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Halmahera Giant Gecko
Gehyra marginata
A large, highly arboreal gecko native to the Moluccan Islands. It demands a tall vertical enclosure of 150-200 liters with high humidity, dense climbing branches, and a stable tropical thermal gradient to mimic its native canopy.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Gekkonidae
Genus:Gehyra
Species:Gehyra marginata
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
26 - 28 °C
Ambient temperature
28 °C
Night temperature
20 - 22 °C
Basking spot
31 °C
Adult size
14.2 cm
Minimum enclosure
>= 150 L
UVB
Medium
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Gehyra marginata is native to the Moluccan Islands of Indonesia, particularly Halmahera and Tanimbar. It inhabits wet tropical rainforests, climbing high in the canopy where the air is warm and saturated with moisture.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Described by Boulenger in 1887, it belongs to the Gekkonidae family. It is close to Gehyra vorax, though distinct genetic lines and regional differences separate the two species, especially regarding size and scale structures.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly nocturnal and highly arboreal. They spend their daylight hours hiding in hollow logs or behind loose bark. They are extremely fast and can be defensive when cornered, using vocalizations and skin autotomy as defense mechanisms.
Morphology: This is a massive gecko species, reaching up to 30 cm in total length. They possess loose, velvety skin that feels soft to the touch, colored in shades of olive green, grey, and brown with marbled markings. Their large eyes look golden or green.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a tall, vertically oriented enclosure of at least 150 to 200 liters. Decorate extensively with thick vertical branches, hollow cork bark tubes, and robust live plants to simulate their native canopy environment.
Lighting and Heating: Provide a daytime temperature gradient of 26-28°C, with a localized basking spot of 32°C. Allow temperatures to drop to 20-22°C at night. Provide low-intensity UVB (2-5%) to aid in calcium synthesis and maintain biological cycles.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high relative humidity levels between 70% and 85%. Mist the enclosure thoroughly twice daily. These geysers will lick water droplets off leaves and glass to stay hydrated rather than drinking from a bowl.
Feeding and Supplementation: Offer a balanced omnivorous diet consisting of live, gut-loaded insects (crickets, roaches) and commercial fruit powder diets (crested gecko diet). Dust insect prey with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements regularly.
Compatibility: Highly territorial. Males must never be housed together due to risk of fatal fights. A single male can be kept with a female in a very large enclosure, but solitary housing is generally recommended for their safety.
Health and Common Diseases: The skin of this species tears easily under rough handling (integumentary autotomy). Other risks include metabolic bone disease (MBD) due to poor supplementation, respiratory infections from poor air flow, and egg binding.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Gehyra marginata is native to the Moluccan Islands of Indonesia, particularly Halmahera and Tanimbar. It inhabits wet tropical rainforests, climbing high in the canopy where the air is warm and saturated with moisture.
Origin
South and Southeast Asia
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 14.2 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 14.2 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 14.2 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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