Tokay, Day, or Marble Gecko?

[MichaelJ]

I'm close friends with a reptile breeder that has offered me a free Tokay, Marble, or Day Gecko.

I've done some reading on all of them and want your opinions on what would be the best choice for my interests and housing styles.

The Tokay is by far the most good looking of the three but it's shrilling, size, and from what I've read nasty temperment are not that appealing. Also we prefer to use UTH's for everything because we have a ton of them and many aquairums. But once he gets to a possible 14 inches we'll require something pretty large. We also don't like to use heat bulbs. They tend to be expensive and they emit a lot of heat and it our experience melt things or can cause fires pretty easily.

Day Geckos - don't like to handled at all - will bite as well - and also require heat bulbs and moist substrate is necessary. We love the look of them as well but want something that we can at least hold occasionally but from what I've read thats not really a great pet for more than just observing. Not a big fan of being bitten.

Marbles - we think this will be our best choice - they are also very pretty, but are less tempermental and can be handled occaisionally, but one needs to be careful because their skin is easily damaged. UTH's are great with them and all they need is a basic home lightbulb setup during the day. They can also be housed on repti-carpet, or astro turf.

Currently I have about 23 Leopard Geckos and several are gravid, two gargoyles and am looking at one to two of one of the above.

Our basic interest is a bit lower maintnance because we already have so much to do as it is with our current brood and to stay away from heat bulbs.

If I'm wrong about any of the above please let me know and it my sway our decision..

We really love the look of the Tokay but were just not sure it's right for us..

Thanks in advance!

Michael J:main_thumbsup:

 

[Haroldo]

Day Geckos - don't like to handled at all - will bite as well - and also require heat bulbs and moist substrate is necessary. We love the look of them as well but want something that we can at least hold occasionally but from what I've read thats not really a great pet for more than just observing. Not a big fan of being bitten.

Our basic interest is a bit lower maintnance because we already have so much to do as it is with our current brood and to stay away from heat bulbs.

If I'm wrong about any of the above please let me know and it my sway our decision..

We really love the look of the Tokay but were just not sure it's right for us..

Thanks in advance!

Michael J:main_thumbsup:

Phelsuma bite? I keep a fair bit of them and have never experienced this. Maybe this rumor sprung from keepers of the larger species like grandis, standingi, and the like? I've never experienced this, but maybe its because all the species I keep are relatively small (6" and less).

I assume when you say "marbled gecko" you referring to Christinus marmoratus and Phyllodactylus marmoratus (dual classification)? What species of day gecko is your friend offering you? That will play into whether its a good fit for you...

My first mind tells me that the Gekko gecko might be a good fit for you, but its large size and sometimes aggressive temperment is sometimes discouraging.

Another consideration is the age of all specimens proposed. If they are young, then you can handle them infrequently to dull their flightly or aggressive tendencies.

In any case, as long as you think you can take on another animal, I'd go for a freebie anyday. Congrats in advance and please post if you have any follow-up questions. Best,
Harold

 

[MichaelJ]

all are juveniles and don't seem aggressive yet but I've read a bunch on all and the Tokays seem pretty nasty, and the days just at times..

I think were going to go with the marbled.. and you can't beat the price eh?!

 

[ReptileMan27]

Personally, If it was me,tokay all the way. All the species you listed are aboreal so an UTH would be pretty much usless for them, day geckos require UVB, tokays however dont. Also as far as I know, day geckos eat fruit along with crickets, tokays just need crickets. Its up to you, whatever you like or want most .

 

[MichaelJ]

Well I went with two Golden Geckos. They are doing great. I got a male and a female. We've got a Ultra UVB/UVA light on them that doesn't emit heat and we have a UTH under them. They've eaten some fruit babyfood and meal worms. They're skiddish but not mean at all.

The tokay was cool but we were just concerned about the size and attitude when it matured.

 

[ReptileMan27]

Congrats,cant wait to see pics