Leachianus Gecko

Leachianus gecko origin

The Leachianus geckos live on multiple small islands of New Caledonia. It’s an arboreal species, meaning they spend most of their life in the surrounding trees and bushes. They are mostly active in the nighttime but have been found basking in the sunlight. According to local folklore, New Caledonian giant geckos are able to steal a person’s soul. That superstition, along with their growl-like vocalizations, have led to them gaining the nickname of “devils in the trees

 

Appearance

Leachianus are known for their green, mossy look.
They are the largest gecko species on the planet, although their size depends a lot on their locale. Read more on locales on our webpage.
This heavily built animal has a lot of loose skin on its body, which is thought to be protecting it from breeding and fighting damage.
These geckos also do have a small tail, that they might drop.

Size

As stated before, the size depends a lot on the locale of the animal.
They do however weigh somewhere between 150-400g as adults, although bigger animals have been recorded.

Diet
The dietary requirements for this gecko species are very specific. Luckily great companies have spent years on making foods that fit every need for the animal.
Companies like; Pangea, Repashy and Gecko Nutrition to mention a few.
These foods are often referred to as MRP or CGD. It’s a powder, that is mixed with water.

It’s often talked about if you can feed your gecko anything else, like baby food. And that is strongly recommended not to do. Instead, make sure they eat their MRP and offer them insects 2 a week. For a treat, a rat pup or mashed up fruit once a month is also fine.
However, you should make sure to always dust insects, fruits or whatever you decide to give them that isn’t the MRP with calcium.
 

Also make sure to provide a small water dish, although they drink mostly from small droplets from mistings.

Geckos often tend to use a few days and up to a month to settle down into their new home. So don’t be scared if they don’t start eating in the beginning.

And smaller geckos only eat a tiny amount, so you might not be able to tell at all. 

If you want to make sure they are eating, you can place a food bowl with just a tiny bit of food, so you can easily tell if there are any lick marks.

 

Housing

Temp and Humidity

These geckos are used to the humid and mid temperatures of New Caledonia.

It’s therefore recommended to keep them at around 22-27 degrees celsius.

They can survive both hotter and colder temperatures, but don’t thrive well in them, and especially not over longer periods of time.

 

They thrive with a humidity of around 70-80%, but needs a dry period, preferable during the day. If you mist at night, then you can wait again until the next night to mist again.

If the enclosure dries out quickly, you can pour water into the substrate to make sure it’s humid (Although never wet, as that can cause problems).

 

Lighting

Leachianus are known to survive both with and without any UVB, and it’s a current heavily debated subject. So let it be up to yourself if you want your gecko to have it or not.

They do however need some form of light, and for that natural daylight is just fine, so they can get an idea of the time of day. They won’t come out much during the daytime anyway.

 

Setup

When creating the enclosure for your gecko, you want to recreate its natural environment.

That means giving them plenty of height, hiding spaces and places to climb. These geckos are good glass climbers, and also have tiny nails to hold on with.

 

There are plenty of reptile substrates to choose from, but not all are safe for these geckos. Substrates like sand, carpet, clay or shavings are not good for your gecko. Instead, you want to go for either paper towel or soil. 

When using paper towel, you will have to clean it out more often, and it turns mouldy quickly.

 

The size of the enclosure can depend on multiple things. Some people prefer starting with a small one for a baby and then upgrading to a bigger tank. It mostly depends on people's “beliefs” and how much space they have to utilize. 

 

You don’t need the tank to be a terrarium, since some aquariums work nicely and plastic tubs are also a cheap and great way to house geckos. Just remember ventilation.

 

When decorating the enclosure, remember to use plenty of sticks, cork rounds, plants (Fake or Real) and whatever you can come up with that makes for good hides or climbing options.

Need inspiration? Check out our Facebook album called “New Caledonia Enclosures”.

 

Cohabbing

This is a big no go. Since this species will fight to the death if they are cohabited. Even when breeding this is a very dangerous way to keep your geckos.
 

Quarantine

When getting in new animals, no matter how known the breeder is, you’ll always need to quarantine it.

This goes for all reptiles and the rules are somewhat universal. But most importantly, keep them away from your other animals, and wash hands between touching your new pet and your old one.

You want to have them quarantined for a minimum of 60 days, but it’s commonly done for 90.

Sex determination

With leachianus this is actually a rather easy thing to do.
Some people can determine sex on geckos only 2 months old, but its usually around 4-6 months that you can say for sure.

When sexing you will be looking for something called pores. Males have pores, whereas females have none. Googling a photo of this might help you better understand.

But just because your gecko has no pores, doesn’t mean it won’t get any. So you can’t really be sure until it’s older.

 

Eggs

Some females lay eggs, also called duds when not fertile. They are usually less round and more yellow than a fertile egg, and when lighting them with a flashlight it’s yellow inside all the way around.

 

However, it is possible for females to lay partho eggs, where she fertilisés her own eggs. These eggs look like normal, white and round eggs.

Lighting them will show a small red ring inside, which you want to turn up when putting them into a hatching medium.

 

Handling

There is a recommended 2 week acclimation period, before starting to handle your gecko. Make sure it is eating, pooping and thriving before starting to take it out of its enclosure.

Start slowly, with a few minutes and build up from there. Some geckos might already be used to being handled and some might not and therefore get skittish, jump or seem frightened. 

 

You want to stay calm! Try starting with handling them somewhere safe, like above a bed or close to the floor, so if they do jump the landing isn’t too harsh.

You can do the “Hand Walking”, which is basically where you hold one hand out in front of the other, allowing the gecko to walk or jump into it. And keep moving your hands, so there is always a hand for it to walk into.

 

Geckos don’t get tame. But they can get used to being handled nonetheless. Some however might stay skittish and will prefer to be left alone.

Taildrops
This species can drop its tail for a lot of reasons, that sometimes end up being a mysterium. It’s usually because of it getting scared, or hurt in some way. They do however grow back, though not as beautiful as before and often without the original patterns.