Common Names: Chahoua Gecko, Mossy New Caledonian gecko, Short-snouted New Caledonian gecko, or Mossy prehensile-tailed gecko
Scientific Name: Mniarogekko Chahoua
Origin: New Caledonia Size: 10" to 12" head to tail Lifespan: 15 to 20 years (with proper care)
Chahoua geckos are a nocturnal, omnivorous, arboreal lizard native to the islands of Grande Terre and Isle of Pines in New Caledonia. Although they are arboreal, chahoua geckos tend to spend more time in the shaded understory of the forest rather than up in the canopy.
Chahoua geckos are among the larger New Caledonian geckos, reaching 10-12”/25-31cm long. They have a large triangular head, blunt snout, large lidless eyes, vertical pupils, velvety skin, sticky toe pads with claws, and a muscular prehensile tail. Coloring is generally mottled with various shades of green, brown, and pink, with some darker markings, giving the impression of moss or lichen.
Like other New Caledonian geckos, chahoua geckos are fairly easy to care for as far as reptiles go. When appropriate chahoua gecko care is provided, you may expect a lifespan of 15-20 years.
There are several morphs known of chahoua geckos – we try to concentrate on colours over white shoulders.
HOUSING
The age and size of your chahoua will determine what type of enclosure you should keep it in.
As a general rule, chahoua like enough space to move around, forage for fruit and insects, and to thermoregulate, but they also enjoy security, which means they don't necessarily require giant enclosures either.
For animals under 10 grams in weight, a 6-quart sized bin or small faunarium. Smaller space allows younger geckos to find food and water more easily, and gives them a sense of security.
For animals that are 10-25 grams, use something about double the size a 15-quart bin or medium to large faunarium. At this stage, your chahoua will be eating vigorously and growing quickly, but the same principles from above of easily finding food and feeling secure should apply.
For single animals over 25 grams into adulthood a 12”x 12”x 18” terrarium and for adult pairs an 18”x 18”x 24” terrarium. I housed pairs in 18" x 18" x 36" for some it was a mixed feeling between too much space and insecurity to being able to run free all night – feeling your animal stress and comfort is key in this case.
For substrate: If your chahoua is under 10 grams - paper towels for substrate. At this age, young geckos are refining their hunting skills and may not be as accurate when chasing insects as they will be in just a few more months. Using paper towel means that your gecko, while learning to catch prey, won’t accidentally bite and swallow a piece of bark or dirt that can cause impaction. Impaction can be deadly. Older geckos can be kept on organic potting soil or the commercially available soil mixes (like retisoil).
Climbing elements: No matter their age, the best thing you can include in your chahoua enclosure is cork bark - they love it, they look like it too! Cork bark is easy to clean, does not rapidly break down in humidity, and dries out quickly after misting. You’ll want one or two tall, vertically oriented slabs of cork bark and/or if you can find one, a cork hollow – they love sleeping in it over the daytime. In addition, vines or sticks can be used for decor in other parts of your gecko’s habitat - they’ll use these when basking and hunting.
Feeding/Watering stations: Chahoua will drink water out of a water bowl and they do like a variety of fruit smoothie diets. The best way to accommodate both of these is with magnetic ledges like these. Such ledges are easier to accommodate in larger enclosures, so for younger geckos, I use large bottle caps - one filled with water, and use another when feeding fruit diets.
Foliage: Plants, whether real or fake, add another layer of security for your chahoua. For adult enclosures with full spectrum lighting, I use organically grown pothos plants with good success. For other enclosures, I use fake plants and vines. You can place these wherever and however you like, or how your chahoua seems to enjoy.
LIGHTING & TEMPERATURES
Chahoua can exist happily at what most people would consider to be “room temperature” or about 18-26° Centigrade (65-80° Fahrenheit). Prolonged exposure below 15°C/60F or over 30°C/85F can result in stress, and ultimately, death. Please use a thermometer in your terrarium!
