Madagascar Day Gecko

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

The total length of the Madagascar Day Gecko is about 28 cm, some specimen can reach 30 cm. This is the largest Phelsuma species of Madagascar. The dorsal ground colour is light to dark green, sometimes moderately bluish. A red to reddish brown stripe runs from the nostril to the eye and occasionally further to the neck above the ear-opening. The rest of the markings are also red or sometimes completely absent. There is a V-shaped mark on the forehead, and it has red marks on the hindhead and back. The tail is uniform or sometimes with single red spots and/or some red crossbars on the anterior part of the tail. The flanks and limbs are also uniform or marbled pale and dark. The ventral colour is usually grey, the under part of the tail is sometimes bluish green to yellow. Madagascar day geckos feed primarily on nectar and arthropods but have also been documented feeding on Hemidactylus geckos. Madagascar day geckos have been known to live for more than 20 years in human care. There are four subspecies: Ph. m. madagascariensis, Ph. m. boehmei, Ph. m. grandis and Ph. m. kochi.

Did you know?
that geckoes have padded toes with sticking power, allowing them to walk even on vertical glass screens? This is because each toe has fine hairs 1/10 mm long, packed at 5,000 hairs per sq mm. Each hair has 400-1,000 branches that end in a small spatula-like structure, which makes the adhesive effect.

Factsheet
Class	REPTILIA
Order	SQUAMATA
Suborder	SAURIA (GEKKOTA)
Family	GEKKONIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Phelsuma madagascariensis
Name (English)	Madagascar Day Gecko
Name (French)	Gecko diurne de Madagascar
Name (German)	Madagaskar-Taggecko
Name (Spanish)	Geco diurno de Madagascar
CITES Status	Appendix II
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
© Samuel Furrer, Zoo Zurich, Switzerland

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Madagascar. Populations descending from escaped individuals of Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis> became established in the Florida Keys.
Habitat	Primary and secondary rainforest, on house walls, roofs and in plantations
Wild population	Unknown, but it is common in many localities (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	566 reported to ISIS (2009)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 41 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

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