Tokay Gecko: The Blue Meanie

One of the geckos seen often in the pet industry, for better or worse, is the tokay gecko (Gekko gecko). Known primarily for their aggressive behavior, tokays are more than just a big gecko with a harsh bite. They can actually make interesting pets, and are really quite beautiful animals, being blue gray with bright orange spots and growing to nearly a foot long. Unfortunately, since they have been relatively easy to import for many years, and are inexpensive to acquire, they are considered a “low end” species by many hobbyists and are not always cared for properly. They also have a deserved reputation for being known as the “pit bull” of the lizard world, but I think there’s something sort of admirable in such a small creature being brave enough to defend itself even from something many times bigger than themselves.

Tokays are native to southeast Asia, being found in such countries as Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. They are often found in and around human habitation, and are sometimes even allowed to live in people’s homes as they are excellent at roach control. In fact, they were once commonly available in New York City five and dime stores as popular roach exterminators. Tokay geckos are also responsible for the actual word “gecko,” as it’s an onomatopoeia of the vocalizations male tokays make to call females. The word “tokay” also has similar origins. Here’s an example pulled from YouTube:

Tokay Gecko Calling

To select a tokay gecko, the first piece of advice I have, is purchase only captive bred animals. They may be more expensive, but you will pay less in the long run with a CB animal in vet bills, plus you will not be placing even more strain on wild populations. In recent times the asian traditional medicine market has targeted the tokay as something of a cure-all, oftentimes with the implication that tokay saliva is capable of curing AIDS. As is the case with most alternative medicine, there is no evidence to support such a claim, and very likely the only thing you’re probably going to give a sick person with tokay gecko saliva is a nasty infection and possibly salmonella.  When purchasing your gecko, obvious signs of health will include a heavy build with a thick fat tail, eyes that are not sunken in when the animal is alert and awake, and no visible protruding ribs. Imported geckos are usually heavily parasite-ridden and severely dehydrated.

Cage setup for tokays is simple. They love to climb, so vertical space is key, but will also seek out small secluded spaces to sleep in during the day. They do well with newspaper or paper towel substrate, as well as fully planted vivaria. They will drink from a small water bowl and prefer a small low wattage red heat bulb for warming themselves. Misitng them in the evenings helps to keep the humidity high, and they will often lap up the water. If using aquariums for caging, do not use anything less than a 20 gallon tank. They seem to prefer temperatures in the low to mid eighties with high humidity. Full spectrum lighting is unnecessary, as they are nocturnal and will not utilize it.

I can’t write about the tokay gecko without getting a bit into their habit of gleefully biting the hand that feeds them. Even just hatched tokays will mouth-gape at an intruder, and more than once I’ve witnessed a tokay latch onto a glove or other appendage and refuse to let go. If this happens to you, don’t panic, you’ll only injure the gecko. It’ll probably break skin, but it isn’t the worst reptile bite you can sustain. Truth be told, I usually get much nastier bites from my male giant day gecko, who grabs on and shakes! Most of the time all you need to do is rest the animal’s legs on something, like the wall of his enclosure, and you will be released. Otherwise, cold water usually works. Many keepers also report that with a little bravery and patience, many tokays can actually be tamed. I’ve always kept tokays with enough mutual respect to simply leave them be and observe them from a distance, but my hat is off to anyone able to tame a tokay.

As for feeding your tokay, primarily they are insect eaters. I feed our tokay, (who incidentally is named Bitey), mostly large crickets dusted with calcium supplement and Dubia roaches. Amazingly, she also loves crested gecko diet, and will consume this regularly as well.

Recently, hobbyists have started to produce really interesting new morphs of the already attractive tokay, such as a powder blue version and a calico morph similar in appearance to a piebald ball python. I very much hope such trends continue and more people start to breed these interesting animals, which seems likely as many of these morphs go for several hundred dollars. The tokay is a beautiful, feisty gecko that deserves more attention in the reptile world.