Mourning geckos ( Lepidodactylus lugubris) are tiny, arboreal lizards native to the Indo-Pacific region. They are popular among reptile enthusiasts due to their unique parthenogenetic reproduction, social behavior, and relatively simple care requirements. This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding their diet and care.
Introduction to Mourning Geckos
Mourning geckos are small, arboreal geckos widely distributed throughout tropical forests of the South Pacific, Hawaii, and Central and South America. These geckos are characterized by tapered snouts, rounded bodies, a plump tail with small lateral spines, and sticky toe pads. Their base color is tan with a pale belly and dark markings down their back.
One of the most remarkable features of mourning geckos is their reproductive strategy. They reproduce via parthenogenesis, meaning the species is entirely female and can produce viable eggs without mating. This unique trait introduces special considerations for their care.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
Mourning Geckos are native to Southeast Asia and Pacific islands. They are highly invasive around the world and found in Australia, Central and South America, and Africa. They live in native forests and urban environments, these arboreal small geckoes are highly resilient to temperature variations and forgiving of most husbandry issues.
Physical Characteristics
Like other arboreal geckos, mourning geckos have vertical pupils, lidless eyes, and sticky toe pads. They can be distinguished by their velvety skin, translucent cream to yellow-colored belly, a dark stripe from nostril to eye (and sometimes ear) on both sides of the head, a series of dark W-shaped stripes down the back and tail, and a rounded tail with a very subtle fringe on the sides. Coloring ranges from pale beige to brown, often depending on the gecko’s body temperature and mood.
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Adult mourning geckos get up to about 4″ in length. When they hatch, Lepidodactylus lugubris measure less than an inch!
Social Behavior
Unlike most reptiles, mourning geckos are a social species that typically live in family groups with an organized social structure. Keeping them in groups has proven to allow for lots of social interaction, between individuals. These extremely entertaining interactions include the Geckos squeaking & clicking at one another, as well as other fascinating behavior like tail waving. Occasionally light nipping/biting may occur between Geckos, especially for enclosure-mates who are being housed together for the first time.
Mourning geckos will squeak and chirp when housed in small groups and they will develop a sort of pecking order amongst themselves. Fighting is common but is rarely severe.
Housing
Enclosure Size
The absolute minimum terrarium size for housing a pair of mourning geckos is 12”L x 12”W x 18”H. The minimum enclosure size recommended for housing up to 3 mourning geckos is 12”L x 18”W x 18”H. As more Mourning Geckos are added to a group they will require larger accommodations to allow for ample space for individuals.
The rule of thumb with reptiles is that a larger enclosure than the minimum is always better as long as the space is laid out well, but this is especially the case for mourning geckos. The size of the enclosure that you provide does influence the ultimate number of geckos that you end up with. Mourning geckos opportunistically eat their offspring, especially when conditions start to get crowded and the hatchlings don’t have the space to hide from adults.
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Mourning Geckos require sealed and escape proof housing. Hatchling mourning geckos are very small and flexible, and can exploit almost any gap to escape a terrarium.
Terrarium Setup
Live planted terrariums are great for these guys because they require higher levels of humidity and the plants provide cover, climbing structure, and egg deposit sites. Pothos, Philodendron, and other viney, fast-growing plants are well suited for this type of terrarium. Rocks, cork bark, cork branches and other natural decors can also be used in the terrarium.
An empty terrarium makes for bored mourning geckos, reducing their quality of life. You will also see fewer natural behaviors from them, which makes them less interesting to watch. Since mourning geckos are arboreal, at bare minimum you will need a branch for your geckos to climb and bask on and some live or artificial foliage for them to hide in.
Next place a layer of Terrarium Mesh on top of the Hydro Balls, then cover that with a 2-3 inch thick layer of ABG substrate which is perfect for keeping live plants in the terrarium.
Substrate and Décor
To maintain humidity in the enclosure use substrates such as Zilla Jungle Mix, Zilla Bark Blend and Zilla Coconut Husk Brick, and add Zilla Terrarium Moss over the substrate. Arboreal branches and perches should be created for basking spots. Try Zilla Vertical Décor to add arboreal décor to the habitat and feeding stations.
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A thick layer of bioactive-compatible substrate is essential to creating a bioactive mourning gecko enclosure. Next you will need at least 12 quarts of a soil-like mix that mimics the conditions of a tropical rainforest and will nourish your plants. If you want to make your own, you will need a mixture of 50% plain topsoil, 25% peat moss or coconut fiber, and 25% play sand. Mix that with leaf litter, sphagnum moss, and 2 doses of 6qt Bio Shot to inoculate your soil with beneficial microfauna. To help make the substrate functional, make sure to add tropical CUC organisms like powder blue/orange isopods, dwarf isopods, and springtails. You can also add other species like superworms, earthworms, and small millipedes!
Enclosure décor is more than just making your setup look good. It’s also an important part of providing environmental enrichment to your gecko, which reduces stress and enhances your pet’s quality of life by providing opportunities to express natural behaviors. Considering that Mourning Geckos are arboreal, two of their most important natural behaviors are climbing and hiding, which means that you will need lots of branches, vines, and foliage to fulfill that need. Live plants in particular are critical to helping your mini-ecosystem function properly. Fortunately since mourning geckos are so small, you don’t have to worry about them trampling whatever plants you put in the terrarium.
