Viper gecko

About Viper Geckos

Area of origin: India & Pakistan
Adult size: 7-10cm
Captive lifespan: 10+ years

Housing, heating & lighting

Enclosure

Viper Geckos are very small geckos, but are active and love to have a good roam around. The minimum recommended size for a pair of Viper Geckos is 2x2x2ft, however 3x2x2ft provides better opportunity for a good heat and light gradient, as well as allowing your geckos that bit of extra space to explore. The more geckos you have, the more space you’ll need to provide, an extra foot in length for each gecko is spot on!

Viper Geckos love to hide away in little rock crevices during the day, so provide as many hiding spots as you can, throughout the enclosure. This can be done by stacking rocks, as I’ve done in my Viper Gecko enclosure, or by using commercially available reptile hides.

Substrate wise, you can use sand, clay, soil and rock- a combination of all of them is great! You may also want to provide a humid hide in the enclosure to help with shedding, however if you use a natural substrate, it’s rare to encounter any issues. If you do provide a humid hide, 50-60% humidity is plenty. I use rocks to create the structure in Banzai and Shenzi’s enclosure. The rocks hold heat throughout the evening and overnight, providing them with lots of warm surfaces.

Heating

Heat from above is the natural way to provide warmth in your Viper Gecko enclosure, as the sun naturally heats the earth providing a warm surface. I prefer to use heat bulbs throughout the day, and let the substrate provide natural overnight warmth- that being said, you may need to provide night time heat if your house is a little cooler. The Arcadia Deep Heat Projector is brilliant for this purpose.

You’ll be looking to provide a heat gradient of 28°C on the warmer end, down to 22°C on the cooler side of the enclosure. Night time drops shouldn’t go below 22°C to keep your Viper Gecko nice and comfortable.

Lighting

Viper Geckos thrive when given 2-6% UVB. It allows for vitamin D3 sythesis and the proper uptake of calcium to support healthy bone growth. Viper Geckos without UVB and improper supplementation often display symptoms of Metabolic Bone Disease.

Feeding & handling

Feeding

Viper Geckos are insectivorous and love a variety of bugs. Mealworms, locusts, crickets, and calciworms can be used as a staple, with waxworms and other fatty bugs being used as an occasional treat. Young geckos should be fed every other day, whilst adults can be fed every 2-3 days, in moderation.

Food should be supplemented with calcium and a good quality multi-vitamin. If you don’t provide UV lighting, you should also offer the correct dose of vitamin D3 alongside the calcium.

Handling

As Viper Geckos are so small, handling isn’t advised, however there’s no harm in them crawling over your hands in the enclosure. Do bear in mind, if handled roughly, these little geckos may drop their tails as a defense. The best bet is to enjoy your geckos without overhandling them- this will reduce stress and chance of injury.