Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If i had a large free range setup, could i keep a pair of tokays and a pair of giant day geckos and possibly a chameleon of some sort. eg. a veiled, in the free range together? The free range would be the size of a room. These species won't cause any conflict when kept together will they, in this size of an enclosure?
I know most peolple almost always never mix species, because they think its bad for some reason or another, however in the case described above there would be plenty of room, basking places, cooler places, hiding places etc.

You have a room sized enclosure and you're putting tiny geckos in it?

*jealousy* Oh, the things I could do with an enclosure that size...

probably would work.

How would you keep the humidity high fot the geckos though? Also, i think vields need low humidity (correct me if im wrong).

Veileds can live in a wide range of humidities i believe. On some sites i have seen it says 50% or higher and on another it said 30 to 50%. Anyway if the enclosure is large enough there will be areas with different humidities and so the animals could choose the area of humidity they prefer.
In order to get humidity, foggers could be used at different locations, a small pool with a pump in would provide a place to drink aswell as adding to the humidity. Or i could simply spray areas of the enclosure by hand.

This sounds like a good idea until you mention the tokays AND day geckos. These are too very different geckos. Even in a room, there will be problems eventually. Research geckos that would naturally meet eachother in the wild. Like several species of day gecko. You may even be able to add Leaf tailed geckos (uroplatus) as these also inhabit simular areas in Madagascar as the days.

The key here is 'research'. Choose what geckos you would like and write down all of they're requirements. then work out how you can provide them in the room.

The only problem i see with the chams, is that given the chance, would eat the geckos. But i guess, if the right foods are available and enough of it is available then this might not be a problem.

Claire
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I currently keep:
1.2 leopard geckos
1.1 gold dust day geckos
6 dwarf ground geckos
0.1 chinese cave gecko
0.1 tokay gecko

Other species: crested gecko, giant day gecko

Because of the cham possibly eating some smaller species of geckos is why i think bigger geckos would work better such as the tokays and/or giant days; i would think these would be too large for a veiled or cham of similar size to eat.
As you say, tokays and giant days do live in different parts of the world, however i think they have approximately same temperature and humidity requirements, don't they? And if not, an enclosure the size of a room could provide a large range of temps and humidity levels. Another thing is that tokays are largely nocturnal, whereas the giant days are diurnal as their name suggests; therefore there would be alot less chance of conflict.The two gecko species are approx same size aswell, aren't they? Giant days getting 11 inch in length and tokays 12 inch last time i researched. Therefore predation is not going to happen.
Please correct me if you know that any of the info i have said is wrong.

Tokays are some of the largest geckos out there. They get anywhere from 14 to 18 inches. When they grow up, I think they might pick on the days since they're not as agressive as tokays. A tokay can also take down a chameleon in my opinion or at least cause damage to it. Large veileds tend to be very slow and prone to stress out easy. However, a room size is pretty big so it just might work.

Do you know exactly how big giant days get?
Also, in a room sized enclosure would the two gecko species not avoid each other if one was picking on the other?
Do you know of any diurnal species of gecko that come from the same region as tokays, but would not harm each other? Because i want to keep both diurnal and nocturnal species.

I dont think the Viled would eb a good idea at all i believe just the site of another animal in his area would stres him, chameleons are very easily stressed if yoy ahev a room to put stuff into why nto a monitor or somthing large because you coould keep all three of these species in semi small enclosures Cham 4*2*2, day gecko in 20 gallon, and tokay in twenty gallon. or if your set on geckos you should get a trio of baby rhacodactylus lechiniaus, or get a trio of Uroplatus Henklie. Both large geckos that would do very nicely in alarge enclosure especialy the Rhac.

hope i helped
Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

The thing is, i don't want a monitor. Why get a monitor just because you've got the space?
No matter what the size of the animal, i believe that the bigger the enclosure the better. I never get the minimum sized enclosure for any of the species i keep, because in my opinion the minimum size is usually too small.
I really want some tokays for the free range, so i was wondering if you know any other herps that would be alright in the same free range with them.
By the way, do rhacodactylus lechiniaus have a common name, because i tried searching for them on the web with the scientific name and there was no matches.

Go to either the Rhac forum or Giantgecko.com is a great breeder of them they aer one wild gecko they come with a pretty price tag but if you have that much space why not get somthing out of the ordinary?

Hope i helped
Sean

P.S. i think i spelles there name wrong sorry m8.
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

http://www.giantgeckos.com/ sorry agin m8

Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

Ive had some expirence with them, they are one of the larger Gecko species definitly much larger then a tokay another nice species which is large is Rhacodactylus Chahoua, they haev some nice pic sof them at http://home.netcom.com/~deadrats/h.htm.

