The Chinese Cave Gecko is becoming more popular in the pet trade due to their stunning appearance, good temperament and relatively easy-care requirements.
As its name suggests, this species is native to the Southern parts of China where they are primarily found in caves and rocky crevices.
This lizard has many similarities to other terrestrial geckos such as the Leopard Gecko or African Fat Tailed Gecko. However, at the same time they have an appearance that is completely unique to this species.
Unfortunately, the boom in popularity of this species in the pet trade is endangering the species numbers in the wild and more measures need to be taken to protect them.
If you are considering purchasing a Chinese Cave Gecko, make sure you buy a captive bred specimen from a reputable breeder to ensure you are not contributing to the decimation of the wild population.
Chinese Cave Gecko Taxonomy
The Chinese Cave 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 Central American Banded Gecko. However, these lizards belong to different genera.
One of the main characteristics of these lizards is that they have movable eyelids. As a result, this group of geckos are commonly called eyelid geckos.
Another big characteristic that these lizards share is that they lack adhesive toepads loke many species of arboreal gecko such as the Crested Gecko.
The genus that the Chinese Cave Gecko belongs to is called Goniurosaurus. This genus contains 24 different species of geckos.
The lizards in this genus are primarily made up of ground geckos and cave geckos that are native to China, Japan Vietnam and other surrounding areas.
The scientific name for the Chinese Cave Gecko is Goniurosaurus hainanensis. There are currently no recognised sub-species.
Chinese Cave Gecko Description
A Chinese Cave Gecko will typically grow to around 8 inches in length, including the tail. They are slender built and have short legs.
These geckos store fat reserves in their tail much like other species. They have many physical features similar to Leopard Geckos and African Fat Tailed Geckos.
However, their color and appearance is completely different as these nocturnal geckos have adapted to their surroundings, where they live their lives in the caves of Southern China.
The Chinese Cave Gecko has a black or purplish base color. This base color is overlaid with orange, yellow and white bands that run across their body.
One of their most striking features are their red eyes that have a bright orange band around them. The eyes on these lizards give these geckos an alien-like appearance.
They have a thick tail that they use to store fat reserves. A chunky tail typically indicates a healthy, well-fed animal while a depleted tail means the lizard has been short of food.
Like many species of gecko, it is very easy to tell the gender of these animals once they have matured. Males will have a noticeable bulge above the tail while this will be missing in females.
Chinese Cave Gecko as Pets
The Chinese Cave Gecko is becoming more popular in the exotic pet industry every year. This is due to their unique appearance, docile nature and easy-care requirements.
If you are planning on purchasing one of these lizards, it is important to source a captive bred animal. These lizards are taken from the wild in large numbers for the pet trade which is putting a big strain on the wild population.
These geckos do well when housed on their own. However, you can also house them in breeding groups of one male with one or two females. Never house two mature males together.
Diet
Not too much information is known about these lizards in the wild as they live in remote caves. However, they are insectivores so their diet is likely made up of a variety of insects found in the caves of Southern China.
One of the key ways to monitor the nutritional needs of a Chinese Cave Gecko is to examine their tail. These lizards store fat reserves in their tail so a well-fed gecko should have a plump tail.
In captivity, you can feed you gecko a diet that consists primarily of Crickets and Dubia Roaches. Aim to feed insects no larger than the width of the lizard’s head.
You can supplement this diet with other insects such as hornworms, super worms, small locusts and the occasional wax worm.
Mealworms have much less nutritional value than most other feeder insects so shouldn’t be used as a primary food source. However, feeding mealworms as part of a balanced diet is perfectly fine.
Housing
You can comfortably keep a pair of Chinese Cave Geckos in an enclosure measuring around 2ft x 1ft x 1ft. This will provide them with plenty of room to move around.
If you are keeping a trio together, you might want to increase the size of the enclosure to around 3ft in length.
You can use a variety of different substrate in your gecko’s enclosure. If you want to keep things simple and easy to clean, you can use newspaper or paper towel as the substrate.
If you want a more naturalistic substrate, you can choose something like Coco Fibre or a mixture of peat and sand.
You will need to ensure there are a number of places for your lizard to hide. This will help them to feel secure. You can use commercial reptile hides or cork bark for this.
You will also need to ensure that your lizard has constant access to fresh water. Add a small water bowl to the enclosure and clean it regularly.
Temperature and Humidity
A Chinese Cave Gecko doesn’t need to be kept as hot as many other species of lizard as they live in caves, which have a cooler temperature.
You should aim to keep your lizard between 65-75F. It is generally fine if the temperature fluctuates slightly outside this range for a short period of time.
If you live in a warm climate or keep your Chinese Cave Gecko in a warm reptile room, you may not need to add any supplemental heat.
However, if the room will get colder than 65F, you will need to add an under-tank heat mat to the bottom of the enclosure. This should be connected to a high-quality thermostat.
These lizards can be kept at a humidity level of around 50%. If you live in a very dry climate, a light misting of the substrate should be enough to achieve this.
Chinese Cave Gecko Breeding
A Chinese Cave Gecko will readily breed in captivity. Providing their basic requirements are met, you only need to keep a male and females together to successfully breed these lizards.
These lizards can be bred year-round but it is important to give them time off to rest and build up their fat reserves. This is usually done for around 3-4 months during the winter months.
To stop your geckos from breeding, simply remove the male from the enclosure during the cooler months. The absence of a male and the cooler ambient temperature will allow the female to stop producing eggs.
While breeding, the female will lay a pair of eggs every 30-45 days in the egg box you provide. These eggs can be removed from the enclosure and incubated externally.