Care Sheet for GeckosAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.67 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 11/14/2006 |
Main Category: | Lizards |
Sub Category: | Geckos |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | KrazyKelli |
Years Experience: | 1 to 2 Years |
Species: | Marbled gecko (Christinus mamoratus) |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | The marbled gecko has a generally brown coloration with vertical rows of dark brown, light brown, occasionally black, and white spots going down the body - thus giving it a marbled look.
Males have an open v vent and two bulges at the base of the tail. Males are also marginally larger than and have a longer snout than females. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | I’ve used everything from papertowel to bed a beast to junglemix to cypressbed to non-fertilized potting soil to moss. If it does not hold fertilizing chemicals and holds humidity well, it will work. I only recommend using papertowel if you are deworming the lizard.
Marbles will prefer to lick the humidity off the walls and leaves, however have a bowl at all times and change the water in it daily. |
Lighting and UVB: | Being that this is a nocturnal gecko, you don’t necessarily have to have UVB. However a 12 hour daylight period is preferable. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | The temps should be 80 to 85F during the day with a 90 to 95F hot spot. At night they can drop between 70 and 75F.
Humidity should be around 75% |
Heating and Equipment: | A heat lamp is preferable with a timer so it can turn on and off every 12 hours to simulate day and night. You may also use an UnderTankHeater.
For humidity concerns, I regularly mist the tank. A fogger is also optional.
The tank should have many places to hide and many sticks to climb. The marbled gecko will most likely prefer to stick around the top of the tank during the night, so mount the sticks, hammocks, and tools towards the top. During the day, a marbled gecko in the wild prefers to find caves, crevasses, or lower hiding areas - so have a halflog, cave system, or side-ways open-mouthed jar on the bottom of the tank. |
Caging Provided: | 20 gallon high tank minimum with a secure screen lid. |
Diet: | Omnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Feed your marbled a variety of insects. Mealworms, crickets, silkworms, small roaches (dischord or lobster), and superworms are all good staple insects. Only feed superworms if the marbled gecko is an adult and only one at a time.
For treats, you can try out waxworms and butterworms (only up to 2 a week as they are addictive). I also occasionally supply my marbled gecko with a moth from time to time - though if you randomly decide to try out moths, do some research on which are safe and which are not. Not all moth species are good for your gecko.
Never feed insects randomly caught outside as they have a higher chance of harboring diseases, parasites, and pesticides.
Fruit is another snack option. However do your own research on what fruits are good for geckos and what aren’t. Some are too acidic while others are fine. I use aged/bruised mango and banana. Remove fruit after 3 to 4 hours to prevent spoilage and molding. Only give fruit once a week (also addictive).
Adult marbled geckos should be fed 3/4 times a week while juvies and hatchlings should be fed once to twice a day. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | Pure calcium (no d3 or phosphorus) and calcium/vitamins with d3.
Provided you feed 4 times a week, dust with the pure calcium 3/4 and d3 calcium/vitamins 1/4. Should you feed every day, 5/7 pure calcium, 2/7 d3 calcium/vitamins.
Important Note - You need both calcium without d3 and calcium/vitamins with d3. D3 is an ingredient that will help the lizard metabolize the calcium. No d3 will let the calcium pass right through the lizard to the point that it could still suffer MetabolicBoneDisease. While too much d3 will lead to d3 toxicity and that can also harm if not kill your lizard.
You should use the vitamins - especially if you choose to only go with one staple food source - because those insects do not contain all of the vitamins that a marbled gecko would get out in the wild naturally. |
Maintenance: | High maintenance gecko. You will find yourself paying alot of money on this species even if they are found cheap at petstores. Always be prepared with a herp vet and annual checkups to monitor and prevent parasites.
Marbled geckos should not be handled as they stress considerably easy, have delicate skin that can rip, and will bite and defecate as a defense mechanism. So they’re best off as a display lizard. |
Some Words on this Species: | Aside from Christinus mamoratus, marbled geckos may also be referred to as Gekko mamoratus on the net or in books. They are a cousin to the golden and tokay geckos. However should be never be mixed with either.
Marbled geckos originate from Australia.
In the wild, the females will lay eggs in the fall, one to two at a time. They will lay another batch of one to two eggs at three week to monthly intervals for another one or two times. Please keep in mind that all a marbled has to do to lay eggs is See another male gecko, even of a cousin species. If no sex is involved, the eggs will be sterile.
Out of the three species (marbled, golden, and tokay), I believe marbled geckos are the spazziest of the group. I’ve always heard of and seen marbled geckos bounce around their tanks and flip out over anything (even the fogger going on and off). I also can’t put my hand in the tank without my marbled gecko running up and latching onto it with her teeth repeatedly. So be warned of this. |
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