White Lined geckos (Gekko vittatus) are in the Tokay family, and sometimes called skunk geckos because of the white line down their backs. They're not as vocal or 'assertive' as tokays, but you can see the similarities if you study them a while. Being in the Gekko family, it's no surprise that they are vocal, though not near as loud as some of the other Gekko members like the tokays, and the hands down winners -- Gekko smithii. Vittatus get to approximately 8-10" (20-25 cm) TL. They'll eat all kinds of insects and also a fair bit of soft or mashed fruit (once or twice a week you can give them some of what you're feeding your cresties
. Humidity should be around 70-80% for the most part, preferably higher at night, and let it dry out a bit during the day to help prevent mold and fungus growth. I've seen care sheets saying you an keep a pair in a 10 gallon tank, but I find that's a bit cramped. I'd say nothing less than 15 gallons for a pair, preferably 20 so they can get some 'personal space'. They're quite social, but not THAT social like tokays, they do like a bit of elbow room. Daytime temps around 80-85F (26.5 - 29.5 C) dropping to 70-72F (21-22 C) overnight. They don't specifically need UV-B light if you supply Vitamin D3 via their diet, but it won't hurt any if you do us UV lights. They are egg gluers, so there's not much hope of removing the eggs for incubation, they'll probably be on the glass near the basking light. The parents will guard the eggs and can be trusted with the babies for the first few weeks. Unlike tokays who live in family groups and guard their young for months, vitattus will only put up with their young for a few weeks, maybe 2 months, before they send them packing and out into the world. Trying to catch the babies can be a challenge, you might find an irate parent attached to your fingers, but at least their bite isn't like a tokay or smithii.
If you've thought tokays would be nice to have, but don't want any geckos as assertive as they are, then you'll probably like the vitattus - they are a good compromise.
White lined geckos
Hybrid Mode
