Gecko Buyer's Guide

Gargoyle geckos are one of our top recommendations for first-time gecko keepers. These hardy New Caledonian species tolerate a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels, making them forgiving of the minor husbandry mistakes that new keepers sometimes make.

Named for the bony ridges on their heads that resemble gargoyle statues, these geckos come in an incredible variety of colors and patterns. From vibrant reds and oranges to subtle grays with intricate reticulated patterns, each gargoyle gecko is truly unique. Their color often intensifies as they mature, with some animals continuing to develop richer pigmentation over their first two years.

Gargoyles readily accept prepared powder diets mixed with water, eliminating the need for live insects (though we recommend occasional insect feeding for variety). They're generally calm once established and can become quite interactive with their keepers.

Crested geckos are the most popular pet gecko species for good reason. Their gentle nature, simple care requirements, and incredible variety of morphs make them the perfect introduction to reptile keeping.

The distinctive eyelash-like crests running from their eyes to their tail give them a charming, expressive appearance. Available in countless colors and patterns including tricolor, flame, harlequin, pinstripe, and dalmatian variations, there's truly a crested gecko for every aesthetic preference. Their prehensile tails allow them to navigate vertical surfaces with remarkable agility.

Like gargoyles, crested geckos thrive on prepared powder diets and crickets, making feeding simple and mess-free. They're active at night, often observed climbing, jumping, and exploring their enclosures. Their docile temperament makes them suitable for regular, gentle handling once they're acclimated to their environment.

Chahoua geckos, also called mossy geckos, represent a step up in both rarity and investment compared to crested and gargoyle geckos. These stocky geckos have a unique appearance that sets them apart from their more common cousins.

Their most distinctive feature is their mossy, mottled appearance created by irregular patterns of pink, red, orange, green, white, brown, and gray. This cryptic coloration allows them to disappear against tree bark in their natural habitat. The loose, velvety skin gives them an almost fuzzy appearance, particularly when they're young. Two distinct localities exist: mainland chahouas and the larger Pine Island (Île des Pins) chahouas, each with slightly different coloration and pattern tendencies.

While chahouas accept powder diets, they're more insectivorous than crested geckos and should receive insects more regularly for optimal health. Their laid-back nature and impressive size make them rewarding display animals for keepers ready to work with something beyond entry-level geckos.

The leachianus gecko is the world's largest gecko species. These impressive animals are the crown jewels of New Caledonian gecko keeping, commanding respect through their size, longevity, and powerful presence. With proper care these can be long lived animals.

Multiple island localities of leachianus exist, each with distinct size ranges, coloration, and temperament tendencies. Grande Terre (GT) leachies are the largest, reaching up to 17 inches and 400+ grams. Island localities like Moro, Nuu Ana, Nuu Ami, and Pine Island produce smaller animals with varied color forms ranging from green and white to brown and pink. These locality differences make leachianus collecting particularly engaging for dedicated keepers.

Powdered diets are their primary food source, but whole prey items such as insects and small mice can also be offered. Most animals are extremely docile when out of their enclosure. Their deep vocalizations, including barking and growling, add to their dinosaur-like appeal.

Northern spiny-tailed geckos are a small Australian species adapted to arid environments, requiring completely different husbandry than humidity-loving tropical species. Their unique appearance and fascinating defensive behaviors make them captivating display animals for intermediate keepers looking to diversify beyond standard gecko species.

Our breeding program focuses on three distinct color morphs: high orange, high black, and high yellow animals. Each morph expresses intense, saturated coloration through selective pairing of animals with the strongest pigmentation and cleanest pattern expression. The most striking feature of Strophurus ciliaris beyond their coloration is their defensive capability. When threatened, they can spray a sticky, glue-like substance from specialized glands in their tail. This defense mechanism is rarely used with captive animals, occurring only when an animal feels extremely threatened.

Spiny-tails are obligate insectivores requiring live prey. They're active hunters, stalking and pouncing on appropriately-sized insects with surprising speed and accuracy. These are observation-only animals - their small size, speed, and defensive nature make them unsuitable for regular handling. However, their bold personalities and distinctive behaviors make them excellent display animals for keepers who appreciate watching natural hunting and territorial behaviors. These incredible geckos will not hesitate to take food out of their keepers hands.

With 20+ years of reptile breeding experience and a focus on Australian species, we've developed breeding groups that consistently produce animals with exceptional color saturation and robust health.

Vieillard's chameleon geckos are among the smallest members of the New Caledonian gecko family. Despite their diminutive size, these charming little geckos pack tremendous personality and unique behaviors into a compact package.

These tiny geckos have proportionally large eyes and slender builds compared to their stockier relatives. Their prehensile tails and deliberate, chameleon-like movements as they stalk insects make them mesmerizing to observe.

