Chinese Cave Gecko Care Guide(Goniurosaurus hainanensis)

Intro

Cave geckos are nocturnal, terrestrial lizards that are both easy to care for 
and straightforward to breed. The Chinese Cave Gecko (Goniurosaurus 
hainanensis) is native to two islands of China, Hainan and Cat Ba. Due to 
its striking appearance and ease of care, this beautiful gecko is becoming 
enormously popular with reptile keepers. Adults reach eight inches and 
can normally be housed at room temperature with no supplemental 
heat.

General Care and Feeding

 Like most geckos, Chinese Cave Geckos do very well housed alone. 
Keepers who wish to produce offspring may consider keeping a male and 
female together year-round. A ten-gallon tank or similarly sized terrarium 
such as those made by ExoTerra and ZooMed is adequate housing for one 
to two adults. See the HOUSING section below for information on terrarium 
set-up.
 Chinese Cave Geckos are insectivorous. They will thrive on appropriately
sized (width of gecko head) crickets and dubia roaches. Crickets and/or 
roaches should be gut-loaded with nutritious foods for twenty-four hours 
before being offered as prey and should be coated with a quality reptile 
vitamin supplement. Black soldier fly larvae (aka ReptiWorms™ or Phoenix 
Worms®), waxworms, butterworms, and, occasionally, small mealworms 
may be offered to provide beneficial variety to the diet.
 Chinese Cave Geckos store fat in their tails and a well-fed gecko will have 
a plump tail. Monitoring the condition and size of the tail will help the 
keeper ensure that the gecko is sufficiently fed and hydrated. A small 
shallow water dish filled with fresh water will provide a drinking 
source.

Housing

 A ten-gallon tank or terrarium of similar size is adequate for a single adult 
Chinese Cave Gecko or a pair of adults. Something along the lines of 
ExoTerra’s 18x18x12 glass terrarium can be used to make an attractive 
home and may house several adult cave geckos. However, only one male 
should be housed in each cage as they are territorial and will battle.
Coconut fiber (e.g., EcoEarth®) makes a fine substrate, but a 50/50 mix of 
peat moss and sand may also be used. Terrarium moss can be added to 
the surface to enhance the beauty of the terrarium and keeping it moist 
in one corner of the enclosure will help provide some humidity. Hiding 
places should be provided and slabs of virgin cork bark and the reptile 
caves and hiding places found in the pet trade make excellent retreats. A 
few rocks can be added to the decor and a water dish is essential.
 In most homes Chinese Cave Geckos will thrive at ambient room 
temperatures and supplemental heating is not required. Temperatures 
over 80ºF should be avoided and high temperatures may be quickly 
lethal. Most homes are kept in the 65-75ºF range throughout the year and 
cave geckos do quite well in this same range.
 Since Chinese Cave Geckos are active at night, they don’t require the UV 
exposure that many pet lizards do and a simple fluorescent light can be 
used to illuminate the terrarium so its beauty can be enjoyed during the 
day. This is especially important if you choose to decorate the terrarium 
with any live plants. Any lighting should be controlled by a timer to ensure 
that these nocturnal geckos get at least twelve hours of darkness. Some 
keepers may choose to add a terrarium fixture with a low-wattage red 
bulb to aid in viewing these geckos at night when they are active.

Housing Young Cave Geckos

Hatchling and juvenile cave geckos may be raised in groups, but there is 
the risk that feeding dominance may cause more timid or smaller young to 
not thrive, and feeding behavior may cause some to lose their tails. These 
tails will regenerate but never look as perfect and many keepers prefer to 
raise young cave geckos individually. An opaque plastic container like an 
empty spreadable cream cheese tub can be used to make a simple retreat. It should have an entrance hole cut in the side that is large enough for the gecko, 
but small enough that it keeps out as much light as possible and makes for a secure retreat. Damp sphagnum moss should be placed inside and kept moist so that the gecko has sufficient humidity.

Handling and Activity

Young cave geckos are best left alone and not handled, but larger 
specimens can be carefully handled if desired. Adults will learn to tolerate 
occasional gentle handling.

Health

Chinese Cave Geckos are hardy lizards that are easy to raise if their basic 
care and environmental parameters are met. Occasional skin-sloughing 
difficulties may be indicators of insufficient humidity. A hide box filled 
with damp sphagnum moss should alleviate this problem.

Sexing

Chinese Cave Geckos begin to mature at about five or six months of age. 
At this time, male geckos will begin to show distinct bulges at the base of 
the tail where their hemipenes lie inside.

Breeding

All that is necessary to breed cave geckos is housing an adult sexual pair 
together. However, breeding success can be enhanced by cooling the 
pair below their normal range for a few months during the winter. Mating 
generally takes place between February and September and during this 
period females will lay a pair of eggs every 30-45 days. An egg-laying 
container such as a margarine tub with an entrance hole cut into the lid 
must be provided. Fill the container with moist vermiculite or sphagnum 
moss. Extra care should be taken with breeding females to ensure they 
get enough food that has been gut-loaded and dusted at each feeding 
with a quality calcium supplement. A great deal of her calcium stores will 
go into egg production and need to be replenished during the breeding 
season.
 Those who choose to breed these geckos should consider removing the 
male in July or August to give the female a break. Egg-laying uses her 
resources and having a few months alone to eat more food before the 
winter cooling will ensure she has a healthy reproductive life. Males and 
females can be housed together again after the cooling period.