Scientific Name:
Phelsuma grandis
Distribution
Madagascar
Diet:
Wide variety of arthropods (insects and spiders) also sweet fruit and nectar
Facts
Habitat: Rainforest, plantations, house walls and roofs. (WAZA)
Incubation: 2 eggs, 47-82 days
Social structure: Solitary
Weight: 60-70g
Dimensions: 25cm
Lifespan: 15 under human care
IUCN Status: Least concern
Estimated population in the wild: Common.
Threats: Habitat modifications, pet trade.
Did you know that:
- A gecko can cling to virtually any surface and support its body mass with a single toe by using the millions of keratinous setae on its toe pads. Each seta branches into hundreds of 200-nm spatulae that make intimate contact with a variety of surface profiles.
- Male geckos can change color (get darker) when they are stressed or if they are ill.
- They do not have eye lids.
- Young are independent upon hatching.
- Geckos are the only type of lizards known to be able to make more than a simple hiss. One of their calls resemble the sound of a frog and is made by using their very large tongues to produce a clicking sound of the roofs of their mouths.