Mourning gecko · Lepidodactylus lugubris
The mourning gecko, in full.
A mourning gecko is a tiny night-time acrobat with a remarkable family story: nearly every individual is female.
They are lively display animals, not handling pets.
See what they needBefore you decide
Could a mourning gecko thrive in your home?
Picture the full-grown animal, the permanent enclosure, and the ordinary care you would still be happy to give years from now.
The honest fit
Would their everyday rhythm suit you?
Think about an ordinary week, including the days when you are tired, busy, or away from home.
Life together may suit you if…
- You love watching tiny social geckos after dusk
- You enjoy a planted micro-vivarium
- You can manage eggs and unexpected hatchlings
- You are happy using a catch cup instead of your hands
Pause if…
- You want one gecko with no chance of offspring
- You want a reptile to hold
- Your enclosure has ordinary screen or cable gaps
- You cannot house or place future hatchlings
A comfortable home
Build the home around their choices.
Use a front-opening planted vivarium with sealed cable ports, fine ventilation, bamboo and cork tubes, many leaf routes, feeding ledges, a small water dish, guarded gentle heat, and no gap a hatchling could enter.
Measure where the animal actually rests
A real retreat from the warm side
Use a digital hygrometer and watch ventilation
Build light and shade as a gradient
The rhythm
What an ordinary week asks of you.
Count the little faces
Check warm and cool probes, water, locks, eggs, hatchlings, waste, and whether yesterday’s food has spoiled.
Set the canopy table
Mist lightly, place fresh gecko diet and tiny feeders, then watch the colony emerge without opening the door again.
Leave glued eggs where they are
Mark the date beside the clutch and protect it in place; pulling a glued egg usually breaks it.
Care with tenderness
Learn what is normal for your mourning gecko.
Every enclosure becomes a nursery
Females lay fertile eggs without males. Plan for hatchling-proof ventilation, protected eggs, and future housing before the first gecko arrives.
A group still needs choices
Provide more feeding spots, hides, and sight breaks than geckos. Separate an animal that is chased, losing weight, or excluded.
Use a catch cup
These geckos are fast and fragile. Move one by guiding it into a clear ventilated cup inside a larger closed room or tub.
Call for warning signs
Weight loss, weak grip, swelling, stuck shed, wounds, poor coordination, or repeated refusal need a reptile veterinarian.
Good to know
Common questions, answered.
Open any question for a short, practical answer.
Life together
Could a mourning gecko suit a first-time keeper?
Maybe. Picture the full-grown animal and the care that fills an ordinary week. Would you still enjoy that life years from now?
How large do mourning geckos get?
Usually 8–10 cm (3–4 in)
How long do mourning geckos live?
Often 10–15 years. Individual lifespan varies, so plan around the longer end.
When are mourning geckos active?
A vocal dusk-and-night climber
Do mourning geckos enjoy handling?
Do not handle; use a catch cup for necessary moves. Watch the animal's posture and movement, support the whole body, and stop before calm turns into endurance.
Can two mourning geckos live together?
Females may live in a carefully watched group with abundant cover
What do mourning geckos eat?
Tiny gut-loaded insects plus a reputable complete gecko diet
How large should a mourning gecko's enclosure be?
Start with at least 30 × 30 × 45 cm for a small group, with truly hatchling-proof seams. More usable room is valuable when it creates better gradients, cover, and movement choices.
Home and health
What temperatures does a mourning gecko need?
Provide a gentle upper perch around 27–29°C (81–84°F), with leafy shade around 22–25°C (72–77°F). Measure both where the animal actually spends time and control every heater appropriately.
Does a mourning gecko need UVB?
The reviewed plan calls for low-level UVB over the canopy, with dense shade. Fixture, reflector, mesh, distance, lamp age, and shade all change what reaches the animal.
What humidity does a mourning gecko need?
About 60–80%, rising after misting and drying partly between. Check it with a digital hygrometer. Keep fresh air moving through the enclosure, and let the animal choose between damp shelter and dry ground.
What should be inside the enclosure?
Use a front-opening planted vivarium with sealed cable ports, fine ventilation, bamboo and cork tubes, many leaf routes, feeding ledges, a small water dish, guarded gentle heat, and no gap a hatchling could enter.
What substrate works for a mourning gecko?
A planted tropical soil system with drainage and leaf litter
What does ordinary cleaning involve?
Wipe feeding ledges often, refresh water daily, remove waste, and count animals before any door stays open.
What should I arrange before bringing a mourning gecko home?
Build and test the complete adult habitat, verify the readings over several days, identify a reptile veterinarian, check local and rental rules, and choose a responsible captive source or rescue.
Can a healthy-looking mourning gecko carry Salmonella?
Yes. Reptiles can carry Salmonella without looking ill, so handwashing and keeping habitat water, food, and cleaning equipment away from kitchens are part of ordinary care.
Still thinking about mourning geckos?
Put this animal beside the others on your shortlist. Then build and test the complete adult habitat before anyone comes home.
Compare reptilesSources and care boundaries
Exact targets depend on the measured location, equipment, animal, and veterinary context. This profile keeps source disagreements visible instead of blending them into one number.