Free-roaming Geckos?

[Mom42]

I am not a bug lover... but as a Texas resident.. bugs are always an issue (From ants, flies, beatles, and the ever irritating cucarachas!!). As a result, I have to treat my house every 6 months or so to keep the bugs away.

To start: I have two young children (under age 4), and I've been reading about people who let geckos roam free in their house to help control bugs. Lizards don't bother me at all, and I've been considering this possibility for my house so I can get rid of the chemicals and having to do scheduled treatments to keep it controlled. However, I have some concerns about allowing a lizard to roam free in my house. My questions are as follows:

1) First of all... where would I buy a house gecko? What breed or type should I look for (based on my purpose for choosing this type of pet)?
2) Is there a way to make sure the gecko will be healthy and happy so it will stay in the house and not "run away" to the outdoors? - I was thinking along the lines of allowing the gecko to be free-roaming, but still offering in an open aquarium where I would keep some extra crickets in case there aren't enough bugs in the house for the gecko to eat, and for putting some water trays. Kind of a "safe haven" for when my gecko wants to "rest". - If I provided some guaranteed food, would the gecko still hunt? My concern is about wasting money buying a gecko and all the things needed to care for it, just to have it run away!
3) Are geckos safe for young kids? I plan to teach my kids not to touch or bother the gecko.. but do I have to worry about putting my kids to bed at night and being woken with "Mommy there's a Gecko in my BED".. LOL - or on a more honest concern.. my kids getting bitten by a free-roaming gecko...
4) Gecko poo issues when allowed to free-roam - is it going to make my house smelly and nasty, clean up issues?
5) Would I need to get 2 geckos for companionship?
6) What basic care should I be prepared to provide to keep the gecko healthy (how much food.. water.. vet care?

My current concerns are for the health of my family, and controlling bugs. A free-roaming gecko may be a more healthy way to control bugs (compared to chemicals). However, if I bought a gecko (or two) I would want it to be a healthy pet, as well as a happy hunter.

I've never owned a lizard before, but I have always liked them. I've been considering this for a while, but like any other pet consideration, I want to make a good decision based on keeping the gecko and my family healthy.

Any suggestions? What are your experiences with free-roaming geckos? Do anyone of you know of families with young children who have had free-roaming geckos?

 

[Palor]

Depending where you are in TX there are already a species of house gecko. You may be able to find Mediterranean Geckos (H. Turcicus) near you and just catch your own. If you can't find them, you can often find Common House Geckos (H. Frenatus) for sale.

I know I have a few of them in my house, they are all over AZ, so far I have not noticed any reptile poo smell.

I doubt a young kid would ever see the gecko, unless they uncovered it from it daytime hiding place. Even if a kid found it, they are quick to scurry away and hide.

I have seen them in my house all year round, i think they enjoy my escaped crickets. I am certain they get water from my fish tanks and the cat and dog water bowls

I think your idea of setting up a gecko refuge is pretty cool.

 

[Sinosauropteryx]

Free-roaming house geckos

1) First of all... where would I buy a house gecko? What breed or type should I look for (based on my purpose for choosing this type of pet)?

As Palor said, you can probably buy common house geckos from somewhere if you don't have any wild ones in your area. A few things you may want to watch out for, though:

First, if you buy a captive-bred gecko, then technically it becomes your pet and you are obligated to ensure its safety. There are probably hazards in your house that could threaten your gecko. It isn't fair for the animal to put it in a situation where something could happen and not want to - or not be able to - do anything about it. Plus, if something does happen to the gecko and it dies, you will have wasted the money you spent on it.

Second, if the gecko is let loose in your house, it may be possible for it to escape. This won't be anything to worry about if the gecko is wild and it comes from your area but, if it is captive-bred and sold, then it may not come from your area and hence could be considered an invasive species. Worse yet, it could multiply upon coming into contact with another gecko of the same species and then you will really have a problem.

