To me this species has always been one of the most beautiful day geckos, with its splashes of red on their back, and the speckling of gold over much of the upper back. Since they have been regularly imported, this gecko has been in fairly common in the hobby, which has prevented it from having the same attraction to collectors that more rare phelsuma have.  Still, their appearance and ease of care and breeding has kept them a popular subject for day gecko keepers, especially beginners!

However, a few years ago, a population of these in Hawaii was found that had abundant blue on their flanks and head.  (Yes, Phelsuma laticauda is present in Hawaii, there is more than one population of these day geckos there, of unknown origin!)

A few of these geckos have been captured, and brought into breeding programs in the US, and they are slowly becoming available.  They vary in coloration but it seems likely that breeding two of these geckos together produces even better looking offspring than the parents…it should be interesting to see how this trend continues.  Geckos for sale here are unsexed juveniles unless other wise noted.  I do raise them in gallon jars and can usually visualize the pores, but I’m not sure at what age males become obvious, and I’m running out of room for housing them.  Inquire if you want more info.

Overall this is one of the easier day geckos to keep and breed, let me know if you need help with their care or terrarium setup, but they generally need a 20 to 30 gallon size enclosure, or larger, for a pair, and like high humidity and warm temps.  A basking area is a good idea, provided with a small bulb.

Their need for UV light is somewhat exaggerated I think, I’ve kept them for several years without providing a UV emitting bulb.  However supplementation of their food with calcium, vitamin d3 and other supplements is important.  We feed them dusted hydei fruit flies, small crickets and Pangea type fruit food sources as well.  Keep a bowl of the fruit food in the tank and refresh it every couple of days.  Feed the bugs every day when available and fall back on the fruit when bugs are not available and you should be good as far as food goes.  Spray daily or twice a day, and when you cannot they will be fine for a couple of days.  These little guys are pretty tough!

As noted above, this is one of the easier day geckos to keep, however keep in mind that they can be quite territorial. Males can only be kept individually, only one per enclosure. Some keepers report being able to keep more than one female together but this needs to be done with considerable care, and females that are not seen out and about need to be removed from the group setting immediately!