Reptiles · Geckos
Tokay Gecko
Gekko gecko
Large, vocal, defensive display geckoAdvanced
- Lifespan
- 10-15 years
- Size
- 30-35 cm
- Social needs
- Solitary; house singly
- Time
- Medium; feed, mist, minimal handling
- Cost
- Medium-High
- Diet
- Insectivore (live insects, occasional pinky)
Overview
What is this animal?
- The Tokay gecko, from the forests of South and Southeast Asia, is one of the largest and most striking geckos, blue-grey with orange and white spots and named for its loud 'to-kay' call.
- It is bold, fast and famously defensive, delivering a powerful, tenacious bite, so it is firmly an advanced, hands-off species.
- Despite their difficult temperament, Tokays are hardy and long-lived when their humidity and space needs are met.
- Many sold are still wild-caught and arrive stressed or parasitised, so captive-bred animals and a quarantine plan matter.
- They suit experienced keepers who want an impressive vivarium occupant to observe, not to handle.
Temperament
- Tokay geckos are bold, territorial and highly defensive, gaping, lunging and biting hard when approached, and they will hold on.
- They are not a handling pet; interaction is largely limited to maintenance, and even calm individuals rarely become truly tame.
- They are also loud, calling at night, which suits some keepers and not others.
- They are strictly solitary outside supervised breeding.
- Two will fight, often seriously.
- A single Tokay in a tall, well-planted vivarium, observed rather than handled, is the appropriate and humane way to keep this species.
A good fit for
- Experienced keepers wanting a bold display gecko
- Those happy with a hands-off, observe-only reptile
- Keepers who can source captive-bred animals
- People untroubled by loud nighttime calls
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting a handleable, tame gecko
- Wild-caught stress, parasites and mites
- Housing two together (serious fights)
- Low or stagnant humidity causing shed and respiratory issues
Enclosure
Minimum 2,700 cm² of floor (419 sq in) · 60 × 45 × 90 cm
Must be housed alone. Solitary; house singly
- House one adult in a tall, well-ventilated, securely latched vivarium of at least 60x45x90cm, well furnished with cork bark, branches and live plants for climbing and dense cover.
- As a strong arboreal climber it needs vertical space and many hiding spots to feel secure and reduce defensive displays.
- Maintain a warm gradient of around 28-30C with a basking area near 32C and cooler shaded zones, plus a nighttime drop.
- A low-output UVB tube is beneficial.
- Keep humidity high, around 60-80%, by misting daily, while ensuring good ventilation so the enclosure dries partly between mistings and avoids stagnant, mouldy conditions.
Supplies
Setup
- Enclosure
- Heating and thermostat
- Low-output UVB fixture and bulb
- Thermometers and hygrometer
- Substrate, hides including a humid hide, decor
Ongoing
- Complete powdered fruit-gecko diet (for cresteds, gargoyles, chahouas, mourning geckos)
- Live crickets, dubia roaches or black soldier fly larvae
- Plain calcium powder without D3
- Calcium with D3 plus a reptile multivitamin
- Feeder gut-load and a ventilated feeder tub
- Shallow ledge-mounted feeding cups
- Blunt-tipped feeding tongs
- Shallow water dish
Safe substrate: Topsoil and play sand mix for arid geckos · Coco fibre and orchid bark for tropical geckos · Paper towel
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperatures and humidity
- Fresh water bowl
- Look the animal over
- Mist the enclosure
- Spot-clean waste and uneaten food
Weekly
- Feed insects or prepared dietevery 2 days
- Check toes, tail tip and eyes after a shedevery 3 days
- Short handling session, species permittingevery 3 days
- Re-damp the humid hide
Monthly
- Weigh-inevery 2 weeks
- Deep-clean the enclosure
- Test thermostats, lamps and guards
Less often
- Refresh the substrateevery 3 months
- Replace the UVB lampevery 6 months
Vet: Annual exam and faecal check — every 12 months (every 6 months from 10 years old)
Top resources for more info
Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-09-19.
YouTubers
Leopard GeckoLeopard and crested gecko care, setups and healthReptiles and ResearchEvidence-led husbandry: enclosure size, UVB, thermal gradients, enrichmentClint's ReptilesWhich reptile suits you, with honest care and handling verdicts
Sites
Go deeper
Diet
- Tokay geckos are voracious insectivores.
- Feed a varied diet of gut-loaded, calcium-dusted live insects such as large crickets, dubia roaches and locusts, with the occasional appropriately sized pinky mouse for large adults.
- Their size means they take substantial prey, so match insect size to the gecko.
- Dust feeders with calcium and a vitamin/D3 supplement on a regular schedule to prevent metabolic bone disease.
- Feed adults every few days and juveniles more often.
- Provide fresh water in a dish, though they drink mostly from misted droplets on leaves and glass.
Health
- A healthy Tokay is muscular and alert with clear eyes, full toe pads and a strong appetite.
- Wild-caught animals commonly carry internal parasites and mites and arrive dehydrated, so a vet faecal check and quarantine are wise.
