Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know i spelt the name wrong srry! anyways i was at work last nite when a coworker found this gecko, he was going to feed it to our shop mascot " which is a scorpion" but i said no, so i saved the little guy, now i am wondering what should i do with him? let him go? set up a 10 gallon for him? he is quite small, and i have him at my house now. so would i be better off keeping him? anyways was wondering if someone could give me some info on this gecko? found in western az, near ca and az border. would post a pic but don't have one atm. so any info is appreciated thnx

Don't let him go because he won't survive where you live!!! A 10 gallon is fine as long as there is a basking spot aroung 90-95F. Provide plenty of hiding spots and spray 2-4 times a day and the gecko should do fine. That's if you feed it small prey items like crickets that are no bigger than 1/2". Don't keep the light on 24/7 but rather only 12 hours on and 12 hours off.

>>Don't let him go because he won't survive where you live!!!

Med geckos survive just fine in AZ. They are an invasive species and can be found over much of the southern states. Historically they've been concentrated in the southeast, but have also spread eastward into AZ from SoCal.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

What I should have said is that don't let him go because he may otherwise become bird food. Besides AZ being mostly desert isn't an ideal place where you'll find house geckos except for near water.

>>What I should have said is that don't let him go because he may otherwise become bird food.

By that reasoning, we should catch every lizard we see so something doesn't eat them.

I like med geckos. I had them living on my house by the dozens (at my last house). Nevertheless, they're an invasive species and it wouldn't be detrimental to a local ecosysem if a couple wound up falling prey to other animals.

Besides AZ being mostly desert isn't an ideal place where you'll find house geckos except for near water.

Or around houses, oddly enough. I suspect it's the human tendency to have well-watered homesteads which have enabled the med gex to proliferate so widely in North America.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

well from what i have found out via research on the web, med. geckos are a introduced species in az and very very common in the local area i am in. a co worker found another one last nite and gave it to me sice i took the other one home so now i have 2. they have not eaten yet, i have tried small baby crickets, but nothing so far. thnx for the tips and info any other info is appreciated thnx

Quit picking on me!!! Not releasing him into the wild has nothing to do with catching every lizard you see. I don't live in AZ and I just looked into how far their range truly reaches (any only parts of AZ is sutible for house geckos). Correcting me is fine but pointing out every detail like you have is going too far. I was trying to convince him not to release it. Am I wrong for doing that?

Am I wrong for doing that?

No, you're "wrong" for having such a thin skin in the Internet. I would have hoped the smilies would convey my actual cheeriness in my reply!

I concur that keeping invasives is A-OK. I just think the rationale was poor--I couldn't care less if an exotic ends up as food for some other animal. Even natives end up getting eaten (my anoles were food for the local rat snakes, for example). All that Lion King "circle of life" stuff.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

OK: is there anything I need to know besides:
"10 gallon is fine as long as there is a basking spot aroung 90-95F. Provide plenty of hiding spots and spray 2-4 times a day and the gecko should do fine. That's if you feed it small prey items like crickets that are no bigger than 1/2". Don't keep the light on 24/7 but rather only 12 hours on and 12 hours off."
I'm really looking into getting a few of these... Thanks