Gecko is ... Gecko lizard: care, feeding, content

Gekkon is a small (usually medium-sized) lizard, inhabiting the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia and Africa. In addition, it can be found in the forests of Madagascar and South Asia. Gekkon is a lizard that is often planted as a pet, as they are completely unpretentious to the conditions of detention.

External differences

The length of the body of a reptile of this species is from 4 to 30 cm. They have large, convex eyes that do not have eyelids. They are covered with a transparent film and have vertical pupils. Characteristically, they expand in the dark. Not everyone knows that geckos are endowed with a very delicate skin that can easily be injured, despite the fact that it is covered with granular fine scales.

The main feature of geckos is the fingers, enlarged and covered with horny plates from below. This allows the lizard to easily move and hold on a vertical surface.

Gekkon - a lizard with a thin and brittle tail, which, however, can regenerate. Most of the representatives of this family are active at night.

A characteristic feature of geckos is to produce a variety of different sounds. They can hiss, squeak, whistle. Especially loudly they scream in the mating season.

Geckos: content

In captivity, keep these cute lizards pretty simple. The main thing is to provide them with good conditions and proper care.

For geckos you need a small vertical terrarium. In natural conditions, these reptiles prefer to live in small colonies, their houses are better kept in pairs.

Male geckos are quite aggressive - they guard their territory jealously. This is especially noticeable in the mating season. Males fight to the death. At best they can mutilate each other. You can keep the women from one to three.

Arrangement of the terrarium

The floor should be covered with peat or coconut shavings, you can use small gravel. This coating must be constantly moistened. Sand for this purpose will not work, as it, together with food, can enter the lizard's body and cause various diseases.

During the day, the temperature in the terrarium should not be below 28 degrees, and the night temperature should not be lower than 8 degrees. Since there are also day gecko species, an ultraviolet lamp is desirable for them.

The terrarium should have a drinking bowl, several dry but not sharp branches, shards from ceramic pots, pieces of wood bark. All this will serve as a hideout for the gecko.

It is possible to put in a terrarium small pots with ornamental plants (philodendrons, dwarf creeping ficus, arrowroot, etc.) to maintain the necessary microclimate.

The lizard feels safe when there are many scenery in the terrarium. It is necessary that the humidity is maintained in it. To do this twice a day, the terrarium should be sprinkled with warm boiled water, without overmoistening the soil. Take care of creating effective ventilation.

Gekkon: care and feeding

If you want your wards to feel comfortable, you must follow certain conditions of their maintenance. Gekkon is a lizard with powerful jaws, which are sometimes not so easy to unclench, and sharp teeth. When it is aggressive, the reptile swells, hisses, while opening its mouth wide. After these awesome maneuvers, she makes a sharp attack, attacking the enemy. Therefore, do not try to pick it up at the first meeting. Do not try to grab her by the tail - he can easily tear himself away.

The terrarium must be regularly disinfected and cleaned. If you want to take a gecko in your hands, wash them. Do the same after your communication is over. Gekkon can be a carrier of salmonella.

An interesting regularity is that the larger the size of a gecko, the less it must be fed. For example, a 20 cm reptile should be fed twice a week. Gekkon is a lizard that prefers live food: crickets, spiders, flies, cockroaches and other insects. Gecko large sizes need small mice, quail eggs. Some reptiles of this species gladly savor sweet fruits - oranges or bananas.

Currents

This lizard is quite large. Gekkon toki (adult) reaches 35 cm in length. Males are brighter than females. Their back can be olive, gray or dark green, with white patches that on the back turn into strips. Eyes large with vertical pupils. Body dense, slightly flattened. The head is very large, powerful, but short paws. The tail is not too long.

Geckcon currents are widespread in tropical forests in the southeast of Asia. This reptile produces a deceptive impression of a clumsy creature. In fact, she is very mobile, especially in twilight. Currents are aggressive towards their brethren. On their territory, strangers are not allowed. They declare their right with a loud cry.

Rectangular gecko

These reptiles are terrarians for their bright and beautiful coloration. But because of their daily rhythms, this reptile is not very valued as a domestic pet.

This species lives in desert and sultry regions of Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. These are terrestrial lizards who dig holes in the sands with depths of more than a meter. Active at night.

Skink's appearance

The gecko can not be called a large lizard. She has a wide and tall head with large bulging eyes. The length of the body is not more than 20 cm. The body is short and somewhat awkward. It is covered with almost identical scales. They seem to overlap. On the head, the scales are much smaller and have the shape of polygons.

