The Central American Banded Gecko gets is name from the series of bands that run along its body. They are a very hardy lizard that thrives in a wide range of environments, making it that bit easier to care for them in captivity.
Taxonomy
The Central American Banded Gecko belongs to a family of lizards called Eublepharidae. This is a group of lizards that fall under the Infraorder Gekkota, meaning they are a sub-group of Geckos.
The Eublepharidae family of geckos contain many commonly kept species of lizard including the Leopard Gecko and the African Fat Tailed Gecko. However, these lizards belong to different genera.
The genus that these lizards belong to is called Coleonyx and their scientif name is Coleonyx mitratus. This genus consists of a number of species and sub-species of Banded Geckos including the Texas Banded Gecko and the Western Banded Gecko.
Description
The coloration and patterning of the Central American Banded Gecko can vary greatly. However, they generally have a brown background with yellow bands running along their body. These bands usually have a black outline.
This is a small species of lizard that only grows to around 4-5 inches in length. They are also rather skinny, making them look even smaller. Sometimes, they lack the characteristic band and can have busy black and yellow spotting instead.
It is easy to distinguish between males and females once the lizards are mature. Similar to a Crested Gecko, males will have a bulge at the base of their tail. They will also have femoral pores between their hind legs.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Central American Banded Gecko can be found throughout much of Central America. Their range extends from Guatemala down to Costa Rica. They can be found in countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
These hardy lizards thrive in a wide range of environments from semi-arid deserts to more humid forests.
It shares part of its range with species such as the Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula, the Curly Hair Tarantula, Blacktail Cribo and the Yellow Spotted Lizard.
Feeding a Central American Banded Gecko
A Central American Banded Gecko must be fed a diet of insects. The bulk of their diet should consist of Crickets and Dubia Roaches but you can offer them other insects to vary their diet.
Most people aren’t sure what size insects they should feed. A good rule of thumb is to offer insects whose total length is slightly smaller than the width of the lizard’s head.
It is important to dust your insects with vitamin/mineral supplements to ensure your Central American Banded Gecko is getting all the nutrients it needs. Gut loading your insects prior to feeding is also important.
Mealworms and Waxworms are often offered to adult Central American Banded Gecko as part of a varied diet. Juveniles are often offered a variety of smaller insects such as fruit flies, springtails and bean beetles.
Central American Banded Gecko Enclosure
A juvenile Central American Banded Gecko can be housed in a small enclosure. This will help the lizard feel secure and reduce stress as they will not feel as exposed. Juveniles can be housed in an enclosure measuring 12x12x12 inches.
Adults need to be housed in a larger enclosure. You can comfortably house a trio (two females and a male) in an enclosure measuring 24x24x12 inches. However, the more ground space you can offer the better.
These lizards thrive in a range of habitats so how you set up your enclosure is up to you. They can be found in semi-arid deserts and more humid forests.
However, keep in mind that they are a nocturnal, terrestrial species. The spend most of their day hiding in burrows and are primarily active at night.
Therefore, your enclosure should have plenty of hiding places. This can vary from artificial hides, leaf litter or even naturalistic burrows dug in their substrate. A clean water bowl must also be present at all times.
Light and Heat
These lizards tend to do well with a hot spot of around 90F. The cool side can drop to between 75-80F. This thermal gradient will allow your lizard to correctly regulate its body temperature.
You can choose to heat your enclosure with an under-tank heat mat or by using a heat bulb. Just make sure the heat source is placed at one end of the enclosure to create that thermal gradient.
Whatever heat source you choose, it is important that it is connected to a high-quality thermostat. This will ensure that the temperatures remain constant and you dont get any dramatic changes in temperature.
As the Central American Banded Gecko is a nocturnal species, they do not require any special lighting such as UVB. However, if you do add lighting to their enclosure, make sure it is turned off at night to give your lizards a proper day/night cycle.
Central American Banded Gecko Humidity and Substrate
The Central American Banded Gecko can be kept at a modest humidity level. If you keep the humidity in the enclosure at around 50-60% these lizards usually do well.
However, it is recommended to have a humid hide in the enclosure. This can be as simple as placing damp sphagnum moss in a lunch box with a hole cut in the lid.
In the wild, these lizards often spend the day in humid burrows so offering them a damp hide in captivity will replicate their natural behaviour and allow them to choose if they want to spend time in a humid environment.