White Line Gecko

Natural habitat, appearance and temperment

White lined geckos are native to Indonesia, where it is hot and humid.

They are very closely related to Tokay geckos although not as heavy or aggressive generally. Adults reach 8 – 10 inches in length and can live from 6 to 10 years.

These geckos can vary in colour from dark brown to pale tan and sometimes a greenish colour. They all have two white lines starting on either side of their heads and meeting at the neck to then running down the spine to the base of the tail. The tail is usually striped with broad bands of white.

These geckos can be handled but be warned they are very fast and can be skittish especially if not used to being handled.

Housing males together should be avoided as they can fight to the death, although they can be housed in large groups of mixed sexes in very large environments.

Substrates and cage décor

Suggested substrates include coco fibre, peat, rainforest bark, cypruss mulch, newspaper and kitchen towel. The latter being easiest to keep clean and first 3 will help to maintain humidity.

They will need plenty of branches, live or plastic plants, rocks, hides cork bark etc to provide hiding and climbing places.

Temperature and Humidity.

These geckos prefer temperatures in the mid 80s (F) but are quite hardy and do tolerate down to the 70s and up to the low 90s. Humidity needs to be around 65% to 75% or higher at times – they do experience very high humidity in the rainy season where they originate from. Ensure heating is controlled using a thermostat to avoid over heating and obtain correct temperatures, also use a guard otherwise your gecko will end up burning its feet.

Lighting

There is no evidence to show that these nocturnal geckos do definitely need UV lighting, but there is no harm providing them with what they receive in the wild. Uv lighting may actually prevent metabolic bone disease, as uv lighting actually helps reptiles to metabolise calcium.

As these geckos generally come out at night you may wish to use some form of low lighting such as a red light, to observe them in the evenings. Use of a guard is also advised if the light form gets hot, to prevent the geckos from burning their feet etc.

Feeding and water

White lined geckos eat soft bodied invertebrates such as flies, crickets, moths hoppers, wax worms, mealworms, silk worms, cockroaches, spiders etc. it is good to provide variety in their diet. Make sure you gut load the chosen food items in order the offer your gecko with a highly nutritional meal, also dust them with a high quality calcium, vitamin D and multivitamin powder once or twice weekly. These geckos also appreciate purreed fruit ( not citrus) with honey mixed in, such as peach and banana.

Fresh water should be offered daily aswell as misting the vivarium 1 – 3 times daily. Treat the water with a conditioner that will remove chlorine and chloramines as these can prove harmful to reptiles.