The color of these reptiles is varied - yellow or greenish with a gray tint, rusty-red on top and violet-red on the bottom and sides, etc. There are usually a few dark strips or divorces on the back. In addition, there are dark bands on the sides of the reptile.

The scalloped gecko has a short and brittle tail. In the case of a predator attack, the reptile easily discards it. The main distinguishing feature of these lizards is the large, glowing in the dark ruby eyes.

Gecko leopard

Sometimes these reptiles are called spotted euplicators. This long and well-known lizard lives in many terrarium animals.

In natural conditions, it can be found in dry and hot areas of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, in the north of India. Open sands the leopard gecko avoids. In the day heat hides in the holes, cracks in the rocks. It feeds mainly on insects, in rare cases small vertebrates, with which it can cope.

Home leopard gecko unpretentious. Due to what, probably, he became very popular with fans of reptiles. Most often they are contained in small groups of 6 individuals (2 males and 4 females). Males are very aggressive towards their rivals, they can seriously injure each other.

For 5-6 reptiles, a terrarium with a bottom area of at least 0.25 m ^{2 is} required. Substrate can serve as a large sand, gravel, you can use sawdust. In the terrarium must certainly be shelter - fragments of ceramics, trimming plastic pipes. Their number should correspond to the number of animals. Must be in the terrarium should be a container of water - the euplicators often drink it, patting your tongue.

In the daytime, it is necessary to maintain the temperature - 27-30 degrees, lowering it to the evening to 20-23 degrees.

Feeding euplicans

For these lizards, the best food is cockroaches, crickets, naked mice. In summer, you can add butterflies, caterpillars, larvae of the May beetle to food . Mice are not too keen to get involved, since such food can disrupt the work of the lizard's liver.

Chain-tailed gecko

This miniature lizard, whose total body length barely reaches 8 cm, with the tail accounting for most of the length. Females are even smaller.

The neck and head of the males are colored to a poisonous yellow color with black or dark brown stripes. The rest of the body is gray with a bluish tint and specks. Young lizards do not have such a bright color - they have a brown stained body, a light yellow head. In both sexes the abdomen is yellow. This species is widespread in Africa.

The chain-tailed house gecko is a lizard that is awake during the day. She spends most of her life on trees. Occurs in the forests, on the coasts, in the savannahs. Does not avoid intimacy with a person. Can settle on fences or walls of buildings. It feeds on the smallest insects.

The ciliated gecko

These lizards are also called bananas for their addiction to various fruits, including bananas. A ciliary, because it has the characteristic spines that surround the eyes from above. It's an arboreal lizard. The length of the adult reaches 22 cm.

The banana has a triangular, spiked head. Spines pass to the back, to the shoulder blades. Eyelids absent. The eyes are covered with a membrane. The entire body of the gecko is covered with small soft scales, resembling suede, to the touch. Paws short and stocky, with small claws.

Color is very bright and quite diverse - orange, yellow, bronze, red, gray, etc. With proper care, such lizards live 15-18 years.

Foton-M

On this Russian biosatellite, five geckos - one female and four males, Drosophila flies, mushrooms, seeds of higher plants, silkworm eggs - were launched into space orbit. The purpose of the experiment with respect to lizards is to study the influence of microgravity on the sexual behavior of animals, embryonic development and the generation of offspring from medium-sized geckoes. The flight was designed for 60 days.

Unfortunately, all the geckos in space died. Presumably, they were frozen as a result of the failure of the satellite's heating system.

On the remains of scientists can not accurately determine what causes the death of reptiles. But they argue that the geckos in space died pretty early - about a week before landing. Their bodies were partially mummified. Many researchers believe that hypothermia is just one of the possible versions.

Where to buy gecko

In its assortment of reptiles, there is every store selling animals. Gekkon is a popular lizard, so their choice is always quite varied. In Moscow, we advise you to turn to the Gekko terrarium workshop. This is a specialized pet store, dealing exclusively with terrarium animals. In addition, you can find here all the necessary equipment and accessories for keeping reptiles. This terrariums of different sizes from different manufacturers, and lamps, and heating appliances, and heating mats. Here you will be offered various types of soil, pick up plants, drinkers and waterfalls, pick up dry and live food. In the Russian capital, you can apply for lizards in the nursery "Farm Happy Gecko", in St. Petersburg - in the salon "Living Water" or the store "Nature". There you can buy everything you need for these pets.