Golden Geckos?

[Rell18]

I'm still doing loads of research on my potential new friend. I am looking into getting either a crestie and now a new favorite - a Golden Gecko. I was just wondering does anyone here own any goldens? Are they a good beginner gecko and are they easily stressed? Some caresheets say they are easily stressed and one of the hardest geckos to keep while others say they're quite easy to care for. I don't plan on holding it but I do here some of them can "tame down" a little. I'm considering it over the Phelsuma Grandis because it doesn't really need UVB and its cheaper. I've heard most of them are wild caught so I was gonna try to go to a reptile show and see if they have any captive bred goldens.

 

[T-ReXx]

Congrats on doing research on a very underrated species. You'll be happy to know Golden geckos are EXTREMELY easy to keep. As long as you don't mind not handling the animal they make great beginner species. I've kept goldens before and bred them, they're easily kept in 20 gal high tanks with a tropical setup and a heat lamp(basically just like a tokay gecko). They feed well on crickets, roaches and Crested Gecko Diet. Males can be hard to find for some reason. Few people breed them as imports are so cheap so you will probably have a hard time finding captive breds. When I had my pair they bred regularly the female producing a clutch of 2 eggs every month or so. They are egg gluers so incubation usually has to happen in-cage. Wild caught animals can be tamed, it takes time and some are better cantidates than others. They like sweet things so a little honey on your finger tip helps. My female was quite tame, much like a crested gecko. The male was skittish but not overly so. They aren't particularly easily stressed, about as much as any other average arboreal species(tokays, white lineds, Phelsuma, etc). They don't need UVB being nocturnal. I enjoyed keeping them and they can be very personable. If you do get a wild caught you'll want to have a fecal done by a vet to check and treat for internal parasites as they usually have them. Any other questions, fire away.

 

[Rell18]

Thank you so much for the info. That really helped me out a lot because most of the caresheets are were reading say they are so hard to keep but their care does seem very similar to Tokays. I have a small question about feeding though. I know Geckos need variety in their diet and I was going to offer all sorts of food from roaches and crickets to honey and CGD. I've heard phoenix worms are very high in calcium and make great feeders for all sorts of reptiles. Do you think I could use them as the main feeder and then offer crickets, roaches, etc a few times in the week? I would start my own cricket or roach colony but my mom refuses to let them into the house. I know the roaches are odorless and can't escape but she thinks of them being similar to a common roach.

 

[T-ReXx]

I think they'd be ok if you can get the geckos to take them. Generally I found goldens and their relatives to be unlikely to take anything worm-like, mine refused meal and superworms. If they'll eat them it would work ok. You can also feed a base diet of CGD and offer insects twice a week.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I had great success with CGD, she loved it and was quite the piggy.

 

[ento890]

I have a female Golden. She doesn't really go for live insects, although offered once a week. She LOVES CGD. She's does very well on it. I keep mine in a 20 high with plants, vines, on coco bedding. I spray her once a night. Her temps are around 80. I feed her a bottle cap full of CGD every 2-3 days.

As you can see, she does VERY well on CGD.

 

[beezy]

well i have to say golden geckos are really easily kept. i have a golden gecko and a skunk gecko in a 10 gallon aquarium with a red heat lamp on 24/7. they never fight and they share the food perfectly fine. i keep the humidity at about 60-80%..as for temps i have no clue i never put a thermometer in the tank but it seems perfect for them. the skunk gecko is always out and about while the golden is always in its hide and comes out at night time..every time it sees me or anything move outside of its tank move it runs crazy fast back into its hide..its not aggressive at all to me and ive held it plenty of times. as for diet i feed them crickets and like once a week ill dust them with d3 calcium powder. they have a eco earth and forest moss mix bedding with some live plants and some branches to bask on or climb..whatever they feel like doing. and i also have a waterbowl in there as well..to my surprise my skunk gecko drinks from the water bowl as the golden gecko licks the water droplets when i spray...ooh i mist like 2-3 times a day. hoped this helps..=]

 

[T-ReXx]

well i have to say golden geckos are really easily kept. i have a golden gecko and a skunk gecko in a 10 gallon aquarium with a red heat lamp on 24/7. they never fight and they share the food perfectly fine. i keep the humidity at about 60-80%..as for temps i have no clue i never put a thermometer in the tank but it seems perfect for them. the skunk gecko is always out and about while the golden is always in its hide and comes out at night time..every time it sees me or anything move outside of its tank move it runs crazy fast back into its hide..its not aggressive at all to me and ive held it plenty of times. as for diet i feed them crickets and like once a week ill dust them with d3 calcium powder. they have a eco earth and forest moss mix bedding with some live plants and some branches to bask on or climb..whatever they feel like doing. and i also have a waterbowl in there as well..to my surprise my skunk gecko drinks from the water bowl as the golden gecko licks the water droplets when i spray...ooh i mist like 2-3 times a day. hoped this helps..=]

To the OP, I would disregard this if I were you. For one, a ten gallon tank is no where large enough to house to adults of Gekko ulikovski and Gekko vittatus. Secondly, I'm positive the reason the golden is hiding all the time is that it's stressed to all hell by being kept with a more aggressive species. Thirdly, these two species share the same niche and therefore compete for resources and space. Keeping these two together in that small area is cruel to both animals.

 

[beezy]

they dont fight. the golden comes out at night only and the skunk gecko is out too and doesnt bother it. neither of them take more food then the other and they both have plenty of room to run around and whetever

 

[lampeye]

Yeah, I have to wonder if those caresheets that said they are difficult were actually referring to Ailuronyx, another "golden gecko."

 

[touch 13]

The Golden Geckos in the pictures are the ulikovskii. The ones showed here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_gecko are the ones that are grumpier.

I've had my female ulikovskii for 2 years now, Hemi's a big girl, i had weigh in's yesterday, she's darn near 40G now =]. I Personally have never seen her eat in my 2 years of owning her. But i do supply her with crickets 3-4 times a week and the Clarks 24/7. She was housed in a 30G terr, but i've recently gotten a 100G and she's now housed with 2 other female tokay gecko's. Due to the size of the tank i have live plants in there for moisture and humidity, but they have a 19W Uvb and a 100W bulb on the hot side. My Hemi loves the attention, like most is very fast and even gets along with my dog!( and i catch her slumbering with the tokays under a rock w/ a heating pad) =]