(Alert and inquisitive, these little geckos seem to enjoy being front and center)

Pictus geckos are easy to care for when housed individually.

Housing

Pictus geckos are small animals reaching a length of only 4-6 inches. A small shoebox-sized (6 qt.) tub in a rack system, or a 5 to 10 gallon aquarium will sufficiently maintain a single adult animal. They are inquisitive enough that most will not only use, but appreciate, a slightly larger enclosure if available.

Heat

A low wattage hot spot achieved with a small heat pad, or low wattage heat lamp is sufficient. A heat pad works well in shallow enclosures and rack systems. A low wattage heat lamp of around 40w-60w can help boost ambient air temperatures during the day. We usually aim for a range in the enclosure from about 75-90 degrees.

Bedding

Paper towel is a simple, easy cage lining to use for babies and egg laying females and assures you that they are feeding (and pooping) the way they should. For a more naturalistic enclosure we use Zoo Med “Reptisoil”, which is a combination of soils, peat moss, sand, and carbon, as a lower base layer, with a topping of “forest floor” cypress wood. Depending on humidity needs we may utilize sphagnum moss as well. We also mist our geckos a couple times a week. This is our preferred substrate combination as it holds humidity well, allows the geckos a dry upper layer to move around on (with the option of bedding down into the moist lower level if desired), looks very natural in the enclosure, and doesn’t mold. Springtails added to the substrate can act as a natural cleaner crew as well.

Environmental Enrichment

We recommend a water dish no more than an inch or so deep. Pictus geckos aren’t great swimmers, but a dish that is as wide as you think looks good in their tank will keep them hydrated. A moist hide filled with sphagnum moss will aid with shedding and give them a shady place to hang out and sleep in during the day. Some textured logs like cork, mopani, or grapewood offer climbing and hiding opportunities for your geckos. Foliage offers a bit of cover in otherwise empty, flat, and open areas of the tank. Being small animals they tend to hug corners and travel under vegetation and fallen debris, so the more décor items in their cage, the more active they tend to be. Once they are settled in most will run right up to the front of the cage and put their paws on the glass, begging for food and attention!

Food

Mealworms, crickets, dubia, waxworms, hornworm, and small super worms are all suitable insect feeders for pictus geckos. We find that using disposable mealworm dishes to hold dubia and mealworm, along with a small amount of calcium and multivitamin, works well for most of our geckos and almost negates the need to feed crickets unless we want to offer some additional enrichment to our animals. These dishes are available for $0.75-$0.99 in our store.

Cohabitating and Breeding

Something to keep in mind when cohabitating is that young animals and gravid/laying females require copious amounts of food compared to mature, nonbreeding individuals. They also have a greater need for easy access to calcium with no D3 in addition to their regular supplementation regime. I use Supercal NoD in a shallow dish and allow the females constant access to it. Females will quickly become calcium deficient while laying and babies will emerge deformed, misshapen, with broken limbs, and prone to MBD.

We house our holdback females in pairs; our males we house individually. When the girls are in good shape, and at least a year old, we place the male into their enclosure for 7-10 days before removing him. Mating usually occurs immediately, or later the same night of introduction. The females will lay 4-6 clutches, one pair of eggs every 3-4 weeks, before stopping, with the first clutch generally being infertile. After they finish laying I let them “rest”, and regain any lost weight and vitality. How long that takes will vary between individual geckos and feeding programs, before I consider placing another male with them again for breeding.

 

Further reading:

Reptiles magazine

Pet gecko

Gecko spot