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Getting to Know Your Tokay Gecko: Identifying the Male and Female Tokays

Getting to Know Your Tokay Gecko: Identifying the Male and Female Tokays
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If you’re planning to breed Tokay geckos in the future, you really wanted to buy at least one male and one female. However, there are certain things you need to know before you put them together in a tank. Male and female geckos have distinct characteristics and similarities. Knowing all of them will help you raise your pet in the safest possible way.

Characteristics of a Male Tokay Gecko

Let’s start discussing about male geckos. The most distinguishing feature of male geckos is their strong attachment to their territory. Just like soldiers, they protect their territories with all their might even if that would mean risking their life. Tokays are considered to be the most dangerous in the entire family of pet geckos not because they are poisonous but basically because they love to bite especially if they feel threatened. So here’s a VERY important reminder: DON’T put two or more male geckos in one tank as it can result to a deadly fight. So be careful! It’s okay to combine one male with multiple females but never multiple males and one female.

As to the physical characteristics, male geckos have brighter color than the female. With Tokays, males usually have grey skin with orange spots. This is true with all other geckos and most animals. Remember, they use their color to attract mates. So the brighter their skin tone is, the more favorable it is for them. If you hear its very familiar sound that goes like ‘Tuc-ko’ or ‘Gec-ko’, you can expect that it’s coming from a male gecko. They do it to get the attention of their mates or mates-to-be.

Characteristics of a Female Gecko

Just like most animals, female geckos are loving mothers. They will do their best to protect their siblings from any possible threat, with the help of their partners of course. Female geckos are not very territorial and because they are the ‘apple of the eye’ of male geckos, they can be combined with lots of male geckos for breeding. But of course, you want to assign a separate tank for your female gecko before and after the mating season so you can carefully watch over its health. Remember, healthy siblings are a product of a healthy mother.

Unlike male geckos, females have darker colors. The mere fact that they’re females makes them special enough to find a mate so they don’t really need to have an attractive-looking skin. As to the size, they’re usually smaller than their male counterpart.

Other Differences

There are some other major characteristics between a male and female gecko. In the Tokay family, males have small amount of engorgement at the base of their tail. This is because of the presence that hemipenes – the bi-lobed reproductive organ of the gecko. On the other hand, female geckos have noticeable femoral pores, preanal, and postanal tubercules.

Knowing these things will surely help you with the entire raising and breeding process. They may look the same at the first glance but basically, they have differences that must be given special attention by the owner.