Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Gecko help.....
I just received a phone call from a very unhappy mother.
Seems she got home and there is a gecko in the house. My sister was having her birthday party today and one of her friends got her a gecko.
My mom is not too pleased. She was asking me about proper care for gecko's so I told her I would get some. Right now it is in a plastic container of some sort with a fake plant in it. I'm not sure what is on the ground.
What are the bare minimums a gecko needs to survive? Do you think a pet store would take the gecko back Under the circumstances? My sister's friend needs a talking to for sure about giving pets as presents... as do her parents for they would have had to have brought her to the store to get it.

Any info I can get will be appreciated. I'm going home tomorrow so I will see it and better be able to describe what it's living in, etc.

Hard to tell from the photos, but looks like Hemidactylus frenatus. If so, there's lots of info on the web about them, but basic care is 10 gal tank, screen top, 90 degrees daytime at the warm end with a 10-15 degree drop at night, humidity 70-75%, and a water bowl available at all times. Substrate can be orchid bark, potting soil, or paper towels. Provide real or fake plants high up so they have something to hide behind. Food can be dusted crix, small moths and spiders, fruit flies, lacewings, etc.

It's possible the pet store may take it back. Are you sure it came from a pet store? H. frenatus live wild in parts of the Southeast, maybe it's wild caught.
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Chris

2.0.0 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
0.0.1 Tarentola mauritanica
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

Thanks for the help.
I live in Calgary Alberta Canada, so I'm pretty sure it came from a pet store. I'll have to phone my sis and tell her everything she needs to buy it, but she doesn't have any money and since my mom doesn't want her to have I'm pretty sure it will end up back at the pet store that sold it to her with just a small plastic cage , a silk plant and a few crickets.

Dont give it to the store. At the store I worked at this was a "feeder gecko". They are often "used" to get hognose snakes off a fasting period Anyway, your best bet is to get a small 10gal fish tank for 10$ or so and make your own lid of some sort (premade screen lid tanks go for 29$ usually). He can live at temps between 75-88 during the day but try to keep it in the 80's. Usually a small light fixture is all it needs, but UV light is preferable (although expensive ) Whatever you do, it will probably be better off than it would at the petstore.

The species in question is Cosymbotus platyurus. They are easy to care for, just keep them at around 85 degrees F and humid. They are tropical geckos. Let me know if you have any other questions.

http://www.gekkonids.com/English_3_Photos_Gekkoninae_Cosymbotus_platyurus.html

- Alejandro -
www.emeraldexotics.net
Gecko Database

>>The species in question is Cosymbotus platyurus. They are easy to care for, just keep them at around 85 degrees F and humid. They are tropical geckos. Let me know if you have any other questions.
>>
>>http://www.gekkonids.com/English_3_Photos_Gekkoninae_Cosymbotus_platyurus.html
>>
>>
>>- Alejandro -
>>www.emeraldexotics.net
>>Gecko Database

That was actually my first guess, you can kind of see that "wavy" look along the edge of the belly and tail, but I figured the odds were better in favor of a hemi since they are so much more common. I've never seen Cosymbotus up close, don't they have a pretty distinct mottled pattern on the dorsum? I can't really see one in the photos.
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Chris

2.0.0 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
0.0.1 Tarentola mauritanica
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

Well, it's not really a mottled pattern, just more or less a banded pattern. It's really easy to tell by the bold stripe running down either side of its abdomen. Also, they look kind of like miniature flying geckos with the flaps of skin and the flattened tail. I love them, but because they're a small brown gecko, not too many people appreciate them.

- Alejandro -
Emerald Exotics