Vieillard's geckos readily feed on powdered gecko diets and will also eat small crickets when offered. They can be maintained in smaller enclosures than larger species, making them suitable for keepers with limited space.

Chinese cave geckos represent a fascinating departure from arboreal gecko keeping. These terrestrial, nocturnal geckos inhabit limestone caves and rock formations in southern China and northern Vietnam. Their bold banding patterns, velvet-soft skin, and primitive appearance give them an almost prehistoric quality that appeals to keepers looking for something different.

Goniurosaurus bawanglingensis features striking black and white to yellow banding across their body and distinctive banded tail. Unlike most geckos, they have movable eyelids and lack adhesive toe pads, restricting them to terrestrial lifestyles.

These geckos require cooler temperatures than tropical species, thriving in the 60s-70s. They're obligate insectivores requiring appropriately-sized live prey. This species spends most of its time in humid hides and emerging at night to hunt.

Japanese cave geckos are among the most beautiful members of the Goniurosaurus genus. Native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, these terrestrial geckos display intricate patterns of purple-brown and cream banding that intensify with age. Their rarity, beauty, and specialized care requirements make them prize specimens for dedicated gecko enthusiasts.

Like their Chinese relatives, G. orientalis are terrestrial, lacking adhesive toe pads and have movable eyelids. Their eyes are a glowing orange, showcasing their elliptical pupils and allow for their well-adapted nocturnal lifestyle. The contrast between their dark bands and light interspaces becomes more pronounced as they mature.

These geckos thrive at room temperature with seasonal cooling during the winter months. Humidity can be managed with nightly misting. They're exclusively insectivorous, emerging primarily at night to hunt.

Riverine leaf-tailed geckos are extraordinary examples of evolutionary camouflage. These Australian specialists have developed intricate patterns and body shapes that allow them to virtually disappear against the rock outcrops that they live on. Their broad, flattened bodies, frilled edges, and cryptic coloration make them some of the most visually striking geckos available in herpetoculture.

These ambush predators remain motionless for hours before striking at passing prey with explosive speed. Their large, lidless eyes with elliptical pupils give them excellent night vision for hunting in darkness.

These are beginner to intermediate display animals that do well at room temperatures and a hotspot for breeding females. They do well in 12 x 12 x 18" enclosures with cork flats and soil based substrates.

Rough-throated leaf-tailed geckos represent the pinnacle of Australian gecko keeping. These magnificent animals are among the largest Australian gecko species and display impressive camouflage. Their rough, tuberculated skin texture combined with intricate patterns creates a three-dimensional camouflage effect that must be seen to be believed.

Saltuarius species have broader, more heavily built bodies than Phyllurus, with massive tails. Their common name references the particularly rough, heavily keeled scales on their throat region. Colors range from mottled grays and browns to reddish tones, with complex patterns that perfectly mimic rock outcropping and tree bark. When pressed flat against a tree trunk, they become essentially invisible.

These are intermediate-level animals that do well in 18 x 18 x 24" enclosures with cork flats, 70-80° F, and daily misting. Their impressive size and rarity make them centerpiece animals in any collection.

Tokay geckos are the bold, vocal giants of the tropical Asian gecko world. These stunning blue-gray and orange-spotted lizards are impossible to ignore. Their loud, distinctive 'TO-kay!' vocalizations can be heard throughout their native range in Southeast Asia, where they're culturally significant animals associated with good luck in many regions.

Male tokays are particularly impressive, reaching 14 inches and displaying vibrant coloration with brilliant orange to red spots against a gray-blue background. Females are typically smaller with more subdued coloring. Their adhesive toe pads are among the most powerful in the gecko world, allowing them to climb smooth vertical surfaces and even traverse ceilings with ease. This climbing ability combined with their size makes them impressive to observe.

Tokay geckos are known for their defensive nature. They will readily bite when threatened, and with their size and jaw strength, these bites can break skin. However, captive-bred individuals raised with regular interaction can become quite calm. This species best appreciated as display animals that interact with their environment in fascinating ways.

Mourning geckos are one of nature's most fascinating reproductive oddities - an all-female species that reproduces through parthenogenesis (cloning). Almost every mourning gecko is female, and each produces genetic clones of herself without need for males. This unique trait makes them perfect for keepers interested in producing offspring without the complexity of pairing animals.

These tiny, delicate geckos are incredibly active for their size. They're constantly in motion, climbing, jumping, and exploring every inch of their enclosure. Their small size and social nature mean they can be kept in groups. Watching a colony of mourning geckos interact, hunt and lay eggs (which they often deposit communally), provides endless entertainment in a surprisingly small space.

They readily consume both prepared fruit-based diets and tiny insects, making feeding straightforward. While too small and fast for regular handling, they're bold enough to take food from fingers once established. Their low cost, minimal space requirements, and fascinating biology make them excellent first geckos, especially for keepers interested in breeding.