Common Names: White Line Gecko / Skunk Gecko
Scientific Name: Gekko Vattatus
Origin: Indonesia, New Guinea, Palau, and the Solomon Islands Size: 9" to 10" head to tail Lifespan: 5 to 8 years in the wild, in captivity 7 to 10 years is the average yet, we have seen individuals living up to 15 years
HOUSING
This is an arboreal gecko meaning putting a priority on height vs length when choosing their enclosure. They will require plenty of plants (preferably live plants), hollow cork tubes to hide in, and leaf litter and sphagnum moss on the ground to help with humidity and more hiding spots.
An 18*18*24 would be the minimum terrarium size (more space is always better) for one to three of them, in our experience they are communal and even males will get along together if given the right amount of space! Choose a substrate that will keep high humidity well.
LIGHTING & TEMPERATURES
A Daytime temperature of 24-25C (75-77F) with a basking spot of 30-32C (85-90F) is best for them, they will bask most of the day and regulate their temperature moving between the hot and colder sides. Night temps can dip into the 19-20C (low 70's F). Make sure to have good hides close to the basking area and in the clod side so they can choose where they want to be at any point of the day. This gecko is a Ferguson Zone 1 reptile. It is crepuscular or shade dweller. Choose the appropriate UVB light and have it on all day with your basking lamp. Though some will bask all day and some won't use that light almost at all they do need both the UVB and higher temps to thrive and for their eggs if you are planning on breeding them.
HUMIDITY
Skunk geckos in the wild live in tropical rainforests. Its enclosure should mimic that as much as possible. Keep the humidity between 70% and 85%.
FEEDING
Skunk geckos are opportunistic insectivores. Keep them mainly on live and dusted prey like: crickets, roaches, mealworms, and wax worms, and black soldier fly larvae. Being opportunistic they will also eat commercial diets for crested geckos - ours love the fig & insects for Pangea and others, as well as mashed fruits such as bananas and papayas as a treat.
TEMPERAMENT
Wild caught individuals and CBB individuals are very very different in this species. We keep both to diversify the blood lines and we noticed that the CBB ones are much more likely to accept handling. They are very possible to tame but remember that they are much more fragile than crested & chahoua geckos and they are much faster and unpredictable - if you are looking for a handleable species that's mainly display and are out and about often - you found a great species here; but if you're after a pet gecko for your kids to handle - maybe there are better species for this cause (like the chahoua gecko and many others).
Breeding
The female will lay eggs on the glass in clutches of 1-2 eggs 3-4 times a season. They will hatch around the 120-150 days mark depending on the ambient temperature they were laid at. The babies should not be separated from the adults - they will coexist greatly. We will separate female hatchlings after a few months so they won't get impregnated prematurely.
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