Temperature
Mourning geckos do best in warm tropical conditions. Ideal daytime temperatures are 77-82 degrees and can drop to 72 at night. Mourning Geckos should have a temperature gradient between 70-80°F. These geckos are hardy and cold tolerant down to 65°F. A basking site should be provided that maintains a temperature of 85°F.
Mourning geckos should have a low basking temperature between 82-85°F, as measured by a digital probe thermometer with the probe positioned in the basking area. To keep track of the temperatures in your terrarium, use digital probe thermometers like the Bio Dude Digital Thermometer / Hygrometer. To track basking temperature, zip-tie the probe to the basking branch directly under the lamps.
Provide heat for your geckos with a low-wattage incandescent bulb. White heat bulbs are the best way to imitate the warmth of sunlight indoors, and considered to be a superior form of reptile heating by experts. Avoid ceramic heat emitters (CHEs), red bulbs, or blue bulbs, as these are not as effective. To create a basking area for your mourning geckos, you will need a low-wattage white heat bulb. The 25w Exo Terra Daytime Heat Lamp works well, especially when mounted in a fixture like the Exo Terra Compact Top hood. If the basking area gets too warm, raise the lamp away from the mesh with small pieces of wood or similar.
Humidity
Mourning geckos are a tropical species, so the humidity inside their enclosure should be fairly high: 60-80%. Mourning geckos are thin-skinned and dehydrate easily, so they need a high humidity environment. To be specific, they need daily humidity levels between 60-90%.
Increase humidity by misting your geckos’ enclosure 1-2x/day with a spray bottle. Mist first thing in the morning and then again at night if needed. Providing a layer of naturalistic substrate (“bedding”) will help maintain correct humidity levels and also helps make your enclosure more attractive! Substrate should be at least 2” deep and completely replaced every 3-4 months.
Misting should be heavy to the point of having water droplets on all plants and decorations and the tank walls. Humidity should be allowed to fall back to normal within 4-6 hours of misting.
To raise humidity in your gecko’s enclosure and provide a source of drinking water, use an Exo Terra 2qt Mister to wet things down every morning and evening, preferably when it’s dark. If you need help increasing humidity, you can run a fogger/cool mist humidifier intermittently at night.
Lighting
Because they’re constantly producing eggs, mourning geckos need extra help from access to appropriate UVB lighting. Mourning geckos like to hang out upside-down on the underside of their terrarium mesh, so you need to be very careful to provide very low-intensity UVB in order to prevent them from getting burned. The best way to do this is to use a 12” Arcadia ShadeDweller-Arboreal UVB kit for UVB provision. Your UVB bulb must be replaced every 12 months to maintain its output.
The best UVB bulb for mourning geckos housed in a 12” x 12” x 18” terrarium is the 26w Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 Compact Coil bulb. For best results, house the UVB bulb in a reflective fixture. 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.
Because this is a bioactive setup, you will also need a bright plant light to promote healthy plant growth. It is important to provide them with the correct amount of UVA/UVB florescent lighting to insure their well-being. Higher output fluorescent, T5, or LEDs can be used for plant growth and to light the terrarium.
Diet and Feeding
Mourning geckos are omnivores, which means that they need to eat both plant- and animal-based foods to get the right nutrition. In the wild, they primarily eat insects, nectar, and fruit. As pets, they do best on a diet of specially-formulated crested gecko diet powder (CGD) and calcium-dusted live insects. The key to providing a healthy, balanced diet for any reptile is VARIETY!
Mourning geckos do well when fed crested gecko diet as a staple. Feeder insects should be fed a nutritional gut-load insect food and given Zilla Gut Load Cricket Drink.
Since crested geckos are arboreal, they prefer to eat and drink up off the ground. Of course, don’t forget small food and water bowls and a feeding ledge! Mourning Geckos prefer to eat elevated off the ground. These geckos will not usually drink from standing water and should be misted by hand to receive adequate hydration.
Crested Gecko Diet (CGD)
Mourning geckos do well on a diet of crested gecko diet (replaced every 24-48 hours) and calcium-dusted insects 1-2x/week. Using a powdered diet makes keeping mourning geckos incredible easy.
Here’s the brands I trust:
- Pangea
- Repashy
- Leapin’ Leachie
- Zoo Med
- Black Panther Zoological
- Lugarti
All of these brands offer top-quality nutrition and a range of palatable flavors to suit your gecko’s individual preference (or simply to provide a variety).
Mix the powdered diet with water to a ketchup or smoothie consistency (usually 2-3 parts water per 1 part powder) and offer in a biodegradable condiment cup. The cup can be placed on the ground or on a wall-mounted feeding ledge. If you have a large colony of geckos, offering CGD in multiple cups can help prevent quarreling. The CGD should be removed after no more than 2 days.
