Flying geckos ( Gekko kuhli), also known as Ptychozoon kuhli, are captivating reptiles that make interesting additions to any reptile enthusiast's collection. These small, nocturnal, arboreal lizards are native to Southeast Asia and are known for their gliding abilities and unique appearance. Although they are not the easiest reptiles to care for, with the right knowledge and dedication, you can provide a thriving environment for these remarkable creatures.
Natural Habitat and Appearance
Flying geckos are native to the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and surrounding areas. They are generally between 6-8 inches long. They have a triangular head, large lidless eyes, a blunt serrated tail, webbed toes, and extra flaps of skin running laterally on each side. These flaps of skin are what allow them to glide from tree to tree in their natural habitat. In the wild, they spend their lives up in trees and use their tail to glide from branch to branch. They don’t really fly, they fall with style. These geckos are covered in brown, black and tan blotches to help them blend into their environment.
Considerations Before Getting a Flying Gecko
Flying geckos are commonly wild-caught and can be sensitive in captivity, making them an intermediate-level pet reptile. They are very jumpy and have thin skin that can rip easily, and they are also delicate and sensitive to poor husbandry. Flying geckos are not meant to be handled as much as crested geckos. These geckos can be skittish and will attempt to leap away from your hand. They are very fast and are hard to catch. For these reasons, they are not recommended as a children's pet, but they are beautiful geckos that you can show off to your friends.
Wild Caught (WC) animals live 3-5 years. Captive Born & Bred (CBB) flying geckos have been known to live to almost 10 years.
Enclosure
Although small, flying geckos need an enclosure that is spacious enough to allow them to exercise natural behaviors such as gliding. Flying geckos may be small, but they should be provided enough space to permit them to glide, which is a big part of their natural behavior. The minimum recommended terrarium size for a single flying gecko is 24”L x 18”W x 36”H. These geckos are arboreal, so cages that are tall rather than wide are best suited to keeping this species.
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I recommend a 20 Tall style tank (24”x13”x17” or 61x33x43.2 cm) for 1-2 flying geckos. Increase the size by 10 gallons for each flying gecko added.
Provide vertical climbing branches, rocks, cork bark, and live or artificial plants to replicate their natural forest environment. Offer both elevated basking perches and shaded areas for retreat. A mixture of coconut fiber and orchid bark is recommended to maintain humidity levels while allowing for natural behavior like digging and climbing. Loose substrate provides a naturalistic environment. Substrate should be at least 2” deep and completely replaced every 3-4 months.
Many decorations are preferred, and dense foliage is something any flier will enjoy. Another cage decoration that I find to be instrumental to keeping these animals is cork bark backgrounds. They will simulate the tree trunks they inhabit in the wild. It’s terribly boring for a gecko to be stuck in an enclosure with nothing in it except substrate and food/water bowls. It doesn’t matter how big the enclosure is if you don’t put things in it for your pet to use and interact with. At bare minimum, you will need a couple of branches for your gecko to climb on and some live or artificial foliage for it to hide in. Since flying geckos are strictly arboreal, at bare minimum you will want a couple of branches for your gecko to climb on and some live or artificial foliage for it to hide in. Since flying geckos spend most of their time off of the ground, the need a lot of live and fake plants in the cage. Hides on the ground are not needed. Provide multiple places for your gecko to hide on both sides of the tank so it can choose.
Cohabitation
Cohabitation (keeping multiple flying geckos in one enclosure) is not required for their mental wellbeing, but can be done successfully as long as the geckos have enough space. Housing multiple flying geckos in the same terrarium can be successful if only females are housed together, and only in a group of two or three. It’s best not to house males together, and don’t house a male with a female unless you want to deal with babies. Males can not be kept together as they will fight. Females get along with other females pretty well if there is enough space for them all. Never keep a male and a female together unless you plan to breed them.
Cage Size for Juveniles and Adults
Juveniles: 20-gallon vertical enclosure (24"x12"x12").Adults: 40-gallon vertical enclosure (36"x18"x18").
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Lighting, Temperature and Humidity
Flying geckos do best with low-strength UVB as part of their enclosure. Technically they can survive without it, but we still recommend providing appropriate UVB lighting for flying geckos. The UVB bulb should be housed in a reflective fixture, 2/3 the length of the enclosure, and placed close to the heat lamp, about 6” above the basking branch. UVB is blocked by glass and plastic, so you can’t give your gecko UVB by placing its terrarium in front of an open window. For best results, house the UVB bulbs in a fixture with a reflector roughly 2/3 the length of the enclosure. Position the lamp on the same side of the terrarium as the heat lamp. UVB is blocked by glass and plastic, so placing the terrarium in front of a window doesn’t count as “free UVB” - in fact it can make your terrarium too hot due to the greenhouse effect. We recommend lighting to be on 8-12 hours per day, depending on the time of year. You can do less hour on in the winter and more hours on in the summer.
Flying geckos should have a low basking temperature around 95°F, as measured by a digital probe thermometer with the probe placed on the basking surface. Flying geckos do great with a basking/surface temperature around 93°F-95°F, as measured by a temperature gun. The cool zone in the lower regions of the enclosure should stay between 75-85°F. You can provide heat for your gecko with a white heat bulb. The easiest way to achieve 95F is with a basking light. There are lights specifically made for heating purposes that are sold at most pet stores. An 80-100 watt bulb usually works but you may need to adjust depending on the temperature of your house. Despite the popular myth that flying geckos do best at room temperature, they do benefit from having a low-temperature “basking” area. Provide daytime heat for your gecko by imitating the sun with a heat lamp placed on one side of the enclosure. If you need nighttime heating, use a low-wattage ceramic heat emitter or radiant heat panel at night. Daytime temps of 90°, no higher than 95°, are best. Night temperatures can be into the 70’s. Do not let the night temperatures get below 70°. If needed use a night light to provide additional heat.
