Is a wall Gecko Poisonous if Eaten? The Full Guide
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So, are they poisonous or what?
As discussed earlier, they are not poisonous, per-say. However, if one of these lizards did end up in your dinner plate, the main danger is if the food is ready-to-eat and will not go through a heating process. The germs can easily be transferred to your body if you handle them as well.
If the food is yet to be cooked, then the high heat will essentially kill all the bacteria and so the food will be safe to eat. So, if you’re okay with eating that food, it’s your choice! But, remember it will be completely harmless.
What Is The Wall Gecko Also Known As - Is It A Common House Gecko?
Well, to be honest, there are two types of wall geckos commonly found. One is the common house lizard, scientifically names ad Hemidactylus frenatus.
These are commonly found in groups in homes and feed on insects. During the summers, these reptiles sneak out from their hiding places and hunt their prey throughout the house.
The second species is called the Tokay Gecko or the Gekko Gecko which are also found in houses, however, they are not as common. They lead a very solitary life and have bright orange spots on their skins, not to be confused with the popular Leopard Gecko.Only the Hemidactylus frenatus is known as the common house lizard
What Is The Common House Gecko's Natural Habitat?
The House Gecko is actually found in South Asia and South East Asia where it lives in the houses of common folks.
As a result of trading and the increased inter-country travel, the Asian House Geckos are found all over the world. They can be found in coastal areas in East Asia such as Japan and Korea,
Australia, South America, Middle East, Africa, North America, Pacific Islands, Indian Ocean Islands as well as the Carribean Islands. In the United States, the House gecko can be found in coastal areas such as Florida and some southern states where it stays warm throughout the year.
The House Lizard is a more tropical reptile who likes to live in warm and humid areas. This is why it is mostly found in coastal areas where the air is almost always hot and humid.
What Superstition Is Associated With Them?
Lizards have long been associated with superstitions of good luck. Most folks consider the gecko as the guardian of their homes. The Ancient Greek and Roman people thought that these reptiles are an indicator of wisdom and good fortune.
They used to represent hope and a good afterlife. The Ancient Egyptians linked the lizard to abundance as well as productiveness. Even today they are considered lucky and are deemed to bring great fortune.
Some folks even wear charms or pendants in the shapes of lizards, believing that it will bring them great luck.
Some even consider them to protect their children from harm. The main superstition is that it is very harmful to kill a lizard as it might bring upon a tide of bad luck to you and your family.
Are These Lizards Known As "Pests" In Some Places?
In many countries such as Asian Countries, the house lizard is an invasive species which often causes a nuisance for most folks. In other countries where they were introduced, these are considered pests as well.
They are considered a serious threat to the local life species. Other native geckos often end up with fighting these invaders for food and their territories. The house lizard often carries disease-carrying termites to other species.
Despite these reservations against them, house lizards are generally harmless and pose no danger to humans. They are not toxic, non-venomous, and do not transfer any deadly diseases to humans.
Moreover, they do not suck blood or feed on humans. They are actually quite helpful in reducing a large number of insects from the house such as cockroaches, spiders, and other bugs because they prey on them.
Are They Also Kept In Captivity As Pets?
While you may consider them as pests, but the truth is that they are the most commonly found gecko pet. This is because they are easier to maintain. All they need is a clean vivarium and substrate along with a heat source and a humidifier and you’re good to go!
You don’t even need to check on them for hours on end as they are fully capable of taking care of themselves. They can hide around and often surprise you in the vivarium. Most of their diet consists of a few insects that you can feed to them once every 2-3 days.
They should not be handled as they are very fragile due to the lack of scales or other protective layers. They are quick as well, as they can easily escape through your hands. They tend to live for 5 years in captivity depending on how well you take care of them.
What Is The Best Housing For These Lizards As Pets?
These lizards are usually kept in a terrarium or any sort of enclosure.
If you’re going for a single gecko, a 10-gallon tank will suffice. However, for two geckos, you might want to look for something greater than 20 gallons that will give them plenty of room to live, hunt and mate as well.
Also, ensure that your tank has a vertical incline at some end as these reptiles love climbing the aquarium. They might like climbing on rocks, logs, trees, plants etcetera.
So, place those for them as well. Clean your gecko’s tank once in a week using spot cleaning techniques. Replace water every day as it can start looking dirty quite easily.
What Objects Will You Need In Its Tank?
First and foremost, you need to ensure that there are loads of climbing spaces for the lizard. Of course, you can opt for real plants or mini-trees, however, since you would need to take care of them, they might not be suitable. You can have fake plants for them to climb.