Again hope i helped and sorry for all the posts lol.,

Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

Don't be sorry about all the posts, i am open to suggestions. However i would much prefer a tokay than them other giant geckos.

The New Caledonian (or Leach's) giant geckos are the size of a small kitten... you really have to see an adult in person. I like them a lot, but they are very very expensive, especially if you want a sexed one. I understand liking tokays.

Do you know how expensive tokays are?

I think I've seen tokays for $20.. which would make them 20 times cheaper than a Leachie. I'm sure adult tokays would be more than that.

Ive seen them for like 10 bucks actually i think www.reptiledepot.com sells em for that. I hope your aware of hwo aggresive Tokays are its is a very rare case that you can handle a tokay, and there biets are extreemly painful to say the least. Just makeing sure you know and your not just getting them for the cool factor.

Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

yes i know that tokays are very aggressive and have a nasty bite. I often see the quote "the tokay will bite the hand that feeds it". I never buy any animal without researching about it before hand. By the way, i don't plan on getting any of these animals for a few years yet, as i am only 15. i plan on getting some tokays and other herps(i have always wanted a cham) when i am older and have left home. So i am rearching about them maybe 5 years before i get them! There will probably be much more newly discovered information about them in a few years time too.
I didn't know alot of people thought of tokays as cool. I like them because of their characteristics: there size, colour, being able to climb on vertical surfaces and even cielings because of their lamalae, spatulae and setae forming an intermolecular force between them and the molecules on the surface that they are on. I like the fact that they are nocturnal and have no eyelids and are skilled hunters and the noises they make. I like their territorial behaviour and their personality and much more....... I know you could say alot of these things about alot of geckos, but i like the fact that tokays are all of these.
I like to observe my herps, i never handle them if it is not neccessary, so i think a tokay would be a very good choice of herp to get.
Although i am sure i will get many more different species too.

..ive seen lots of tame tokays that are harmless. Id buy a baby, and tame it at an early age if you dont want a very aggresive gecko. Ive even tamed my Giant Day gecko (and dont give me that crap on their skin....I never damaged anything so far except a patch on its side, but that wasnt my fault). I often take it outside to bask, or leave it roaming around my room for hours.

np
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I do mix tokays with various other species. If the tanks are of apt size and wel furnished and if the tankmat4s are chosen carefully, that works perfectly. No compromises in fertility or longevity of the cagemates.
Only in such a setup you may see, that tokay are among the least agressive lizards.
But I keep my mouth shut. In these kind of forums, you must not talk about mixing species.
Anyone who is interseted in my experiences may mail me directly.

Ci@o

Ingo

The thing about Tokays is their very territorial and aggressive. If anything nears them during the day while their hiding out they will attack it. Have you ever seen what they do to pinkies. And if anything moves at night chances are theyll attack it, its their nature. Get a Male and a few females and before long you have babies everywhere too.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

so are you saying that absolutely no other herp can be kept with tokays, no matter how big the enclosure.
And also, what number of tokays and of what sex do you think is best to keep in a free range the size of a room? Do you think that if a tokay had free range of the whole house that it would stay near the area where its food was or at least go to that area when its hungry, remembering and/or sensing where the food is, assuming i only made food available in one specific area of the house?

LOL free range of the house? not a good idea at all especialy for a small lizard, if you gaev him free range chances are youd neevr see him again, and that other dude who mentioned mixing species is a good idea i wont reem you for it ill just say realy not a good idea do to different , problems, health mainly. Tokays, keep them in groups of one male to hwoever many females, territory battles can leave fatal injuries. Lol you sound like you got a long time befor you have any herps, but ill stick to topic free range of house for tokay or pretty much every lizard not a good idea.

?
sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

Give a couple of tokays free roam of your house, and if you don't live in a cold area, your neighborhood will be the proud recipient of an invasive colony of tokay geckos. They have no instinct which leads them to know where 'home' is, and they can find as many bugs in your walls and outside of your house as inside. A room would be ok because you could seal off the vents and the space under the door.. you'd just have to be careful when opening it.

Please tell me if i am wrong, but i thought tokays reach lengths of 12 to 18 inch. How on earth do they fit under doors and in to vents? Can they squeeze themselves flat or something?
And also i plan on getting a modern house, with few or no insects in at all.
P.S. you and most people on this forum probably live in America, but i live in England, UK, so maybe the houses in america are different(different doors and vents with big gaps in or something). And the climate here in the UK as you probably know, is not siutable for tokays.
The only way a tokay would get outside is if i left a door or window open.

