Moorish Gecko

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the Mediterranean basin and North Africa. It is a common summer sight on sun-warmed house walls, roof tiles, rocky outcrops, and stone fences where it basking during the day and hunts insects at night.

Taxonomy and Genetics: A robust, heavy-bodied gecko reaching up to 16 cm. The dorsal skin is covered in sharp, prominent tubercular scales. Its color can quickly shift from pale ash-gray to dark charcoal depending on temperature and stress. The eyes have vertical slit pupils and lack eyelids.

Behavior and Habits: A patient ambush hunter. It spends hours motionless near lights, waiting for insects. Territorial disputes are common and involve vocal squeaks and aggressive chasing. Possesses wide, single-plate subdigital lamellae that allow it to scale vertical glass and walls.

Morphology: Males are larger and stockier, with broader heads, wider tail bases, and prominent hemipenal bulges compared to females.

Terrarium Setup: Build a vertical or horizontal dry terrarium (minimum 45x45x60 cm for a pair). Use rough materials like cork panels, stacked tiles, or slate slabs to simulate rocky crevices. The substrate should be dry river gravel or a soil-sand mix.

Lighting and Heating: Provide a daytime basking spot of 35–37°C using an overhead halogen lamp. Keep the cool side at 24–26°C, with a nighttime drop to 18–22°C. A low-output 5% UVB lamp is highly recommended for calcium synthesis.

Humidity and Hydration: Maintain low humidity (40–55%). Mist the enclosure lightly once or twice a week at night to allow them to lick water droplets off surfaces. Provide a shallow water bowl.

Feeding and Supplementation: Highly voracious insectivores. Feed them crickets, roaches, locusts, and occasional waxworms. Dust prey with calcium and vitamin D3 regularly, which is especially important for breeding females laying calcified eggs.

Compatibility: Strongly territorial. Males will fight aggressively, often causing tail loss or limb injuries. They should be housed individually or as a male-female pair, though solitary housing is safest.

Health and Common Diseases: Generally very hardy. Wild-caught specimens carry heavy parasite loads and do not adapt well to captivity; keep only captive-bred (CB) individuals. Insufficient humidity during shedding can cause retained skin on their toes, leading to toe necrosis.