Gargoyle gecko

About the species

The species is called the gargoyle gecko after the small, pointed bumps at the back of the head, which resemble the carved gargoyles on Gothic churches. Some animals have two distinct bumps, others a whole row, and they develop with age. Newly hatched young have a smooth, rounded head. The head is broad and triangular and the body stocky, and the bumps have also given it the English name knob-headed giant gecko. Under the toes there are lamellae that grip well, and the thin tip of the tail can grip the branches. In Denmark it is mostly known simply as the gargoyle.

The species was described in 1869 by the French pharmacist and naturalist Arthur Bavay as Platydactylus auriculatus and has been known as Rhacodactylus auriculatus since 1883.

An adult gargoyle measures 18-23 cm including the tail, of which the body from snout to vent makes up to about 12 cm. Weight is typically 35-70 g. The colours range from grey and brown through red to yellow and orange, often with stripes, spots or marbling, and breeders have developed many morphs. The tail can be dropped if the animal is grabbed or frightened. Unlike the tail of the crested gecko, it grows back, but the new tail is seldom as handsome.

The gargoyle is robust and calm and usually tolerates handling well. Males are territorial and fight, so they must be kept separately.

Care

The enclosure

An adult needs an enclosure of at least 45 × 45 × 60 cm (length × width × height). Several care guides recommend 60 × 60 × 60 cm, and because the gargoyle comes down to the ground more often than the crested gecko, extra floor area is worth more than extra height. Juveniles under about 12 g do best in a smaller rearing box, where they easily find their food.

Furnish it with sloping and horizontal branches, cork tubes and cork bark at several heights, and dense planting so the animal can slip out of sight. Live or artificial plants such as pothos and bromeliads provide both cover and humidity. A damp mix of coconut fibre, soil without fertiliser and a little sphagnum is suitable as substrate. If you want the female to use a laying box, a coarse substrate that she cannot dig in, such as orchid bark, can help.

The enclosure needs good ventilation, preferably with mesh openings both at the top and at the bottom. The dimensions are for one animal. If you keep a male with females, the enclosure must be correspondingly larger.

Temperature

During the day the enclosure should be 22-27 °C, and a small area at the top may reach 26-28 °C. At night the temperature should drop to 18-22 °C, and in winter the animal tolerates nights down to 16-18 °C. Some keepers provide a basking spot of up to 29 °C, but the low end is the safest.

Heat is the greatest danger. Air temperatures above about 28 °C should be avoided, and some keepers move the animals to a cooler room during heatwaves. In most Danish homes extra heat is unnecessary. If it is cold in winter, a low-wattage heat bulb or a heat mat on the side, controlled by a thermostat, can help. Measure with a digital thermometer both at the top and at the bottom, and leave part of the enclosure unheated.

Humidity and water

The humidity should fluctuate between about 50 and 80%. Mist the enclosure in the evening so that the humidity rises to 70-80%, and let it fall to around 50-60% during the day so the substrate can dry out. Constant dampness causes mould and skin problems.

The gargoyle drinks droplets from leaves and glass, but also provide a shallow dish of fresh water, changed daily. A hygrometer shows whether the rhythm is holding. If there is stuck shed on the toes and tail, the air is too dry.

Lighting and UVB

The species is active at dusk and at night and can manage without UVB when the diet contains vitamin D3. Low-level UVB lighting is nevertheless regarded today as good practice, because it gives more reliable calcium metabolism and more active animals. Use a weak tube for shade-dwelling animals (Ferguson zone 1), for example a T5 tube of 2.4-5%, with at least 15 cm down to the uppermost branches, and leave the rest of the enclosure in shade.

Keep the light on for about 12 hours a day in summer and 10-11 hours in winter, preferably controlled by a timer. Do not use coloured night lights. The night must be dark.

Feeding

The staple diet is a prepared powdered diet for fruit-eating geckos, mixed with water into a thick paste. Brands such as Repashy and Pangea are developed for this group of geckos and contain fruit, protein, calcium and vitamins. Offer a small dish every 2-3 days for adults and daily or every other day for juveniles under a year. Remove leftovers after one to one and a half days. The dish is best placed on a holder some way up.

