Seychelles giant day gecko

Seychelles giant day gecko
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Phelsuma
Species:	P. sundbergi
Subspecies:	P. s. sundbergi
Trinomial name
	Phelsuma sundbergi sundbergi; Rendahl, 1939

Seychelles giant day gecko (Phelsuma sundbergi sundbergi) is a diurnal subspecies of geckos. It lives on the island Praslin in the Seychelles and typically inhabits trees and dwellings. The Seychelles giant day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.

Scientific synonyms

Phelsuma sundbergi Rendahl, 1939
Phelsuma pulchra Rendahl, 1939
Phelsuma cousinense Rendahl, 1939
Phelsuma menaiensis Mertens, 1966
Phelsuma rubra Börner & Minuth, 1982
Phelsuma umbrae Börner & Minuth, 1982

Description

This lizard is one of the larger day geckos. It can reach a total length of about 20 cm. The body colour is bright green or bluish green. A faint red stripe extends from the nostril to the eye. On the back there are irregularly shaped reddish dots and bars present. The ventral side is white.

Distribution

This species is found on the island Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles

Habitat

Phelsuma sundbergi sundbergii is often found on different large trees such coconut palms, sea grape and coco-de-mer palms (Lodoicea maldivica). This species also lives on human dwellings. This day gecko also shares its habitat with Phelsuma astriata which may be eaten or pursued by the Seychelles giant day gecko if it attempts to reside on the same trees.

Diet

These day geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also like to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.

Behaviour

While feeding, these geckos aid in the pollination of palm trees by transferring pollen between female and male trees.

Reproduction

The females of this species are colony nesters and more than 50 eggs can be found at one location. At a temperature of 28 °C, the juveniles will hatch after approximately 56–71 days.

Care and maintenance in captivity

These animals should be housed in pairs. They need a large, well planted terrarium. The temperature should be about 28 °C during the day. The humidity should be maintained around 65–75% during the day and slightly higher at night. In captivity, these animals can be fed with crickets, wax moth larvae, fruit flies, mealworms and houseflies.

References

Henkel, F.-W. and W. Schmidt (1995) Amphibien und Reptilien Madagaskars, der Maskarenen, Seychellen und Komoren. Ulmer Stuttgart. ISBN 3-8001-7323-9
McKeown, Sean (1993) The general care and maintenance of day geckos. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA.