Intro
Tokay Geckoes are found from Northeastern India and Bangladesh through southern China and Southeast Asia to Indonesia, and down into the Indo-Australian Archipelago They prefer to live in tropical rain forests, on cliffs and trees, and as insect hunters amongst human habitation. They are arboreal (tree-dwelling and cliff-dwelling). In parts of southeast Asia, Tokay Geckoes are regarded as harbingers of luck, good fortune, and fertility. Tokay geckos are commonly sold as pets - but their fierce bite makes them a potentially painful companion. A robust colorful gecko with grey/blue body and red/orange spots. Their red tongue and black throat is displayed during their aggressive gape display. Their aggressive behavior can lead to attacks on other male Tokays, other gecko species, and also human handlers.
Tokays prefer a temperature gradient inside their enclosures: 80-90 °F (27-33 °C) while a humidity of 55-75% is ideal. Heat is best provided with a ceramic heater or red-colored light bulb placed over one half of the enclosure. UV light is not needed. Potting soil and sand mixture, orchid bark, coconut fiber or fir bark can all be used as substrate. Spot cleaning of the terrarium should be done as needed. A complete breakdown of the terrarium and replacement of the substrate should be done every three to four months. Humidity can be maintained by daily misting once in the morning and once in the evening. These geckos stress with handling and should be considered a “hands off” gecko.
Physical Description
Tokay Geckoes are one of the largest geckoes alive today with a length of around 12". The body of a gecko is cylindrical, squat, and somewhat flattened on the upper side. The limbs are well-defined and uniformly developed. The head is large and set off from the neck, and they have large, prominent eyes with vertically-slit pupils. The eyelids of these animals are fused together and transparent. They also have remains of a rudimentary third eye on the top of their head, which is believed to coordinate their activity to light conditions. The ears can be seen on the outside of the gecko as small holes on both sides of the head. It is possible to see straight through the head of these geckoes through their ears. The nose is used for breathing and also for detecting scents.
A Tokay Gecko has the ability to cast off its tail in defense and regenerate a new one. The part of the tail that has been cast off will continue to wiggle violently for several minutes until it slows down and stops, thus giving the gecko fair time to escape. The tail has several sections on it where it can break off at any given moment. It takes approximately three weeks for these geckoes to completely regenerate a new tail although it is usually never as long as the original tail or as well defined and symetrical.
They have folds of skin that prevent the animal from casting a shadow while resting on a tree. They open up the skin fold completely and this allows them to blend in with the tree bark.
Tokays have been used extensively to study the selectively adhesive properties of gecko feet, and indeed most of the knowledge about these properties stems from studies of the Tokay. These studies have shown that geckos can cling upside down to polished glass, and the method by which the Tokay accomplishes this is hidden in its feet.
Diet
Tokay Geckoes are insectivorous carnivores. In captivity, they usually feed on mealworms, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, pink mice, dune bugs and locusts. Food should be offered every other day. Dusting of insects with a multipurpose reptile vitamin/mineral powder should be done at least every third feeding.
Life
Expectancy
A typical lifespan is 7–10 years, however I have seen reports of these animals living as long as 20.
Diet
Wild Degus mainly live on bulbs, tubers and bark. It's almost impossible to replicate this narrow and specialized diet in captivity. Feed your Degus a 50-50 mixture of chinchilla pellets and guinea pig pellets, sweet potatoes, carrots, dandelion greens, timothy hay and always a large supply of fresh green alfalfa. Give your Degus sometimes (once in three-four days) a few sunflower seeds or a half peanut, a few kernels of dried corn and sometimes some green beans.
The 50-50 mixture of chinchilla pellets and guinea pig pellets are for the day-to-day nutrients a Degu needs. Degus need the yellow vegetables (sweet potatoes and carrots) for the health of their teeth, for vitamin C, and to provide a fresh component to their diet. The timothy hay and the fresh alfalfa grass is given because Degus need high protein and some special nutrients. Degus like the sunflower seeds or the half peanut as a treat, and there are some ingredients in the seeds and peanut that are good for Degus.
A Degu can survive in the wild without any water, but be sure to give your Degus some fresh hyperchlorinated water every day, because the Degus can't get enough water out of the given food. You must hyperchlorinate the water because Degus are prone to mouth diseases. You can make chlorinated water by dropping one or two drops of household bleach in a quart (a concentration of approximate 1:125000)
DO NOT feed your Degu any sugar-holding food, like fruit or raisins. Degus can't metabolize sugar. Also don't feed your Degus the skin or the green parts of pototoes because they are *very* toxic for Degus (and for humans). Be sure not to give to much carbohydrate-holding food (i.e. starchy foods like corn), because Degus can't handle this kind of food. In the area where Degus live in the wild aren't much carbohydrate food sources, so Degus aren't used to carbohydrates. If you are the sort of person who cannot resist giving tidbits to your pets, then Degus are not for you.
Degus won't eat all their given food: they eat until they are satisfied. Also if you give a treat (like a peanut) Degus may bury this food. I think it is the same behavior that squirrel display: to bury food for bad times, like winter.
Life
Expectancy
Degus in the wild can live up to 15 years, but in captivity they rarely become 10 years old.