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Cotton Garter Gecko
Sphaerodactylus macrolepis
A microscopic gecko native to the Caribbean islands. Extremely sensitive to dehydration and handling, it requires small bioactive terrariums with constant humidity.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Sphaerodactylidae
Genus:Sphaerodactylus
Species:Sphaerodactylus macrolepis
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
24 - 27 °C
Ambient temperature
25 °C
Night temperature
20 - 22 °C
Basking spot
29 - 30 °C
Adult size
3.5 cm
Minimum enclosure
>= 15 L
UVB
Medium
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the Caribbean, specifically the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It inhabits the damp leaf litter of coastal forests, suburban gardens, and shaded areas under rocks and fallen wood.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belongs to the family Sphaerodactylidae and the genus Sphaerodactylus. A genetically distinct island-dwelling lineage characterized by unusually large, strongly keeled dorsal scales.
Behavior and Habits: Primarily diurnal or crepuscular, highly secretive and incredibly fast. It spends its time foraging in leaf litter, darting away at any disturbance. They lack expanded toe pads and rarely climb glass.
Morphology: A micro gecko, reaching a maximum adult length of 7-8 cm. The body is greyish-brown with fine dark stripes. Females typically exhibit a prominent dark collar-like patch on the neck containing two white spots.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: A small naturalistic bioactive enclosure (minimum 30x30x30 cm) is ideal. Use a damp soil-peat substrate covered with a thick layer of leaf litter, moss, and small cork bark pieces. Live plants are highly recommended.
Lighting and Heating: Ambient temperatures should range between 24-27°C (75-80°F), with a mild basking spot of 29-30°C (84-86°F). Provide a night drop to 20-22°C (68-72°F). Low-intensity 2-5% UVB lighting is highly beneficial.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity levels (70-85%). Daily misting is mandatory to keep the substrate damp and provide micro water droplets for the geckos to drink, as they dehydrate rapidly.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strictly insectivorous, requiring micro-prey. Feed springtails, dwarf isopods, wingless fruit flies, and pinhead crickets. Dust insects with calcium and Vitamin D3 twice a week, and multivitamins weekly.
Compatibility: Can be housed individually or in male-female pairs. Never house males together, as they will fight. They are strictly display animals and should not be handled due to their fragile skin.
Health and Common Diseases: Dehydration is the most critical risk and can be fatal within hours. Ensure consistent humidity to prevent shedding issues on the toes. Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) can occur if calcium is neglected.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the Caribbean, specifically the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It inhabits the damp leaf litter of coastal forests, suburban gardens, and shaded areas under rocks and fallen wood.
Origin
Central America and Caribbean
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 3.5 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 3.5 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 3.5 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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