wall geckos

[matt99fish]

I was watching this thing on tv where people had geckos living in there house accross the walls. It was somewhere in Asia and I was wandering if anyone does it here and what are some reasons why it couldnt work. thanks
-Fish

[Hamster of Borg]

I have about 10 mediterranean geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus) living in my house. As long as there is plenty of food for them (and no other animals, like cats, to chase them up the wall) they usually manage to do just fine. I would most definitely stick to a nocturnal species though - so you don't have to worry if they are getting adequate UV.

Ham

[alan]

I think it's pretty common in Asia. They were not meant to be pets though, they are intruders like ants, spiders and other insects that are common in this side of the world. People'll try to catch and kill them (I have no idea how) when they find one. I haven't had any geckos living in my house when I was in Hong Kong, but I heard from my friends that they are common in old apartments.

[matt99fish]

thanks. Hamster, do you have any problems like um, how do I say this, massive dung on the wall? Also, I have really high walls in one room so would that be a problem if I need to feed them?

[Samba]

Well, as mentioned above, geckos (as pets) aren't usually allowed to roam the walls of a house. When I lived in Puerto Rico we had all kinds of turkish (beats me how they got there) geckos all over the house. In most countries where geckos like these are common, they are encouraged to stay because they keep the insect and spider populations to a minimum. I wouldn't suggest going out and buying geckos to let them roam free. BTW, there is not a major problem with feces on the walls, although more often then not, you can find them on the ground. Ironically, the feces of these geckos tends to attract insects, such as ants, which most geckos do not eat!

[matt99fish]

lol. okay, I guess my dream is over.

[Hamster of Borg]

Sorry for the slow reply, forgot about this thread... hehe, anyway. Med geckos are pretty small, their crap is pretty negligable, especially since they are mainly in my rodent rooms where I'm constantly vacuuming anyway. Now if you're talking something big like a day gecko, that might be messy. :)

Ham

[nouserpif]

HEMIDACTYLUS FRENATUS! the normal house gecko... My friend has a house set up like that... Just watch out for doors, and make sure the geckos don't rest in the cracks of them... Fit some screen over windows, and keep a couple dishes of calcium powder, and maybe a small jar of small crickets if the geckos run out of food... He put 5-6 pinheads in there once a week or so, worked well... yeah. A small basking area during winter for them... should work!

These are a few small species that could work...

House gecko: Hemidactylus frenatus
mediterranean house gecko : Hemidactylus Turcicus
Mourning gecko: Lepidodactylus Lugubris

[matt99fish]

the dream is alive again! thanks