Does your chahoua need supplemental lighting? No. Would it enjoy heat and/or UVB? Most certainly. Younger animals can be harder in this regard because their enclosures are smaller, but putting them on a higher rack - or in a rack with heat tape - can provide a nice boost of warmth. For older and larger animals, I use both full-spectrum & UVB lighting and a heat lamp ready if my place ever drops below 20C. The heat source should be positioned to one side of the enclosure so that chahoua can thermoregulate. A warm spot of 28°C/83F with the ability to move to a cooler area of 22°C/72F - or anything in between - is ideal.
HUMIDITY
New Caledonia, from where chahoua originate, is a fairly humid place which means you need to try to replicate a similar environment in your enclosure. The easiest way to do this is through misting. Whether you use a misting system, squirt bottle or larger size sprayer, just add a few drops of dechlorinator to the water or use r/o water, or distilled water and mist down your chahoua’s enclosure thoroughly each evening. You’ll see your gecko lick water from the walls of the enclosure and from their own eyes. I recommend the use of a hygrometer cause guess work is never the smart way. You want to be sure that your chahoua’s enclosure reaches 70-80% humidity for a few hours during the day, and does not drop below 30-40% in between misting. Note that in Ontario you'd have a very different experience achieving these goals in summer and in winter.
FEEDING
When it comes to diet, chahoua are a lot like many other New Caledonian geckos in the sense that they are frugivorous and insectivorous, but there is one key differentiator: Chahoua need and consume considerably more insect prey than their relatives. This is an overview of how I feed my chahoua collection, and which products I recommend for doing so.
There are many fruit diets available on the market, and the line of diets that I use is from Pangea Reptile. Pangea has many diets available spanning several fruit flavours, formulas and protein bases, but the one I have had the most luck with for young chahoua is the Fig and Insects formula. With that said, individual geckos do tend to have individual tastes, so I recommend trying many of the different flavors and even trying other diets, such as Repashy. I feed a fruit diet 3x per week, by mixing it up, pouring into 1oz solo cups, placing the cup into the feeding ledge and often leave the diet in the enclosure for ~48 hours. Some geckos will eat fruit diet when it is fresh while others prefer it to ferment a bit, then eat more on the second night. Either way, after 48 hours, I remove the diet.
I rotate between the most favourite on all: Fig and the other flavours for the same reason I don't feed my partners lentils every single night – reptiles and humans like some variety!
Insects are a significant part of a chahoua’s diet and they should not be considered optional or “just every now and then” like with many other New Caledonian species. Geckos under the age of 1 to 1.5 years will vigorously eat insects as they are undergoing the most rapid pace of maturation and change. Adult geckos will eat insects as well, but not as much (unless they are Gucci who would take some diet but really really prefers the hunt!). Most females will take more prey during the breeding and egg laying season. Still, I generally offer insects to adult and subadult chahoua two times per week, alternating in between offerings of fruit diet.
I offer 6-12 dusted crickets in a single feeding depending on age and size.
Other feeder insects like wax worms, mealworms, superworms and horn worms can be offered as treats, but crickets should be considered the staple insect option for chahoua.
Reptiles are highly dependent on a steady supplementation of calcium. Adequate calcium is most important in breeding chahoua females, but is also very important as young geckos are growing into adulthood. Calcium deficiency can kill females and result in kinked tails and death in younger and juvenile geckos as well. The easiest way to provide the right amount of calcium is to offer a high quality fruit smoothie diet as noted above, and to dust all of your feeder insects with a calcium supplement prior to feeding. I rotate between plain calcium, calcium with D3, & calcium with multi vitamins.
If you see your gecko beginning to develop a wavy tail, that is the first sign of calcium deficiency. Mix some extra calcium into their fruit diet, and offer some extra calcium-dusted insects. That tends to solve the problem. I had success with mixing some bee pollen or honey after adding calcium to the diet when they refuse it.
コメント