden geckos with any other species of reptile.
Mixing species will just result in competition for either territory or food and
one or more of the species will inevitably end up being bullied or eaten. On
the same lines do not house males together because golden geckos are
territorial they will likely fight to the death.
Environmental Requirements
For the purpose of the good health of your golden a few requirements need to be
met on a daily basis. Temperature should be between 75 - 86 degrees during the
day with up to a 10 degree drop at night. Make sure that bulbs or heat emitters
are not exposed or set directly on the screen top of the cage. Geckos can walk
on the top and without knowing can give themselves nasty burns. DO NOT USE HEAT
ROCKS. They have been known to severely burn reptiles and goldens don't like
coming to the floor to warm up anyway. Golden geckos are nocturnal so UV
lighting is not required but may be beneficial; as recent studies have found
that nocturnal species may bask in the sun in early dawn and late dusk.
Humidity should be maintained at 60 - 80% although higher is always better.
Humidity is important in their shedding process. Regularly check for unshed
skin especially around the toes and tail. If your golden is having problems
shedding soak them in lukewarm water and gently remove the skin. If it doesn't
come off easily then soak them a little longer. If the problem is around the
head or neck use a moistened cotton swab and lightly apply moisture. If this
happens periodically chances are you need to increase the relative humidity in
the cage. Spray the cage down 2 - 3 times a day with purified water to maintain
this. It's important to use purified water for two reasons. Your gecko does not
drink out of a bowl, although it is not a bad idea to supply one. They drink by
lapping water off of leaves and the glass. Using purified water prevents them
from ingesting harmful chemicals or water born parasites and bacteria. The
second reason is cosmetic, purified water lacks the minerals that leave
spotting on the glass making it easier to view. Make sure you keep the
enclosure clean. Spot clean feces every day and thoroughly clean the enclosure
once a month, changing out the substrate each time this is done. This is
necessary for the health and well being of your animals.
Feeding
Golden geckos are great eaters and are not usually very picky. They will eat
crickets, mealworms, superworms, roaches, and waxworm moths. Fruit flavored
baby food should also be offered a couple times a week. Try to vary their diet
as much as possible, its important for them to get a well-rounded balance of
nutrition. Also try making feeding times unpredictable to keep them interested,
for example feed them two days in a row and skip a day, feed them three days in
a row and skip a day, feed them for one day and skip two days etc. This always
keeps them excited when they see food. Feed them as much as they can eat in 15
minutes. Make sure you dust hatchling's prey with a calcium/D3 supplement such
as Repcal every feeding, and a vitamin supplement such as Herptivite once a
week. Adult's prey should be dusted with calcium/D3, three times a week and
once a week with a vitamin supplement. Remember, what goes into your feeders
goes into your geckos so make sure you are gut-loading your feeders 24 hours
prior to feeding them to your geckos. To gut-load provide them with a variety
of vegetables and fruits to eat as well as oats and bran cereal.
Taming
Golden geckos can be handled with care as they are very skittish and can be
scared easily. They also have very sensitive skin so care must be taken when
handled. They lack the powerful jaws that other members of the Gekko family
have, but they can nip if stressed.
Breeding
There will come a time in a lot of golden owners' lives where breeding is
considered. This is fairly easy with the proper conditions. First make sure
your geckos meet the following prerequisites. Make sure they have good weight,
a breeding season will take a lot out of even the heaviest female. Make sure
they have a clean bill of health, in other words do not attempt to breed newly
acquired animals. Next you need to determine the sex of your goldens. Male
goldens have more pronounced pre-anal pores and are generally larger. Females
lack the vivid golden color on the dorsal surface. After verifying the gender
of your geckos, all it takes is placing them in the same enclosure together. It
is recommended that you put the male into the female's enclosure, or place them
both into a neutral enclosure to prevent a possible territorial dispute.
Approximately thirty days after courtship the female will lay one or two large
white eggs on a chosen surface of the enclosure. This may be a piece of wood,
rock, or the wall of the enclosure itself. After the eggs have been laid, do
not under any circumstance try to remove the eggs from the wall. Goldens are
"egg-gluers" meaning after the eggs are laid, the eggs are
permanently attached to whatever they were laid on. If you are worried that the
eggs might be damaged by the adults, then a deli-cup with 1/8" holes
punched in the side can be cut to fit over them. Duct tape seems to hold best under
the humidity requirements. This will make it easier to remove the hatchlings
after they are out as well. Hatchlings must be removed as soon as they are
hatched as the adults may eat the hatchling. If the eggs were laid on something
removable such as a piece of wood then it can be removed and incubated
artificially at 80 - 84 degrees. Incubation times can range anywhere from 65 -
200 days if the eggs are fertile. When the hatchling has emerged from the egg
remove him and place him in his own separate 10 gallon enclosure. The female
will then ingest what is left of the shell and leave no trace of it behind.
Final Note
Goldens are very rewarding geckos to keep, but you will quickly realize that
you will get out of them what you put in. Each individual has a personality all
its own and you will never run into two of them who are identical. They are
colorful, vocal, and active making them a great animal to observe and study. If
you would like to further read on golden geckos and their related species, I
suggest you get the book General Care and Maintenance of Tokay Geckos and
Related Species by Sean McKeown and Jim Zaworski, the source for quite a few
facts from this caresheet.