Juile Bergman - Geckos: Day Geckos, Tokay Geckos Plus New Caledonians and More!

Karla Austin, Business Operations Manager

Nick Clemente, Special Consultant

Kendra Strey, Project Editor

Honey Winters, Designer

Cover and layout concept by Michael Vincent Capozzi

Indexed by Melody Englund

Front and back cover photos by Paul Freed.

All photos by Paul Freed except where otherwise indicated. The additional photographs in this book are by 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation, p. 8; Gerold Merker (courtesy of Julie Bergman), pp. 9, 29, 52, 61, 65, 75, 81, 85, 149; Zig Leszczynski, pp. 14, 24, 39, 62, 63, 72, 73, 80, 87, 101, 102, 111, 112, 130, 141; Bill Love, pp. 19, 23.

Copyright 2006 by Advanced Vivarium Systems

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Advanced Vivarium Systems, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

LCCN: 96-183295

ISBN: 1-882770-89-7

eISBN: 9781620080375

An Imprint of I-5 Press

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC

3 Burroughs

Irvine, CA 92618

Printed and bound in Singapore

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T his book could not have been written without the talent and generous help of colleagues who were willing to share their great knowledge of geckos with me. First among these is Sean McKeown, whose books The General Care and Maintenance of Tokay Geckos and Related Species and The General Care and Maintenance of Day Geckos inspired this book and from which the chapters on these two species are drawn. I was first introduced to the herpetological community and Sean McKeowns research on day geckos (Phelsuma) through the Northern California Herpetological Society (NCHS) meetings I attended during my college years. When I decided to specialize in the beautiful sticky-fingered day geckos with amazing colors, Sean, then curator of the Chaffee Zoological Gardens in Fresno, California, kindly agreed to mentor me. He continued as my mentor until his untimely death in 2002. His extensive knowledge of herpetology and his enthusiasm for Phelsuma species greatly inspired me to write about the subject and share what I learned with the gecko community.

For the present volume, I also owe special thanks to Philippe de Vosjoli, whose expertise (along with that of colleagues Ron Tremper, Roger Klingenberg, and Brian Viets) forms the basis of information on leopard and crested geckos in this book. I appreciate Philippes leadership in the herpetocultural community, his creation of the lovely Vivarium magazine, his numerous outstanding gecko books, and his basic concepts of herpetoculture.

I am grateful to several other major contributors for the vast gecko knowledge base we all enjoy today: to Ron Tremper, for his tremendous knowledge of all things leopard gecko; Tim Tytle, especially for his ground-breaking early work with day geckos; Magnus Forsberg, for his contributions to day gecko knowledge and the online community; Greg and Leann Christenson, for their dedication to Phelsuma species and wonderful book on these geckos; Allen Repashy, for his work on New Caledonian geckos (Rhacodactylus); Lee Grismer, for his work on leopard geckos and their relatives; Friedrich Wilhelm Henkel and Wolfgang Schmidt, for their extensive work in the field; and Philip Tremper, for his knowledge of just about every gecko you can think of!

Additionally, I wish to thank the staff and students at the University of CaliforniaDavis Veterinary School of Medicine and Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for an outstanding job providing my extensive gecko collection with medical care and educating me about gecko medical needs for the past twenty years. I cannot thank enough the following veterinarians, past and present, from UC Davis: Lisa Tell, DVM, Diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) (Avian Practice) and American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM); Michelle Hawkins, VMD, Dipl. ABVP (Avian Practice); Shannon Riggs, DVM; Jennifer Graham, DVM; Annaliese Strunk, DVM; and Keith Benson, DVM. Finally, I would like to thank the Global Gecko Association (GGA) for their excellent Internet resources and fine publications; Gerold Merker for his enthusiasm and excellence in photographing my geckos; my show partner, Cyndi Diekmann, for sharing the gecko madness with me over the years; and my husband, Peter Bergman, for putting up with it all!

INTRODUCTION

T he goal of this book is simple: to provide the reader with a straightforward, practical source of information on selecting and keeping geckos. Many gecko admirers wishing to keep a gecko are lost in the jungle of pet shops, reptile shows, and Web sites, confused as to which gecko is right for them. In my twenty-two years of keeping and breeding geckos, I made a lot of mistakes, mainly due to misinformation or no information at all. I unknowingly bought unhealthy animals, was given wrong advice, and spent long hours with veterinarians trying to fix these mistakes. Back then, successful private breeders (as I would later become) who were willing to share information were rare, and powerful sources of information such as the Internet didnt exist. Thank goodness times have changed!

Our gecko knowledge base has vastly increased since my early days of gecko keeping in the 1980s, and today its much easier to get correct information and healthy geckosthe two necessary ingredients for successful gecko keeping. Many of you to whom I have introduced geckos have asked me where my gecko book ishere it is! It is my distinct pleasure and honor to serve as your guide to the gecko world. Novice and experienced keepers alike will learn about which species make good choices for their skill levels.

A wide variety of herp products are available to you at pet shops and through online suppliers, but for our purposes we will discuss simple, inexpensive gecko housing setups. Keeping geckos involves a relatively small investment of time and money compared with the expense of traditional pets such as cats and dogs, plus theres the added benefit of observing beautiful geckos and their interesting behaviors in the comfort of your home.

In a nutshell, this book will offer you an educated snapshot of the many geckos available as pets today, such as the extremely popular leopard (Eublepharis macularius) and crested (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) geckos. Well focus on the most familiar geckos and talk about the many reasons they have fascinated so many reptile keepers. Let the gecko madness begin!

Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)such as this beautiful high-yellow specimenwho do well in the vivarium and are easy to care for, are undoubtedly the geckos most popular with beginners. However, many other species also do very well, and hobbyists with only moderate experience can keep and breed them successfully.

CHAPTER 1

WHY ARE GECKOS POPULAR?

C ultural images of geckos abound: these lizards are used in logos and icons in television and print marketing campaigns; their images are printed on clothing and engraved into jewelry; and they are the subjects of abstract art and handicrafts sold in south-western-themed boutiques.

Geckos are hailed by some cultures and ethnic groups as symbols of good fortune. In Hawaiian culture, for instance, people consider their gecko populations good luck because of their tremendous insect-eating skills.