Are Mourning Geckos Good Pets?
| Feeding complexity | Low — complete MRP, no insects required |
| Commitment length | 5–8+ years |
Genuinely lower-maintenance in key ways
No mandatory heat equipment, no requirement for live feeding, a complete diet that keeps well, and a small footprint even for a colony make mourning geckos one of the more approachable and space-efficient popular pet reptiles.
The honest downsides
Their tiny size makes handling delicate and means live feeders must be correctly sized (fruit flies, not crickets). Being nocturnal also means less daytime activity to observe, though this species shows more daytime movement than many geckos.
Time commitment
5–8 years, sometimes more, is a genuine multi-year commitment, and an established colony will keep producing eggs and hatchlings on its own thanks to parthenogenesis — worth planning for before starting a group.
Who they suit best
A good fit for someone who wants a genuinely lower-equipment-cost, space-efficient reptile — or a small colony — and is comfortable with gentle, occasional handling rather than frequent daily interaction.
See the full care guides guide, or browse all 299 info pages.
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.