Giant Day Gecko
Scientific name: Phelsuma grandis
Common names: Giant Day Gecko, Madagascar Giant Day Gecko
Adult size: Around 25–30 cm
Lifespan: 10–15+ years
📏 Size
- Large, colourful arboreal gecko.
- Adults typically reach 25–30 cm, including the tail.
- Males are usually larger and heavier than females.
🏡 Housing
- Tall, vertically oriented vivarium with excellent ventilation.
- Adult minimum around 60 × 60 × 90 cm; larger is strongly recommended.
- Provide plenty of branches, cork tubes, vines and broad-leaved plants.
- Include dense foliage for climbing, hiding and security.
- Use a secure enclosure — they are fast and excellent climbers.
🌡️ Temperature
- Basking area: 30–32°C
- Warm area: 26–29°C
- Cool end: 22–25°C
- Night: 18–22°C
- Use thermostatically controlled heating.
💡 Lighting
- Requires UVB around 6–7%.
- Provide bright full-spectrum lighting for 10–12 hours daily.
- Create shaded areas so the gecko can regulate its exposure.
💧 Humidity
- Around 60–80%.
- Mist regularly, particularly in the evening.
- Allow some drying between misting while maintaining good ambient humidity.
- Excellent ventilation is essential.
🍌 Food
- Omnivorous diet consisting of live insects and fruit-based gecko diets.
- Offer crickets, locusts, roaches and other suitable insects.
- Use a quality prepared Day Gecko/fruit-eating gecko diet.
- Dust insects with calcium and appropriate vitamins.
- Fruit can be offered occasionally alongside a formulated diet.
💧 Water
- Provide fresh water and misting droplets.
- Many Day Geckos prefer to drink droplets from leaves and enclosure surfaces.
🐍 Shedding
- Usually sheds without assistance when humidity is appropriate.
- Provide rough surfaces such as cork and branches.
- Never pull retained shed from toes or the body.
🤲 Handling
- Not recommended for regular handling.
- They have delicate skin that can tear easily.
- Can drop their tail when severely stressed.
- Best treated as a display animal and handled only when necessary.
❤️ Health
- Monitor appetite, weight, activity and shedding.
- Watch for metabolic bone disease, calcium deficiency, parasites and retained shed.
- Correct UVB, calcium, humidity and temperatures are particularly important.
🧽 Cleaning
- Remove faeces and uneaten food regularly.
- Clean water and feeding dishes frequently.
- Remove heavily soiled substrate and wipe surfaces as required.
- Avoid excessive disturbance of plants and climbing structures.
🏠 Before You Bring Your Gecko Home
- Fully set up and temperature-test the vivarium beforehand.
- Have UVB, heating, foliage, climbing branches and feeding equipment ready.
- Ensure the enclosure is completely escape-proof.
⚠️ Important Bits
- Giant Day Geckos are arboreal, fast and delicate.
- Provide plenty of vertical climbing space and foliage.
- Strong UVB and appropriate calcium supplementation are essential.
- Never grab the tail or squeeze the body.
- They are generally best kept singly or as a compatible male/female pair; males should never be housed together.
