A gecko is a type of lizard that is increasing in popularity among pet owners due to the lizard’s unique appearance, mild temperament, friendly attitude, and long life span. Below are facts about 9 different types of geckos kept as a pet.
1. Central American Banded Gecko
Size: 4 - 7 inches long
Description: Base body color is tan, pink, yellow, or cream with light or dark brown bands breaking up the base color.
Diet: Eats food smaller than the size of its head consisting of crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, and wax worms.
2. Crested Gecko
Size: 6 - 10 inches long
Description: Multiple body color types including light yellow, light brown, tan, or gray with light or dark gold-colored splashes. Many will temporarily change to a bright orange or red color for several hours each day. Typically, the brighter colored types have small black spots scattered all over their body. Small spikes line the top of their eyelids running along the outline of their head and along the top of their back, stopping at their tail.
Diet: Eats food smaller than the size of its head consisting of crickets, grasshoppers, snails, figs, berries, bananas, peaches, guava and papaya.
3. Fat-tailed Gecko
Size: 6 - 10 inches long
Description: Main body color is dark or light brown with bands of the opposite colors, or a solid tan stripe along the entire top of the body. The tail is often as large as the thickest part of the body.
Diet: Eats food smaller than the size of its head consisting of crickets and mealworms.
4. Gargoyle Gecko
Size: 6 - 9 inches long
Description: Often looks like a rock, stone, or tree branch with swirling color splotches of gray, tan, brown and orange. Some have solid colored stripes running along the top of their body from head to tail.
Diet: Eats large crickets, grasshoppers, feeder roaches, pinky mice, silkworms and fruit.
5. Giant Day Gecko
Size: 8 - 12 inches long
Description: Solid green body color with orange or red spots on the top of their head, neck, body, legs and feet.
Diet: Eats food smaller than the size of its head consisting of crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, wax worms, silk worms, grub worms and butter worms.
6. Gold-dust Day Gecko
Size: 4 - 6 inches
Description: Bright green body color with blue or yellow tint. The top of each eyelid is lined with a bright blue color. The entire top of the body is covered with various-sized gold-colored speckles. Several red or rust colored spots are located on the top of their body just above the hind legs. Some types have legs or feet that are the same bright blue color as their eyelids.
Diet: Eats crickets, grasshoppers, feeder roaches, mealworms, earthworms, wax worms, silk worms and fruit.
7. Leopard Gecko
Size: 6 - 10 inches long
Description: Various base body color shades of yellow, tan, pink, or cream with brown or black spots along the topside of the head, neck, body, tail, legs and feet.
Diet: Eats crickets, mealworms, wax worms and silk worms.
8. Tokay Gecko
Size: 9 - 14 inches long
Description: Base body color of blue, gray, tan, teal, or pink with orange, red, or rust-colored spots scattered along the top of their head, neck, body, legs and feet.
Diet: Eats crickets, grasshoppers, feeder roaches, pinky mice, super worms, mealworms, wax worms and silk worms.
9. White-lined Gecko
Size: 8 - 10 inches long
Description: Base body color is various shades of brown, tan, or olive green. Has a white stripe outlining each side of the top of their head, which joins over the top of their neck and runs down the center of their entire body.
Diet: Eats crickets, mealworms, wax worms and fruit.
Copyright © 2016 by John Mallozzi