However, ensure that these plants are non-toxic and that your lizard cannot chew them. You might also need a lamp for maintaining and regulating the temperature since these are cold-blooded reptiles. Other objects such as logs, rocks, and stones will provide ample space for them to hide in.
Another object you might need is a water dish for your gecko to drink water from. Since these are tropical animals, they need a lot of humidity to survive by. SO, we would recommend setting up a humidifier to achieve the desired humidity or a misting device.
You also need to put a suitable substrate at the bottom of the tank, at least 3 inches deep so your tank can maintain the humidity and the temperature.
Can You Store More Than One Gecko In The Tank?
The most important thing to consider when storing more than one gecko together is that they may resort to fighting.
This may be due to territorial disputes or perhaps they want to establish themselves as the leader.
So, we do not recommend that you put them together. You might want to buy a second tank for another male. However, keeping a female with a male is no issue as they do not fight each other. This, too, may result in some housing issues.
This is because the male and the female may mate and lay eggs. Then if the eggs hatch, you would have to make more room for the baby geckos. And the process might go on again and again. SO, even if you do want them to mate, place the female out of the tank as soon as you know she is about to lay eggs.
What Is The Best Temperature Requirements?
The Tank should have a heat gradient as reptiles are cold-blooded. This means their body temperature responds to the temperature of the environment. If the temperature gets too low, the reptile may become slow and inactive and may even die.
They can become sick t too high of a temperature as well. So, you need to regulate the temperature well. The simple solution is to keep a basking lamp at one end on the tank.
The gecko can then pick out the suitable temperature as the temperature will decrease as he steps away from the lamp.
You can turn the lamp off during the night to provide for a more natural environment, however, be sure that the temperature doesn’t fall too low. The overall temperature should be around 85-90 degrees at the hotter end and about 75-80 degrees F at the cooler end.
Night temperatures should stay between 75-80 degrees F. You can use a blue heat lamp to control temperatures during the night.
Do You Need Substrate In The Tank?
A substrate is an extremely important part of the living environment of any reptile. They help you maintain the temperature and humidity of the tank. The Substrate at the bottom of the tank will keep the tank hot and humid.
You can go with a simple option such as a tissue paper or newspaper. Or you can go for a more fancy looking option and put up mulch, bark, leaf litter or organic soil.
Whatever substrate you chose, ti should be at least 3 inches deep. Make sure to clean the newspaper and change it every week. If you are using more natural looking substrate, spot cleaning will do the trick for a month before you need to change them.
Whatever you use, ensure that your gecko is not eating it, or else it causes impaction which can be dangerous for its health.
Do You Need To Mist The Tank?
Since house geckos are tropical animals, they need a humid and hot climate.
This helps your tank stay humid. Of course, you can do this yourself, however, you might forget about it. So, it is much better to use an automatic device so that you don’t have to worry about maintaining the humidity of the tank.
If you do chooses to do it yourself, the process is quite simple. All you need to do is fill up a bottle of mister with chlorine free, distilled water. Then spray with it on the sides of the tank. Some folks tend to spray at their gecko. We’d like to remind them that they only need the moisture in their environment.
What Food Do Wall Geckos Eat?
You need to give your lizard water every day. Use a small and shallow bowl and fill it with fresh water. Keep it on the cool side of the tank. The gecko can use it to drink water or to bathe.
Ensure that you do not use distilled water as it does not have any nutrients and might cause your gecko to be sick. Instead, use de-chlorinated water. Most house geckos would rather lick the moisture out of the air. Change the bowl daily even if the water does not look dirty.
Most geckos’ diet consists of insects such as normal worms and spiders. Young geckos need to be fed more often, five to six times a week, while the adults can survive with 3-4 feedings per week. The diet should be high in protein, consisting of crickets, mealworms, roaches, silkworms etcetera.
Try gut loading (click here to see how and why you should be gut loading insects) your insects before feeding them. This can be done by feeding them with a nutritious diet given to them 24 hours before feeding them to your gecko. This results in a high protein diet for your gecko.
What Are The Ideal Supplements For It?
Like all other pets, geckos need supplements to make up for any deficiencies in their diet. The major deficiency is calcium as they might not be getting enough sun to produce it.
Dust your food with calcium supplements and then feed them to your gecko. However, do not overdust as it can cause over-supplementing which might end up having the opposite effect on your gecko. Dust the supplement two to three time a week.
Is This An Ideal Pet For A Beginner?
House geckos are a common pet for a major reason. The reason is that they are extremely easy to handle and do not require a ton of attention on your part. You can simply set up an automatic temperature and humidity regulator after which need only feed them, clean their space and provide them with water every day. This is why they make perfect pets for beginners!
Conclusion
All in all, the house lizard is extremely easy to care for.
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