Feeder Insects
Some good types of feeder insects you can offer:
- Flightless fruit flies
- 1/4-1/2” crickets
- Bean beetles
- Rice flour beetles
- Small black soldier fly larvae
- small mealworms
- XS superworms
Adults and Juveniles can eat dusted and gut loaded crickets that are 1/8 to 3/8 inches in length depending on the size of the geckos being fed. Hatchlings can eat dusted Hydei "flightless" fruit flies which is the larger variety of commonly available cultured fruit flies or pinhead crickets. Juveniles will readily eat fruit flies & pinhead crickets. Adult mourning geckos will eat 1/4″ crickets, as well as other insects that size.
All feeder insects should be gutloaded for at least 24 hours before feeding. Ideally, they should come pre-gutloaded from the breeder. Although feeder insects should always be gutloaded for 2-3 days prior to feeding with a high-quality, plant-based gutload formula, they will also need to be “dusted” with an appropriate supplement powder just before offering.
Supplementation
You will also need a calcium supplement. We recommend Repashy Supercal NoD, lightly dusted on all feeder insects.
Feeding Schedule
According to Pangea Reptile, the ideal feeding rotation for mourning geckos is as follows:
- CGD for 2 days
- Insects for 3 days
- 2 “off” days
So feeding your mourning geckos should look something like this, then:
- Monday - CGD
- Tuesday - CGD
- Wednesday - No food
- Thursday - Bugs
- Friday - Bugs
- Saturday - Bugs
- Sunday - No food
If this isn’t possible or if you’re on a busy schedule, then offering fresh crested gecko diet every 48 hours and dusted insects 1-2x/week seems to also be successful. They get the PFM gecko diet 2 days per week and dusted gut-loaded insects 3 days per week with two off days where no food is given.
Handling
Reptiles generally don’t appreciate petting and handling in the same way that dogs and cats do, and when it comes to mourning geckos, it’s best not to attempt to handle them at all. Their tiny size & fairly quick nature can make handling difficult, so we'd recommend treating these as more of a species to observe, rather than one to interact with.
Reproduction
Mourning Geckos have a unique way of reproducing! It is called parthenogenesis, a type of asexual reproduction, that allows Mourning Geckos and other reptile to reproduce without males. That’s right, all Mourning Geckos are born female! Mourning Geckos are basically clones of their mothers who were clones of their mothers. Pairing this method of reproduction along with their tolerance for salt water, Mourning Geckos have an incredibly large native range and have become invasive all over the world, including Hawaii.
Since Mourning Geckos are essentially all females, they do not technically breed, however most adults will lay fertile eggs once they are mature. The eggs are basically glued to the laying site and you should not attempt to peal them off because they will likely break. Typical lay sites include the sides of the tank on the glass, on plant leaves, or on pieces of cork bark or other cage furnishings.
Mourning geckos are an egg-gluing species, which means they lay soft eggs which are "glued" into place by the Geckos. Eggs are usually laid in pairs, although they aren't always placed next to each other. These eggs should not be attempted to be removed from the surface where it's originally laid, as they will almost always crack in the process.
Mourning geckos reach sexual maturity at 8-10 months of age, and will lay clutches of 2 eggs every 4-6 weeks.
Egg Management
There are two ways to go about the management of this species of eggs:
- Removable egg laying sites: Leave removable egg laying sites throughout the enclosure, to encourage the mothers to lay eggs inside. These sites may include cut pieces of bamboo, small cork rounds, and even more synthetic solutions like plastic/PVC tubes. With the egg(s) safely deposited inside, the lay site can be easily removed & incubated at 70-80F. Most Mourning Gecko eggs hatch out between 55-65 days in our experience.
- In vivarium approach: The eggs can be left inside the vivarium to develop naturally. Once the eggs hatch, the hatchling Geckos should be promptly removed from the vivarium, and placed in a grow out enclosure. This hands off approach is easier in our experience, but extra care must be taken to ensure the adult Geckos are very well fed to discourage cannibalization of the tiny hatchling Geckos.
If glued to the glass you can tape a small plastic cup over the eggs to protect them and to trap the hatchlings when they emerge for easy removal. If glued to a plant leaf you can simply clip that part of the leaf and remove to a hatching chamber. Sometimes the eggs are hidden really well or laid in a place where removal or containment is impossible and they end up hatching in the terrarium. if you notice hatchlings in the tank you should remove them immediately before they are eaten by the adults. Sometimes they are left alone, and other times they are eaten rather quickly. Adults will also sometimes eat the eggs from other females immediately after they are laid and while they are still soft.
Hatchling Care
Hatchling Mourning Geckos are cared for exactly like the adults but more attention should be paid to humidity levels and misting as they can dehydrate much more easily.
Health Considerations
Quarantine
First and foremost, we strongly suggest purchasing from a breeder over a pet store, for the healthiest specimen & best service after the sale. Mourning Geckos should appear alert & fairly energetic as hatchlings & subadults.
Diet
Geckos that are fed inappropriate diets prior to being sold may be apprehensive accepting a healthy diet like Repashy Gecko Diet (or similar brands), and may require more work to wean them onto a better regimen. For this reason, prior diet should be a topic of conversation when purchasing a Gecko from any source. A good diet is incredibly important to a growing Gecko, and a poor diet is enough reason to pass on a potential purchase.