2) Is there a way to make sure the gecko will be healthy and happy so it will stay in the house and not "run away" to the outdoors? - I was thinking along the lines of allowing the gecko to be free-roaming, but still offering in an open aquarium where I would keep some extra crickets in case there aren't enough bugs in the house for the gecko to eat, and for putting some water trays. Kind of a "safe haven" for when my gecko wants to "rest". - If I provided some guaranteed food, would the gecko still hunt? My concern is about wasting money buying a gecko and all the things needed to care for it, just to have it run away!

Even if you were to spend the money on such a "safe haven," I kinda doubt the gecko would use it. It will probably have about a dozen other hiding places in the house to choose from that are less frequented by people and probably in places where you couldn't get at it. That aquarium haven you plan on making will need to be somewhere out of reach of the kids but still somewhere you can get at it. The most likely place will probably still be frequented by people on a regular basis and the gecko is going to want to avoid that. And then there is the issue of it escaping. Putting aside the problems I mentioned if it ever were to get out, you should consider the choices the gecko will be faced with and which one it will choose. If I were a gecko and I could choose between an open terrarium in a human's house and the wild blue yonder where there are no humans at all, guess which one I would choose.

3) Are geckos safe for young kids? I plan to teach my kids not to touch or bother the gecko.. but do I have to worry about putting my kids to bed at night and being woken with "Mommy there's a Gecko in my BED".. LOL - or on a more honest concern.. my kids getting bitten by a free-roaming gecko...

The gecko will have much, much more to fear from your kids than your kids will from the gecko. I am not sure about house geckos but my white-lined gecko has never bitten me since I got him and he's closely related to one of the most aggressive geckos to have been kept in captivity. Lizards in general are much more concerned with getting away from an intruder than they are facing it. For lizards, the flight-or-fight instinct is geared much more toward "flight" and the latter is only triggered when they are being threatened and have no way out. Or if you look like food to them. The exceptions to this are lizards that actually have to kill their food before eating it because they need a heightened level of aggression required to kill their prey. These prey animals are likely to be rodents, small birds and other lizards. Your house gecko will be an insectivore so it will have no instinct or desire to maul your kids (if it were ever possible for it to do so).

4) Gecko poo issues when allowed to free-roam - is it going to make my house smelly and nasty, clean up issues?

If your gecko is eating in your house, it will probably be defecating in it as well. So you will eventually find gecko poop lying around somewhere. As to my experience, however, it doesn't seem to smell that bad. If at all. That may depend on whether it comes into contact with water though. Gecko poop itself is actually quite dry because the urates in the faeces are solid so, if it is in a dry place, you will not have to worry too much. Just remember to keep up with the housecleaming.

5) Would I need to get 2 geckos for companionship?

No. Only if you want baby geckos. Reptiles are solitary animals that do not need any sort of companionship at all. Their brains have not evolved the right hard-wiring to appreciate the company of other members of their species the way mammals have so they are often just as happy to not see another animal of any kind for the rest of their lives.

Another point that I have already brought up is possible introduction of an invasive species. If those geckos breed and get out of your house, they may eventually populate the surrounding area. If they are wild or their species is found wild in your area, you will not need to worry too much - unless state authorities are trying to keep numbers down or get rid of them, which is often the case with newly established species - but if your gecko is not native or is not already established in your area, then you will have a serious problem. One that could result in a very hefty fine or something equally ugly.

6) What basic care should I be prepared to provide to keep the gecko healthy (how much food.. water.. vet care?

If you are going to keep the gecko properly as a pet, there is a lot of information here as well as elsewhere online. There is a house gecko forum on this site so you should find lots of information and board members will help you. Good luck.

 

[Tami]

How did the Gecko project work out?

I just noticed your post....I too live in Texas (Dallas area) and we have TONS of House Geckos roaming everywhere. In fact, it must have been breeding season recently because we are seeing iddy biddy babies everywhere. I usually drop them in one of my larger indoor planters when I come across one inside, and throw a few pinhead crickets in there a few times a week. They seem to love it. In fact, one gecko in particular kept crawling out at night (returning to the planter during the day) and I was scared to death my dog would get it. That was my intro to the gecko world. I set it up in an aquarium til it got bigger and then we let it go back outside and bought our first Leopard gecko.

