Traits

The main identifying trait of knob-tailed geckos is, as their name suggests, their tails are knobbed, meaning that they are bulky in comparison to other reptiles with slender tails in relation to their bodies. The size of the ball on their tail varies wildly across species, making them fairly easy to differentiate between them. One unique aspect of these geckos is their sexual dimorphism — generally speaking, the males tend to be smaller, while the females tend to be the larger of the sexes. When threatened, knob-tails’ defense mechanism is an audible “quack,” signaling that they don’t want to be messed around with. 

Care

Like any kind of reptile, there are certain steps that you need to take in order to ensure that your gecko stays healthy. Knob-tailed geckos generally tend to thrive in desert-like environments, so their tank’s temperature should be kept somewhere around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the specific species area of origin, the amount of moisture they need access to can fluctuate. Most knob-tailed geckos diets consist of vitamin enriched crickets and Dubia roaches.

Coloring

Like any kind of reptile, their price is relative to their coloring. Different species have base colors that are common to them, which generally means that they are on the less expensive side. However, knob-tailed geckos are specifically bred in order to produce reptiles with truly unique shades and patterns. Rare and specifically-bred geckos can cost you as much as $10,000.

Different Species

There are more than a dozen species of knob-tailed geckos in the world. However, there is a core group of four of them that tend to dominate the species and that are popular for purchase. These include:

• Nephrurus Wheeleri
• Nephrurus Milli
• Nephrurus Levis (AKA “Three-Lined” Gecko)
• Nephrurus Amyae

These four species are all very different, but they all come from arid areas of the world and share common characteristics that make them part of the same genus.