Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anybody keep tokays in their home, letting them roam freely?
I know that in their natural range many live in peoples houses eating the insects that are in the houses. You could setup an area in your house that is natural looking(has trees and plants, places to hide such as hollow bark etc.) You could provide food in this area and the tokays would probably stay around the area where food and hiding places are.
What do you think?

sounds like a neat idea. ive had a couple loose for a 2-3 days at a time but never on purpose. i dont get in a hurry to find them though. they usually show up behind the curtains not to far from where i keep my crickets. not to sure about the mess they would make where they decide to potty
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.4 Leos(7 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I've left the lid off my cage twice so far and both times I found him in the same spot but on the other side of the glass. Oh btw, darkman, whats the status on that female?

makes me seem as a evil movie charactor!! He He. Sent a reply thru email.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.4 Leos(7 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

You do not need any plants or natural stuff. Tokays do live in "normal houses" in south east asia.
I had several tokays as free roamers for quite some years in my herp room.
All you need is places to warm up (which are plenty in any herp room), a water bowl and a bowl with additionla food at a place where they hang around.
They do well and readily breed under such conditions.
I stopped it, because they sometimes produced a mess with their feces.
Of course you have to secure windows and doors.
If you let them go in a room without herp tanks, you need some hidden weak basking spot and several heat pads to creater warm places in addition.
Hope that helps

Ingo

Could that work with their close relative G. vittatus? I have one and it seems like he would be alot happier with more room. Did they usually drop their feces in the same general area? How did you keep it clean? Did they always stay up high on the walls and ceilings or did they come down to the ground at all? Any additional info would be great!
Adam

>>You do not need any plants or natural stuff. Tokays do live in "normal houses" in south east asia.
>>I had several tokays as free roamers for quite some years in my herp room.
>>All you need is places to warm up (which are plenty in any herp room), a water bowl and a bowl with additionla food at a place where they hang around.
>>They do well and readily breed under such conditions.
>>I stopped it, because they sometimes produced a mess with their feces.
>>Of course you have to secure windows and doors.
>>If you let them go in a room without herp tanks, you need some hidden weak basking spot and several heat pads to creater warm places in addition.
>>Hope that helps
>>
>>Ingo
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My pic gallery

I did not try that for G. vittatus. G. vittatus is not among the G. species commonly living in houses. But it may be worth a try.
Free roaming at least works for gecko, ulikovskii, grossmanni and petricolus.
My free roaming tokays never came to the ground. Each individual preferred a constant sleeping place and all females glued their eggs to the same place behind a day gecko enclosure. They dropped their feces anywhere-and thats why I stopped it and now only have Cosymbotus as free roamers.
Tokay feces is not always dry enough te be removed (by a vacuum cleaner) without leaving stains.

Hope that helps

Ingo

I'll keep a plant there and spray it with water for him to drink, plus he might just drop the feces into the plant pot. Where did the geckos usually stay? Behind something or out in the open?
Thanks for the help!
Adam
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My pic gallery

looks like ill be moving back to my home in washington hopefully in December. my mother i care for wont be with me when that happens and i will finally have a Gecko room.i plan on having one or two free roamers when this happens. think it will be babies and not my adults though.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.5 Leos(8 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida

I don't like the idea of tokays running loose in the house for one simple reason: They may ingest something that came from the outside that ingested poison. I want to know *exactly* what my tokay ate, and how much. Then again, my tokay would probably starve if I did that--you can't find a bug in the house anywhere.

I had my tokay for several years now and she won't venture out even if you encouraged it. She finds her terrarium a haven of security, and is very happy in there.

She's pretty tame, likes to be handfed, and will turn black if you do not give her attention at least once a day (no joke). Once I opened her terrarium and talked to her and pet her then she turns back to her pretty bluish colors with orange spots.

She only comes out if she wants by jumping on my arm-then I let her out and talk to her like a baby then put her back.

Jade Fox, aka LizardFlorida