Tropical House Gecko

The tropical house gecko is one of the most widespread lizards on Earth. Most people meet one on a porch wall or a window screen, not in a pet store. It is a small, pale, chirping gecko that hunts insects around outdoor lights after dark.

Hemidactylus mabouia is its scientific name. Field guides also call it the African house gecko, the cosmopolitan house gecko, or, in the Caribbean, the wood slave.

This guide covers identification against its two most confused lookalikes. It also covers wild diet, reproduction, and invasive spread through Florida and the Americas. For the wider gecko family this species belongs to, see our geckos overview.

Identification: tropical house gecko vs Mediterranean and Moorish geckos

Three pale, nocturnal geckos overlap on walls across the southern United States. People mix them up constantly. Each of the three comes from a different continent and looks different up close.

The table below lines up all three side by side. Skin texture and toe shape are the fastest field marks. Color is not reliable, since it shifts with lighting and mood.

Florida is the one state where all three overlap. Hemidactylus mabouia is the only species on this list common statewide there. Research on Florida populations has documented it displacing the Mediterranean house gecko from buildings within a few years.

The Moorish gecko is less widespread in the US. It rarely overlaps with the African species outside a handful of localized colonies. Our full profile covers its heavier, armored look at Moorish gecko.

Native range and how it spread worldwide

The species originated in sub Saharan Africa, with populations documented in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Madagascar. It naturally occupies tropical forest edges, scrub, and coastal sand areas from near sea level up to about 1,600 meters elevation. Long before it reached the Americas, it was already a common sight on tree trunks and outdoor walls across its native range.

Historical accounts describe the species sticking egg cases to fishing boats and cargo during the era of transatlantic trade. Because the eggs are hard shelled, sticky, and tolerate weeks without food or water, they survive long ocean crossings far better than most reptile eggs. That single trait, more than any other, explains how one small African gecko ended up living on nearly every continent bordering the Atlantic.

Care overview: a wild species, not a pet trade animal

This gecko is not bred or sold as a pet. Almost every individual seen in a terrarium is a wild animal. It wandered indoors, was collected outside, or hitchhiked in on plants or cargo, since the species is famous for stowing eggs on ships.

If one turns up inside a home somewhere it is already established, such as Florida, the best choice is usually to release it outside at the same property. It is already part of the local outdoor population. Moving it to a new area or another state is where real welfare and legal problems start.

A person who keeps one for observation, or because a child found it, should treat it like any small nocturnal gecko. That means a secure, ventilated enclosure, a temperature gradient, hiding spots, and a rotating diet. Each of those is covered in detail below.

For general care standards across the gecko family, see our gecko care guide.

Enclosure

A single adult does well in a 10 to 20 gallon vertical enclosure. This is a climbing gecko that spends most of its time on walls, bark, and glass. Screen top ventilation matters, since this species can develop respiratory problems in a closed, stagnant tank.

Furnish the enclosure with cork bark, driftwood, and angled silk or live plants for vertical climbing. Add horizontal hides near the basking area. Coconut fiber substrate, or a mix of coconut fiber and sand, holds enough moisture for shedding without staying soggy.

Multiple hides at different heights let the gecko thermoregulate during the day. It moves between warm and cool retreats while it hides from daylight, since it rarely shows itself before dusk.

For broader housing setup ideas that apply across gecko species, see our gecko housing guide.

Heating and lighting

Daytime basking spots of 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit match this species’ warm native climate. The cool side of the enclosure should sit around 75 to 80 degrees. Nighttime temperatures can drop into the low 70s without harm.

A low output UVB bulb in the 2.0 to 5.0 range, run 10 to 12 hours a day, supports vitamin D3 production. This helps even though the species is nocturnal. Geckos that hide by day still get filtered UVB through their retreats in the wild.

Humidity should sit around 50 to 70 percent. A light daily misting works better than constant fog.

Our gecko heating and lighting guide covers gradients and bulb choice for the wider gecko family in more depth.

Diet

In the wild, this is a nocturnal generalist insectivore. It gathers around porch lights, streetlights, and windows to ambush insects drawn to the glow. Documented prey includes cockroaches, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and centipedes.

A captive animal does well on gut loaded crickets and dubia roaches. Size prey no larger than the space between its eyes. Offer food every one to two days for an adult.

