Defining Characteristics: 

• Nocturnal
• Easy to Care For
• Easy to Breed
• Parthenogenetic
• Can Be Kept With Poison Dart Frogs
• GREAT IN GROUPS

Name:  Lepidodactylus lugubris. Commonly called the mourning gecko or smooth scaled gecko. 

Recommended Vivarium Size: Mourning geckos will thrive in an enclosure as small as 5 gallons, but 10 gallons or 12x12x12 Exo Terras or larger are recommended for multiple animals. Many people successfully keep these geckos in naturalistic vivaria, housed with larger dart frogs. Mourning geckos are escape artists, and it's always important to fully secure their enclosure to prevent escapes! At Josh's Frogs, we secure Exo Terra enclosures by siliconing the lid and blocking the front vents with pond foam. 

Temperature:  Lepidodactylus lugubris prefer temps in the mid 70s, up to the low 80s. Mourning geckos will generally thrive at room temperature, but a low wattage basking light may be needed in cooler climates. Their ideal temperature range is 70F - 80F.

Humidity:  Mourning geckos like it humid, and require a humidity of at least 50%. Lepidodactylus lugubris can do well at a humidity of up to 90%, as long as a drier area is provided. Ideal humidity range is 60%-80%. 

Size: Adult mourning geckos get up to about 4" in length. When they hatch, Lepidodactylus lugubris measure less than an inch! 

Age: Lepidodactylus lugubris is capable of living over 10 years in captivity, with reports of 15 years or more in the literature. All mourning geckos for sale at Josh's Frogs are well started juveniles, and are over a month old.

Feeding: Being smaller geckos, mourning geckos prefer smaller foods. Lepidodactylus lugubris juveniles will readily eat Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, Drosophila hydei fruit flies, pinhead crickets and ⅛” crickets. Adult mourning geckos will devour1/4", as well as other insects that size. At all life stages, mourning geckos will feast on gecko diet mix. This can be fed as a complete diet to mourning geckos, but we prefer to offer them a variety of feeder insects, as well. All feeder insects should be gut loaded and dusted with a vitamin/mineral supplement.

Sexing: Sexing mourning geckos is the easiest thing in the world - they're all female! Lepidodactylus lugubris is a parthenogenetic species - females lay fertilized eggs, and their offspring are little clones of the parent. There have been rare reports of males.

Color/Pattern:  Virtually all mourning geckos look similar. Pattern and coloration may vary based on locale. Lepidodactylus lugubris is a tan colored gecko, with small, dark brown to black markings on its back. Mourning geckos have a cream colored belly.

Social Behavior:  Lepidodactylus lugubris is fine housed alone or in groups, as long as enough space and hiding places are provided. The geckos will develop a social hierarchy, with the dominant animal(s) breeding. Mourning geckos can be very vocal when housed together, with the animals making various squeaks and creaks to communicate. Mourning geckos will also display visually to each other, in the form of back arching or tail wiggling. Aggression can sometimes occur, but generally does not result in the injury of an animal. Adults may eat offspring.

Breeding: Mourning geckos are very easy to breed - they don't need any of our help! Lepidodactylus lugubris is best kept in pairs or groups for breeding - 2 females will stimulate each other via pseudocopulation, resulting in 2 gravid geckos. Mourning geckos reach sexual maturity at 8-10 months of age, and will lay clutches of 2 eggs every 4-6 weeks. Eggs take about 2 months to hatch at room temperature.

Natural Range: Mourning geckos are found in the tropical coastal areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, Fiji, the Australian islands of Cocos atoll, Western Samoa, and Guam. Mourning geckos have been introduced into Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Galapagos islands, Colombia, Chile, the Seychelles islands, Mexico, and Hawaii.

History in the Hobby:  Mourning geckos have suffered from a severe swing in popularity in the hobby. Lepidodactylus lugubris is seemingly in demand, then they're everywhere, the price goes down, and people get rid of them. Suddenly, they're hard to find, pricey, and in demand again. Josh's Frogs is dedicated to consistently breeding and offering the species we work with, in order to avoid this boom/bust cycle.

Links of Interest:

• Keeping Mourning Geckos with Dart Frogs - Josh's Frogs blog about housing mourning geckos and dart frogs together
• Mourning Geckos on Wikipedia - great information on their natural (and artificial!) range.
• GeckosUnlimited - Mourning Gecko Care Sheet - covers all the basics
• ReptileSpecialty - Mourning Gecko Care Sheet - a good care sheet on mourning geckos

Still not sure if Mourning Geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris) from Josh's Frogs are the right geckos for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!