Just wondering if you ever went through with getting one for "bug control"?

 

[Charlenelle]

Free gecko

New to forums...

Anyhow...I have a Vietnamese golden gecko, about 10 yrs old, and thought it could be its last year of life, and decided to just open the cage and let it do what it wants. I leave a door open to the outside open all the time now that summer is in full affect. It keeps coming back at night to its cage, granted it has lived in that cage for a long time. I don't know what will happen in the winter, but I know this little guy has been outside and been coming back in at night. I saw him one day on the back porch scurry under something! I think it's an excellent idea to let the lizards loose in your house. I had an exterminator once tell me to do so as I have brown recuses in my house also, and poison does little against them. The breed that I have is very cheap at a pet store, and quite harmless! I have not seen poop, but when I was in Thailand, you always saw house gecko poop in every house. It looks like bird poop. I think it's an excellent green bug control technique!

 

[texgeck]

House Geckos

I've always had free roaming house Geckos. Last year there were so many that I had a baby one living in my shower drain. Pretty sure he was finding ants down there. I would let the water trickle so he knew to get out of the drain and he would crawl a bit up the porcelain but not far. I eventually realized he couldn't get out and freed him in the garage.

This year my friends have all grown up. They still come and feed on the outside of every window if I leave the porch/security lights on. That's definitely the best way to get sight of them. At dusk they go bonkers for lighted windows.

Well I'm quiet worried. I have not seen a single baby and they've gone into hibernation!!! I'm pretty sure the large ones I see this year were the infants from last year. Every year they look a little different and last year the infants looked REALLY creamy white with yellowish/orange stripes. The one in my drain may have even been albino he was so light colored. I'm not sure though.

I have no clue where they get their water. I didn't even consider that until I saw mention of dog bowls. I did have a pet last year with an outdoor bowl so it's very possible that's why I'm seeing less of them. I may set some water in the garage.

I've stepped on them once or twice when they're sleeping under a blanket or hiding behind a pillow. I don't see them often but much like the insects they're feeding on I know they're just out of sight. I would really like to befriend one but I could never bring myself to cage them.

As for their poop I see it where they feed but they seem to drop pretty selectively. For instance I never see it on the screens even though they eat on them. Instead it's on the frame. The worst place by far is the garage door on the inside. I'm pretty sure there's a nest or a good cubby in the corner of the garage but it's everywhere and it has no smell. Strangely it's stuck to the wall even though I never see them on the wall.

As for Roaches no, they do not keep them in check enough even when they're breeding to replace spraying. I've always thought an adult roach would kick the snot out of an infant gecko anyways.

 

[thorrshamri]

Simply put: free-roaming geckos can be great inside a reptile room, properly locked and in which you can monitor them, with roaming bugs to eat, but certainly not in a whole house. Unless they come by themselves in your home.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

I keep Tarentola annularis in my insect room, far and away the best little bug napper around.

Mind you my bug room is four self closing doors away from outside, two of which are always locked (entrance to the bug room and the entrance to my home).

But free range in your home including access to outside with a non-native species is a very big do not do in my book.

Use something like Sawyer Permethrin Pump Spray if a more natural method of keeping your home insect fee is your desire.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[texgeck]

I don't understand why anyone is against free roaming geckos?! There's absolutely no way to get rid of them other than killing them every year. They choose to roam where they will. There are nooks and crannies in your house that a free roaming gecko will always be able to escape with. Either you have free roaming geckos in your house or you don't. I for one enjoy my swarm of little friends.

As for the lower population they may have just moved on or worse suffered from natural selection. Nobody else seems to have an idea.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Local geckos if you have them are fine, non-native geckos need to remain safely enclosed to keep your local species secure from yet another critter.

Secondary to that is the image it puts on our community when non-native animals escape into the wild.

Maurice Pudlo