Lepidodactylus lugubris - Mourning Gecko

Mourning geckos (aka smooth-scaled geckos) are excellent vivarium co-inhabitants with larger (non-thumbnail) dart frogs.  They thrive in the same humid conditions as dart frogs and will help eat up flies that escape to the top of the vivarium. Mourning geckos are cathemeral, meaning they are irregularly active during both the day and night. They are primarily active at night, when they socialize with other geckos in the colony, hunt, and eat.

Mourning geckos are found in the South Pacific islands, in Central and South America, and Hawaii. They are just 3.5” to 4” and can live for as long as 10 years. Their colors vary with mood from brown to light tan.

Interestingly, the entire species is female! The reproduce asexually via parthenogenesis and offspring are clones of their mothers. Eggs are often laid along to top or sides of the vivarium or in bromeliads. Mourning geckos are egg-gluers, and the eggs become permanently affixed to the surface they were laid on. Attempting to remove mourning gecko eggs will usually break them. Mourning geckos hatch ~2 months after being laid and do not require special incubation.