Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko

(Asaccus kurdistanensis)


Facts

Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

 

Facts about this animal

This species is endemic to Iran and was recently described by Rastegar-Pouyani et al in 2006 (Torki and Sharifi 2007).
The Farhang Torki Ecology and Herpetology Center for Research (FTEHCR) started a program on this species and other Iranian endemic reptiles and amphibians.

Factsheet
Class REPTILIA
Order SQUAMATA
Suborder SAURIA (GEKKOTA)
Family GEKKONIDAE
Name (Scientific) Asaccus kurdistanensis
Name (English) Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko
Name (Spanish) Camaleón del Kurdistán
CITES Status Not listed
CMS Status Not listed

 

 

Photo Copyright by
Farhang Torki

Distribution

 


Distribution
Range only distributed in Iran, western Zagros Mountains. In two locality as follows: (a) Sarvabad Region in Kurdistan province (Rastegar-Pouyani et al. 2006); (b) Palangan Region, northern Kermanshah province (Torki and Sharifi 2007).
Habitat Wooded and non wooded mountain areas
Wild population No information yet about population size, but it appears to be easy to collect , and the population trend is stable (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population Non reported to ISIS (2008)

In the Zoo

Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko

 

How this animal should be transported

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

 

Find this animal on ZooLex

 

Photo Copyright by
Farhang Torki

Why do zoos keep this animal

This species is currently not kept by zoos. The FTEHCR keeps this species and works on behavioural aspects (condition under capture). Because the Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko is a recently described species from Iran few is known about ecological and biological aspects in this species (Torki and Sharifi 2007). Therefore this species is kept to gain more knowledge about its behaviour.

 

How this animal should be kept

This species is, as all other Asaccus species, related to rocky area. For the keeping of this species big stone under natural condition must be used. The FTEHCR keeps more than five specimens in an enclosure of 4*3*3= 27m3. This area contains several stones (slim-stones intermixed with soil) and two trunks. They also built several walls so the animals can move more easliy.
Food: The Kurdistan leaf-toed gecko takes insect and other soft invertebrates such as beetles, flay etc. This species eats only live food.
Care note after catch: during several weeks they may not eat any and may not show normal biological activity. But, eating starts after several weeks (3-4 weeks). It proved to be better to keep all specimens in a small place (after catching or during the first few weeks), and after two weeks release them in main place.
Breeding: One big egg or two moderately sized eggs are found in many specimens during the spring.