11 Essential Tips for Caring for White-Lined Geckos

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Updated on: Jun 13, 2021
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11 Essential Tips for Caring for White-Lined Geckos

White-lined geckos are from the lizard family and these animals are well known for their vocalizations and white pattern on their body. Out of all the geckos, the white-lined geckos are the easiest to handle and are least aggressive, making them a good pet choice.

White-Lined Geckos are natives of Indonesia, and as their name indicates, they have white-lined patterns on their typical brown, green, or tan skin. They have white stripes starting from each side of the head and converging back to the tail.

Interesting feature: They have unique toe pads that easily help them climb vertical surfaces. They are not very moody or throw fewer tantrums, so they are a perfect choice for new or less experienced gecko owners.

So what do you need to know before buying White-Lined Gecko?

1. Handleability

These geckos are less aggressive and attacking as compared to their relatives, the Tokay or Panther geckos, but still, they might be defensive if they are not handled with care.

Activity pattern: They are nocturnal lizards, which means they are night owls and are most active at night. Though they are handy enough, they might be irritated if you hold them unnecessarily and bite you in return.

2. Care

As discussed earlier, these geckos are not a common house pet for many, although they are preferred in western countries. You need to take care of their food, environment, temperature, any medical ailments and fix their regular visits with a veterinarian.

3. Hardiness

These white-lined geckos are hardy enough, which means they have a wider range of adaptive temperatures than other species. They can survive from 70 to 90F.

Even the humidity range is wider. They can tolerate these humidity and temperature ranges.

4. Availability

The white-lined geckos can typically cost you around 15 to 50 dollars, and they can be available at the breeder’s shops very easily and are bred in captivity.

Important advice for adopting a gecko: Make sure to never adopt a gecko from the wild because, in that case, they can be very exhausting to keep at your home, and they might be wanting their wild environment again, which they were habitual of.

5. Upfront costs

As mentioned earlier the average cost of a white-lined gecko would be half a cent and this can make it easier for you to make up your mind for upfront costs.

What are 11 things to remember while keeping White-Lined Gecko?

Here are 11 pieces of advice you should consider:

1. Housing arrangements

They should be kept in a 20-gallon terrarium but do not overcrowd the terrarium as these are small active animals that love to move around and climb on the walls. Space should not be less as it will suffocate the geckos.

Play points to keep your gecko active and entertained: They need vertical areas to travel and climb, so use a tall tank. Make a screened top with sides for ventilation as they need to be ventilated. You can keep 3 to 4 geckos in such tanks. Place hiding spots and playing spaces for them as they love to hide and play. They are very active as compared to other ones.

Make sure never to keep two male geckos together as they are aggressive and may fight for territory. They can fight to the death. You can keep multiple females or males with several females in one tank as they can live together peacefully without any competition.

Place some branches, driftwood, cork bark, and bamboo for them at various heights as it can give a sense of the wild and their natural habitat. Keep these branches on the base and at height as well because they travel all along with the tanks. Add a variety of silk and sturdy plants as geckos love to hide in them. They give them a sense of home.

2. Temperature adjustments to be made

As discussed earlier, geckos are adaptive to warm environments, and they love hot spots, so you need to maintain their temperature. The temperature should be between 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime and should not fall below 75 or 70 F at night.

Devices for temperature maintenance: This means that you have maintained the temperature, especially in western areas where it is very cold or snowy! It would help if you kept them hot by placing external heaters. These can be ceramic heat emitters or lamps and can be used at day times. At night you can also place red nighttime bulbs that are a perfect option.

Caution: Don’t hang or keep the heat devices on top of the tanks. You know the geckos like to climb, so they might reach it and burn themselves.

3. Humidity factor

The white-lined geckos need a fairly higher humidity level than other geckos, so you need to monitor the enclosure’s moisture with a hygrometer of and on. Place mist fans that emit sprinkles of warm and clean water to keep the environment moist.

Hygiene of water of tank: The water should be spotless because the white-lined geckos may drink the water left out from the mist. Keep the enclosure moist, especially at night, because at that time, these nocturnal animals are most active and playful, ready to explore the environment. The estimated humidity level should be 65 to 75%.

4. Substrate

A substrate is a material that allows the gecko’s tank to maintain the natural environment. It can also retain the humidity levels and, of course, depict the wild to some extent. As these materials should be raw twigs and branches, so some materials used are:

  • Coconut fiber bedding
  • Cypress mulch
  • Moss
  • Peat
  • Paper or paper towel

These materials will provide a natural ambiance to the gecko tank and is a healthy environment that helps your gecko grow.

5. Uv lights and their impact on your gecko

UVB lights are required to promote the synthesis of vitamin d3 and absorb calcium that is necessary for any living being and even the geckos. In general, when we talk about geckos or specifically white-lined gecko species, we know they are nocturnal, and they can survive without UVB lights, but we need to provide a little bit of these for better nourishment and growth of our pet gecko.

Prevention from burning: Please place it in a way that your gecko can hide from the light when he does not want it. At night, don’t forget to place nighttime red bulbs!

6. Decorating your gecko’s tank

The decoration involves their tank casing, the substrate, and the lighting that has already been discussed above. Apart from this, it would help if you took special care of some hideouts and playing spots for your geckos. As they love to climb, place unique places for them to climb and enjoy their time.

7. Nurturing your little friend

Nurturing and nourishing is all related to feeding your little friend and taking care of his food. Your geckos should be fed with crickets as they are fulfilling.

Other options: Apart from this, you can also give roaches, locusts, cutworms, and silkworms. This should be given occasionally as crickets fulfill their main dietary requirements.

You can even give waxworms and mealworms but not very often. These animals should be gut loaded, as in they should be fed nicely so that they serve as a proper meal for your gecko.

It would be best to spray calcium on top of their feed and add multivitamins on consulting the doctor only.

8. Feeding time

The feeding time is different for adult and juvenile geckos. The adults should be fed on alternative days, and juveniles should be fed daily. Give the sufficient amount your gecko eats in one go.

9. Health problems you should be well aware of!

When you keep a pet, you need to take them to a vet occasionally and check out for any health issues so that they can be cured firsthand. The white-lined gecko species are very prone to stomatitis or mouth rot. This can be obvious as white cheese-like ooze from their mouth. This is pus. Drooling may be seen if there is a respiratory disorder.

Skin-related superficial issues: On the other hand, the common daily problems can be rash or infection on their skin due to parasitic infestations. Another problem can occur when the gecko is not shedding proper skin as it can hinder its growth. Look out for any issues because the earlier diagnosed, the better cured.

10. Where to get a healthy species

It would help if you found a good breeder that grows the geckos in captivity and has a full track record of the species. This will prevent you from any future inconveniences.

11. Final Advice for The Owner

Geckos are handy and a good choice for people that are first-time gecko pets. They are not a good option for kids because they are not cuddly at all. For all the reptile owners out there, geckos can be a prioritized choice!

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