Maintain humidity levels of 60-80% with daily misting, automated misters, or foggers. Live plants help stabilize humidity and improve enclosure aesthetics. They appreciate moisture but also require good ventilation to prevent stagnant air. Flying geckos need a high humidity environment with an average humidity of 70-85%, although it can drop as low as 60% during the day and spike as high as 100% at night. Flying geckos are a tropical species, so the humidity inside their enclosure should be fairly high: 70-85% on average. Occasional lows down to 60% during the day and highs up to 100% at night are acceptable. You can increase humidity by misting your gecko’s enclosure 1-2x/day with a spray bottle or an automatic misting system. Mist every evening and then again in the morning if needed. Mist the cage 3 times a day. To maintain the humidity needs of a flying gecko, you should spray down the entire enclosure very well every night before you go to bed and when you wake up. The humidity should be 80% at night, and must not be below 60% during the day.
Diet and Hydration
Flying geckos are insectivorous, which means that they need to eat a diet of live insects in order to get the nutrition that their bodies need. Flying Geckos are insectivorous. Feed a diet of small crickets, mealworms, and other appropriately sized insects. Be sure to dust all the insects with calcium to keep your flying gecko's bones strong. It is also good to gut load the worms and crickets with either commercially sold food designed for them or pieces of lettuce or other vegetables.
Being insectivores, flying geckos will readily take crickets as their main food source. They will also take worms like mealworms, silk worms, phoenix worms and cut up earthworms. Some adult geckos will also enjoy pinkie or infant mice. If the thought of keeping live prey on hand isn't appealing, try dehydrated mealworms for easy feeding.
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How often flying geckos need to eat depends on age: Juveniles should be fed daily, and adults should be fed every 2-3 days. Feed juveniles daily and adults every 2-3 days. Young geckos should be fed 5-10 food items a day or until they get full. Adults can be fed 15 food items every three days or so. Remember, the key to great nutrition is variety! The key to balanced nutrition is variety, so we recommend a rotation of as many different foods as possible.
Supplementation
You will need calcium and multivitamin powder to dust on feeder insects to help prevent your pet from developing a deficiency. Just before you feed your gecko, dust the insects with calcium powder for extra nutrition.
Calcium with D3: Dust food 2-3 times weekly.Calcium without D3: Use on alternating days if adequate UVB lighting is provided.Multivitamins: Offer once weekly to support overall health
Hydration
Aside from raising humidity, misting also provides your gecko with an important source of drinking water! Misting your gecko’s enclosure with a sprayer each evening and again in the morning will help create the right humidity levels. It also provides an important source of drinking water! They also love to soak in water to assist with the routine shedding of their skin (like a snake!). Be sure your pet gecko has a shallow water bowl inside his terrarium where he can drink and bathe. Change the water daily to keep it fresh and bacteria-free. It's also a good idea to set up a moist area in your pet's habitat. Watermisted sphagnum peat moss tucked inside a hiding rock provides a cozy place for your pet to relax.
Although your gecko will get most of its drinking water from daily mistings, it’s a good idea to also provide a wall-mounted water dish. Flying geckos mostly prefer to lap droplets of water off walls and leaves after the enclosure has been misted, but it’s still important to provide a more consistent drinking source as well. A shallow water dish is also needed, though you must add rocks or something they can climb onto as they are not good at swimming. Provide fresh water daily in a shallow dish, though most Emerald Swifts prefer to drink droplets from leaves. Flying geckos are too small, fast, and skittish to be safely handled. A water bowl is not needed because if they become thirsty they will lick water droplets.
Cleaning
Provide fresh water daily in a shallow dish, though most Emerald Swifts prefer to drink droplets from leaves. It's also a good idea to set up a moist area in your pet's habitat. Watermisted sphagnum peat moss tucked inside a hiding rock provides a cozy place for your pet to relax. Remember to replace the substrate as needed. Take out any uneaten food items so they do not annoy your gecko. Mist the cage twice a day and spot clean as needed.
Breeding
In captivity flying geckos may breed year round. Mine tend to start breeding in mid summer. I have noticed that weather plays a role as well; every time it rains my pair goes into mating mode. There is little information on this species when it comes to breeding. Most are wild caught, and they require very specific environments this care sheet does not get into.
About 2-3 weeks after mating the female will lay 2 eggs glued to something, usually the worst place for you. They like to find what they think are secure areas, and often that is just under the lid of the tank or other area where you are likely to accidentally crunch them. To help them find areas that are secure, place cork bark tubes or bamboo in the tank with holes big enough for them to enter. Eggs take 60-90 days to hatch. If possible remove them from the enclosure and incubate at 78°. Eggs can be left in the enclosure if you cannot remove them. If they are glued to the tank or large piece of cage furniture, do not try to remove them, since they are very fragile.
Hatchling Care
Hatchling flying geckos are small and very delicate creatures. They will need a 10 gallon tank to live in with plenty of vines and plants. They will eat crickets after about a week and their cage needs to be misted once or twice a day. Give them the same temperature as adults and use paper towel as a substrate.
Handling
Flying geckos are too small, fast, and skittish to be safely handled. Flying geckos are very delicate and fast, so it’s best not to try handling them. They can also drop their tails if frightened, so be aware of that.