Gecko fact

Because mourning geckos are unusually social for a gecko species, housing a single individual alone can lead to more stress and reduced activity than housing a small colony together

Important

Quick answer: Unlike most gecko species, which are typically kept solitary to avoid territorial conflict, this species tends to do better in the company of others, and keepers aiming for the best welfare outcome generally house at least a small group rather than one gecko alone..

Unlike most gecko species, which are typically kept solitary to avoid territorial conflict, this species tends to do better in the company of others, and keepers aiming for the best welfare outcome generally house at least a small group rather than one gecko alone.

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Lepidodactylus lugubris is one of a small number of known parthenogenetic vertebrate species — every female lays fertile eggs that are essentially genetic clones of herself, with no fertilisation required at all.

Males do occasionally turn up, but they're extremely rare and effectively non-functional

Very occasional male-phenotype individuals have been documented in both wild and captive populations, but they are considered exceedingly rare and are not known to father viable offspring.

The species is actually a complex of many distinct genetic clonal lineages, not one uniform genome

Researchers have identified numerous separate clonal lines, some diploid (2 sets of chromosomes) and some triploid (3 sets), believed to have originated from ancient hybridisation events between related Lepidodactylus species.

The name 'mourning gecko' comes from the Latin species name lugubris, meaning 'mournful' or 'gloomy'

The epithet is generally thought to reference the species' drab, subdued natural colouration and its soft, plaintive chirping and clicking calls, rather than anything about its behaviour — mourning geckos are, if anything, unusually social for a gecko..

Like most gecko species, mourning geckos can voluntarily drop their tail (autotomy) as a defence mechanism, and will regenerate a new one over the following weeks to months.

Mourning geckos are genuinely tiny — adults run about 3–4 inches (7.5–10cm) total length and only 2–4 grams

This is a fraction of the size of many popular pet geckos, and it drives nearly every husbandry decision: feeder insects have to be far smaller than what's sold for most reptiles, water dishes need very shallow sides, and enclosure gaps that would be irrelevant for a larger gecko are real escape routes for a hatchling barely bigger than a grain of rice..