Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

I'm building an atrium on to my house. It's going to have a lot of nice orchids and things that I've been collecting over the years. It will have a little waterfall and pond, and I intend to adopt two aquatic turtles to live out their lives in luxury, so I definitely do not want to use any pesticides for bug control.

The question is this:

Would a pair of tokay geckos be good and appropriate for pest control? I have always liked them, and admired their feistiness. More importantly, the temperature and humidity required by my plants is in their required range as well. It seems to me that if I did get a pair they would probably like being out in an atrium much more than in a cage.

Also, I am concerned that if the natural insect supply should dwindle for any reason, they would go hungry. Does anybody out there think that a tokay could be conditioned to fetch mealies or silkworms out of little bucket? My idea is that if I leave them a snack in a designated container once a week or so, they will get used to that and look there for food if they run out of other things to eat. That way I can make sure they are eating enough.

Thank you all for your time!

A couple of observations:

They can definitely become conditioned to look for food in a particular place; I have gex of four different species: when I open the cage of my bandeds, they stand there and look up waiting for crickets to drop. If I don't feed crix, they go straight to the bowl in the corner and check for mealworms. My crested and my white lined gex will go to a vantage point when I dim the lights, and stare at the corner where I put their food. That being said, I don't know how well this sort of behavior will translate from a cage-sized habitat to a room-sized one.
Whether they would be appropriate for pest control is another issue. What sort of pests are we talking about? I would suppose that certain caterpillars, beetles, or bugs might be unpalatable or even harmful to the geckos. Presumably they would soon learn not to eat those, I guess.
I think it's a great idea. If I didn't live in an apartment I would have a room with geckos running loose too.

-----
Chris

1.0.1 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
1.0.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

>>I'm building an atrium on to my house.

That's a dream of mine, too.

If it were my place, I'd stick with green/brown anoles, and Mediterranean geckos for pest control. That way, if I wanted to add anything else, the existing lizards wouldn't eat the newcomers.

The Crystal Bridge in Oklahoma City (www.myriadbotanicalgardens.com) uses brown anoles in a similar manner.
-----
Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet