How to Handle an African Fat-Tailed Gecko

African fat-tailed geckos are among the calmest, most handleable pet geckos available, often described as even more docile than their close cousin, the leopard gecko.

What to Expect

Adults are tolerant of handling and usually stay calm throughout a session. Juveniles tend to be shyer and take longer to settle. Any gecko can bite if it is sick, scared or provoked, but for this species a bite is the exception.

The calm has a context. In the wild this is a nocturnal savanna gecko from West Africa that spends the day asleep under rocks, surface debris or an abandoned burrow. Handling goes best in the evening, when the gecko is already awake and moving, and a hand that approaches from the side is easier on it than one that scoops from above.

Getting Started

Wait about two weeks after bringing a new gecko home, and do not begin handling until it is eating regularly. Support the whole body and let it walk across your hands instead of gripping it. Keep sessions low over a bed, couch or the floor: a gecko this size that walks off a hand at chest height is a fall risk. Avoid handling right after feeding or during a shed cycle.

Tail Drop

Like most geckos, a fat-tail will drop its tail if grabbed roughly or badly frightened. Never grab or restrain the tail. The tail regrows within weeks, but the replacement comes back smoother and more bulbous than the original.

Reading the Vocalizations

Fat-tailed geckos are more vocal than many other pet geckos, and the sounds mean something. In the wild, males use quiet squeaks and clicks in territorial disputes. In the hand, chirping or squeaking signals discomfort: treat it as the cue to ease off. A slow tail-swish combined with an arched back is a clearer "leave me alone" signal.

Handling as a Health Check

Each session is also the time to look the gecko over. Check that the tail is plump, that no old skin is stuck on the toes or tail tip, and that the eyes are clear. Adults usually weigh 40 to 90 grams, averaging about 50, and a kitchen scale that reads in single grams catches a weight slide long before the tail looks thin. Log the number once a month. Annual wellness exams cover body condition, hydration and nutrition, and a monthly weight log is the most useful thing to bring.

Telling Males From Females

Sexing is done by looking at the underside, near the vent, and it only works on maturing animals. Females reach maturity at roughly 250 to 300 days after hatching and males at 300 to 350 days, and males also grow larger than females from around that point. A mature male shows:

• A chevron-shaped row of enlarged preanal pores just in front of the vent
• A proportionately more bulbous tail base, where the hemipenes sit

Females lack the enlarged pore row and have a flatter tail base. For a hatchling, the incubation temperature is the best clue on offer: eggs incubated around 24 to 28°C (75 to 82°F) hatch mostly female, 29 to 30.5°C (84 to 87°F) gives a roughly even split, and 31 to 32°C (88 to 90°F) mostly male. A breeder who records incubation temperatures can say which way a clutch was likely to go, but a temperature is a probability, and a young animal sold as "probable female" should be checked again once the pores appear.

Getting this right matters for housing. Two males should never share an enclosure, since both sexes are territorial and males fight over space and females. Among other calm terrestrial geckos, the leopard gecko is sexed the same way, pores and bulges included, and the gargoyle gecko tolerates being picked up on similar terms.

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Sources & Further Reading