In addition, give live insects about once a week for adults and 1-2 times a week for juveniles: crickets, locusts, dubia roaches or waxworms as a treat. The insects should be no larger than the distance between the animal's eyes and must be dusted with calcium with vitamin D3. The gargoyle likes live food more than the crested gecko does, and many breeders give insects more often.

Ripe fruit without citrus can be given as a treat, but the prepared diet should be the staple.

Behaviour and handling

The gargoyle is calm and can become quite tame, and most animals tolerate being handled well. Keep sessions short, 5-10 minutes a couple of times a week, and give new animals a couple of weeks in peace to settle in. Sit low, so that a leap does not end on the floor. Never grab the tail.

Males must be kept separately because they fight, and even during mating a male can be rough. A male can be kept with one or more females, but keeping them singly is the safest solution. Gargoyles readily eat smaller lizards, so do not keep them with other species or with conspecifics of very different size. By day the animal sleeps in the foliage, and most only become properly active in the evening.

If it feels threatened, it may hiss and open its mouth wide, but as a rule it stops at the threat.

Breeding

Sexual maturity and sexing

Males can usually be used for breeding from about one year of age, if they are large enough. Females need longer, and most breeders wait until the female is at least 18 months old and in good condition, typically 35 g or more. Males are recognised by a bulge at the base of the tail and a row of pores in front of the vent. Young females can have a similar bulge, and small animals can have indentations that look like pores, so use a magnifying glass, and wait to determine the sex until the animal is approaching sexual maturity.

Mating

The species is not bound to a particular season, but most eggs are laid from spring to autumn. Many keepers give the animals a cooler winter, for example around 20 °C by day and 17 °C at night, to kick-start breeding and give the female time to rebuild her calcium reserves.

Put the male in with the female in her enclosure, and watch them closely for the first few days. Mating can be violent, and the male bites the female on the neck. The eggs come 30-60 days after mating, or only a few months later, depending on where the female is in her cycle. Separate the animals if the female is injured or chased.

Egg-laying and clutches

The female lays two eggs at a time, one from each ovary. Under good conditions she can lay many clutches in a season, and up to eight or nine a year are mentioned, but the number depends greatly on her condition and age.

Place a laying box with damp sphagnum or coconut fibre in the enclosure, otherwise the female buries the eggs in the substrate. She needs plenty of calcium and insects throughout the season. Stop breeding if she loses significant weight.

Incubation

Carefully move the eggs into a small box with damp perlite, vermiculite or an artificial substrate, without turning them. Mark the upper side with a pencil. The box must have small air holes.

Most breeders incubate at room temperature, about 22-27 °C, and the eggs hatch after 60-90 days. Cool incubation takes longer, but in an experienced breeder's experience it produces larger and faster-growing young. Warmer incubation shortens the time, but above about 28 °C the risk of the embryos dying increases. Eggs that collapse or turn yellow and mouldy are usually not fertilised. Leave them until you are sure.

Rearing the young

The young measure about 2.5 cm from snout to vent and weigh around 3 g at hatching. They shed within the first day. Move them to a small box with kitchen roll or sphagnum, branches and a plant, and mist daily. They live off the yolk remnant for the first few days and begin to eat after a couple of days.

Give the same powdered diet as for the adults daily or every other day, and small insects 1-2 times a week, dusted with calcium with vitamin D3. Young nip each other's tails readily, so keep them singly or in small groups of 2-4 of the same size, and separate them at once if one lags behind or loses its tail. Weigh them regularly. They are fully grown after one and a half to two years.

Health and common mistakes

The gargoyle is hardy, and most problems are caused by incorrect heat, humidity or diet. The typical mistakes are:

• Too high a temperature, for example in an enclosure by a window in summer. This causes stress, loss of appetite and, in the worst case, death.
• Too little calcium and vitamin D3, especially in young animals and breeding females. This causes soft jaws, bent limbs and tremors. Use a good prepared diet, and dust the insects.
• A constantly wet substrate and poor ventilation, which cause mould and skin problems.
• Stuck shed on the toes and tail tip. Provide a humid hide, and gently loosen the remains with lukewarm water.
• Dropped tails after handling or fights. The tail grows back, but is seldom as handsome as before.
• Bites and injuries when males are kept together, or when a male is too rough with the female.

A healthy animal has clear eyes, a plump tail base and a good grip. Seek a vet with experience in reptiles if the gecko loses weight, does not eat for several weeks or seems limp.