I have a 2 foot long monitor lizard that can squeeze under a door, in a heartbeat. The gap under my interior doors is the width of two fingertips. I don't think a flattish gecko like a tokay would have any problems at all. If they can get their heads under the doors where you live, I'd be concerned enough to attach something to the bottom so it's flush to the ground.
I can't actually reach my vents to tell you how wide the opening is on them...

Err this si starting to bother me, why would you want your tokays roaming around your hosue u would NEVER SEE THEM, they hide in closets anywere were the least amount of traffic is theyd go, and no matter how sealed up you ahev your place youl forget somthing one day and there out and about, room size is fine, thats even a lot for tokays. You sound like you haev a while befor you get any herp just think about things and whos know your mind will probably change i knwo mine did when i first got into rep's one week i wanted this next week somthing diff w/e it is good luck and. Lets kill two ideas mixing species NO, Free roaming Tokays No.

Latter
Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

meretseger, i can only just fit my index finger under my interior doors. And the few vents that there is have gaps so small i can't even fit my little finger through.

bjtball, i was just seeing what other people would think about keeping a tokay in the whole house. But now i have your opinions i think i shall stick to one room free ranges. (Although personally i think its possible to keep them with access to atleast most of the house).
And your right...my mind might change, it has done before, but i'm sure i'll get a tokay some time in my life, because for me they have got to be one of my top 10 herps.

I just tested my dryer, which is where my monitor liked to go when he got out (took us a week to find him). I can only fit one finger under that... hrm, that's pretty amazing. So at any rate I'd do some sort of door-fitting-under test before you let them loose. Reptiles are champion squeezers.

Can reptiles squeeze or change the shape of their skull?

I would usually say no... but.. geez, maybe they can... I never really thought about it, but how DID Tweek (the lizard in question) squeeze under that dryer? He got under there twice. I could have sworn his head is thicker than my finger. I'd get him out, but putting fingers anywhere near his mouth is a recipie for severe pain.
If you wonder why I keep talking about him, none of my 4 geckos have escaped or run under doors, and none are as large as a Tokay. So Tweek is the only example I have.
At any rate... err on the side of caution! Reptiles are not easily found when lost.

I lost a 3 day old Tokay hatchling not to long ago for almost a week. I searched everynight with a flashlight, its so small. I have wood paneling and one night i saw a slight movement and he was laying in the crack in the paneling. could have looked right at him 50 times and never seen him if he didnt move. also happened to be right above where the crickets were kept. hes escaped a few more times since while handling but much easier to find now hes larger.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

Very interesting......do you find that the when one of your tokays escapes that you usually find it near where you keep your crickets?

They are nocturnal but I leave their red buld on 24/7 and they have their fav spots under the heat source they like to lay in for a while. I havent lost very many without catching them the same day but i keep 3 sizes of crickets and so it sounds like cricket haven in here at night which would draw them to them at night.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

Once you get the geckos... you'll probably end up with enough escaped crickets to keep one happy if it gets away from you. I think they do tend to hang around water sources though. My dog eats most of my loose crickets, so I'm lucky there.

I know what you're talking about.....i have crickets for my green anole(anolis carolinensis) and they are all over my house. I don't really mind too much, until it gets to the evening at which time they seem to constantly chirp for hours. My dad and brother think we should let the anole loose and maybe it will eat them. However i don't think it would work because the crickets tend to be nocturnal, whilst the anole is diurnal. So like you say, a tokay or another type of nocturnal species would catch them, because they are both active at the same time.

I based my reply solely on my experiences with my Tokays. I have never put another lizard/gecko in with them. I have seen them shred pinkie rats in peices that are too big to swallow whole and the fact they attack everything Ive ever put in their home that moves including usually barking and snapping at my hand when it gets to close to them just leads me to believe they would more than likely attack another lizard/ gecko. Good luck, I dont think Tokays are the meanest thing around actually.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

By the look of things it seems that tokays have a very aggressive reputation, and so when i get one or a trio sometime(don't know when, probably years yet) i will probably keep them by themselves.
By the way, are the pinky rats that you feed them alive or dead?

Only alive. dont usually use pinky rats, was out of pinkie mice so i took the rat not realizing how much bigger it was. had some graet pics of that encounter but lost them a few months back when my hard drive crashed. was def not for the weak of heart.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

OK, i just put a 6 inch long rubber realistic gecko on one of the adults favorite basking branches. unfortuneately it doesnt move but ill see if I get a reaction from them by it. ill let you know.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I thought that tokays were primarily nocturnal, therefore not needing to bask. Am i wrong in thinking this?

There still cold blooded though so they need heat to control there body temperature.

sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email