- Retained shed, metabolic bone disease and respiratory infections from cold or stagnant humidity are the main husbandry concerns.
- Because they are easily stressed, signs of illness such as lethargy, weight loss or laboured breathing can be subtle against their normally defensive behaviour.
- Use a vet experienced with exotics, and favour captive-bred stock to reduce disease and welfare problems.
Is your enclosure big enough?
Minimum floor area2,700 cm² (419 sq in) of continuous, unbroken floor
As dimensions60 x 45 x 90 cm
Height90 cm minimum. This species climbs, so height is not optional.
CompanyMust be housed alone. Solitary; house singly
Is this urgent?
Small geckos dehydrate and lose condition quickly, and the tail is the fuel gauge.
Go now
Tremors, weak grip, or a jaw that will not close properlyGo now. Calcium and D3 deficiency.
NowToday
Tail visibly thinning in a species that stores fat thereWeigh, then call with the trend. The fat store goes before the body condition does.
TodayStuck shed around the toes or over the eyesRaise humidity, offer a damp hide, and call if it is not clear within a day. Constricting shed rings cost toes. This is the most common avoidable injury in geckos.
TodayRefusing food with weight lossCheck the cool-end and warm-end temperatures, then call. A gecko that cannot reach its preferred temperature cannot digest.
TodayThis is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
Can a tokay gecko eat that?
Geckos split into two diets that share almost nothing: insectivores like the leopard gecko, and the fruit-and-insect species like the crested gecko. Check which one you have.
The full list
Never (13)
AlcoholNo safe amount at any body weight on this site.
neverAvocadoPersin.
neverCaffeineCoffee, tea and energy drinks. Cardiac and neurological toxicity at tiny doses for an animal this size.
neverChocolateTheobromine and caffeine. Small mammals and reptiles cannot clear either.
neverCitrusAcidic, and it blocks calcium absorption.
neverFirefliesLucibufagins. Fatal to geckos.
neverGarlicSame allium toxicity as onion, and more concentrated by weight.
neverInsects larger than the gap between the eyesA recognised cause of impaction and neurological injury in small geckos. Size the feeder to the animal, every time.
neverLeekAllium family. Same mechanism as onion and garlic.
neverOnionOrganosulphur compounds damage red blood cells. The whole allium family is out.
neverRhubarbVery high in soluble oxalate, high enough to cause acute kidney injury. The leaves are worse than the stalks.
neverSalty or seasoned human foodSalt, oil and seasoning. Crisps, chips, seasoned leftovers and processed meat are all out.
neverWild-caught insectsPesticides and parasites.
neverRare treats (1)
WaxwormsVery fatty and habit-forming. Useful to get weight on a thin animal. One or two, rarely.
rare treatOccasional (4)
HornwormsHigh water content; useful for a dehydrated animal. One occasionally.
occasionalMashed fruitFor crested and gargoyle geckos only, and only as a supplement to a complete diet. Never for a leopard gecko. A small amount, alongside the complete diet.
occasionalMealwormsHard chitin and a poor calcium ratio. A leopard gecko fed only mealworms is a leopard gecko heading for calcium problems. A few alongside better feeders.
occasionalSuperwormsFatty. One or two.
occasionalEveryday foods (4)
Black soldier fly larvaeHigh in calcium, and readily taken. Several per feed.
everyday foodComplete crested gecko diet powderFor crested, gargoyle and chahoua geckos only, mixed with water. A complete food and the simplest way to feed those species correctly. Fresh, every other day, for fruit-eating species.
everyday foodCricketsStandard feeder. Gut-load for 24 hours before offering. Sized to the eye gap.
everyday foodDubia roachesThe best routine feeder for insectivorous geckos. Sized no wider than the space between the eyes.
everyday foodThat food is not on our list. Check which kind of gecko you have first — the two diets barely overlap — then ask an exotics vet.
Dust feeders with calcium to the schedule in the species guide, and keep a small dish of plain calcium available for insectivorous species.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Bedding and substrate
Match the substrate to the species' humidity, and never let a small gecko stand on anything it can swallow whole.
Safe
Topsoil and play sand mix for arid geckosPacks firm, holds a burrow, and is what a leopard gecko would actually stand on.
safeCoco fibre and orchid bark for tropical geckosHolds the humidity a crested or day gecko needs.
safePaper towelCorrect for quarantine, for hatchlings, and for any animal whose output you are watching.
safeWith a caveat
Sphagnum mossExcellent in a humid hide, poor as a whole-floor substrate — it stays wet.
with a caveatNever
Calcium sandSold as digestible, which is exactly why it gets eaten. Implicated in impaction.
neverCrushed walnut shellSharp and indigestible.
neverLoose play sand alone for hatchlingsToo easy to swallow at that size.
neverA humid hide is not optional for most geckos, whatever the main substrate is. Most stuck-shed problems trace back to its absence.
Compare with other animals
The same axes for every animal, side by side — the way the guides are written makes that a fair comparison rather than two articles.
Keep going
Geckos, side by side
Same axes, same care guides — the honest way to choose between types.
See all Geckos side by side →
