Do Mourning Geckos Need a Basking Spot?
| Typical room temp range | 72–78°F |
| Danger threshold | Mid-80s°F+ |
In consistently cold rooms, a very mild, low-wattage supplemental heat source on one side can help, but it should never push warm-side temperatures above the mid-80s°F, since mourning geckos overheat far more easily than desert species.
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A single adult mourning gecko needs a minimum 12"x12"x18" front-opening, well-ventilated enclosure — taller matters more than wider since this species is highly arboreal — furnished with cork bark, branches, and dense foliage for climbing.
A complete mourning gecko setup needs a tall 18"+ front-opening enclosure, cork bark and branches for climbing, coco fibre/moss substrate, a misting routine to hold 60–80% humidity, and complete MRP powder — no heat lamp is required in most homes.
Hatchlings can start in a small (roughly 5"x5"x8") enclosure to make food easier to find, juveniles move up around a few months old, and adults need a minimum 12"x12"x18" vertical enclosure.
Mourning geckos generally do best at normal room temperature, roughly 75–82°F, and can suffer heat stress above about 82°F. Most homes need no basking bulb or heat mat at all — just monitoring during hot weather.
Low-level UVB (roughly 5–6% output) is increasingly recommended as good practice, though it isn't strictly mandatory for mourning geckos the way it is for a strongly basking desert species — their diet's built-in D3 from MRP covers much of the gap.
Mourning geckos need roughly 60–80% humidity, achieved through misting once or twice daily, with good ventilation to prevent the dampness from turning stagnant.