Dust prey with calcium at most feedings. Add a vitamin D3 and multivitamin supplement once or twice a week.

For general background on how insectivorous lizards should be fed and supplemented, see our guide to what lizards eat.

Our broader gecko diet guide covers supplement schedules across the whole family in more depth.

Health

Wild caught individuals commonly carry internal parasites. A fecal exam soon after collection catches most of these early. Mites are the other common problem, visible as small dark specks around the eyes and toes.

Watch for retained shed around the toes and tail tip. Left alone, it can cut off circulation and needs to be soaked off. Sunken eyes, a thin tail base, and unusual lethargy call for a veterinary visit.

Our full guide to spotting illness in lizards covers these warning signs in more detail at our lizard health guide.

What to do if you find one indoors

Most sightings happen at night near a lit window, a porch light, or a bathroom fan vent, since the gecko is simply following its insect prey inside. The calmest approach is to leave a door or window open and let it find its own way back out after dark. Chasing it usually just drives it into a wall gap or behind furniture.

If it needs to be moved by hand, use a soft container rather than grabbing it directly. Grabbing the body or tail risks triggering a tail drop, which costs the animal stored fat and takes weeks to regrow. Release it outdoors at the same property rather than relocating it elsewhere.

Stowaways travel far: a 2013 record in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians documents the first Hemidactylus mabouia intercepted in Maryland. Homes in states where the species is not yet established should treat a sighting differently. Photograph the animal if possible, note the location, and report it to the state wildlife agency or an invasive species tracking database before releasing or removing it.

Behavior

This species is strictly nocturnal, arboreal, and territorial. It often confines its entire home range to a single wall, tree trunk, or building facade. Males produce a soft chirping or clicking call, one of the few US geckos with an audible voice.

It is notably aggressive toward other small geckos sharing its habitat. Field research on Florida populations has recorded it displacing and preying on the smaller Mediterranean house gecko. It also takes native anole hatchlings where the two overlap.

Like most geckos, it can drop its tail when a predator grabs it. A shorter, less patterned replacement regrows over the following weeks.

Breeding

Females lay a fixed clutch of two hard shelled eggs at a time. In warm climates they can produce up to seven clutches a year, an enormous output for such a small lizard. Eggs are often glued to a shared surface, such as bark or a building crevice, and several females frequently use the same site.

Incubation averages around 56 days but has been recorded from 22 to 68 days, depending on temperature. Hatchlings reach sexual maturity in as little as 6 to 12 months, based on body size rather than age. This mix of communal nesting, year round breeding, and fast maturity explains why the species spreads so quickly.

Lifespan and size

Adults average about 4 to 5 inches in total length. Snout to vent length runs roughly 2.3 inches, with a body mass around 4.6 grams. That makes it one of the smaller Hemidactylus geckos in the Americas.

Both wild and captive individuals typically live 3 to 5 years. A stable captive setup with steady feeding can push toward the upper end of that range. Growth is rapid for the first year, then slows as the gecko nears adult size.

Our general lizard lifespan guide compares this species against other common pet and wild lizards.

Cost

There is no purchase price to weigh, since this gecko is not commercially bred or sold. Nearly every cost tied to it comes from housing one found indoors.

A basic vertical enclosure, including a tank, UVB bulb, heat source, and thermostat, typically runs 100 to 200 dollars. That matches the cost of housing any small gecko. A veterinary fecal exam for a wild caught animal usually costs 40 to 90 dollars.

Invasive spread and the law

Hemidactylus mabouia is native to continental Africa. It reached the Americas mainly by hitching eggs on ships during centuries of trade. It later spread further through the nursery plant trade and shipping containers.

It is now established in Florida and much of the Caribbean. Large parts of South America hold it too, including Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Most US states do not require a specific permit to possess an already established, non native gecko like this one. Rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state wildlife agency rather than assuming.

One rule stays consistent everywhere: never release an animal into a new state, county, or ecosystem where it is not already established. That is exactly how this species has spread and displaced native wildlife.

If one turns up somewhere new, report the sighting to the state wildlife agency or an invasive species database. That helps researchers track its ongoing spread. For more on lizard classification generally, see our overview of types of lizards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a tropical house gecko dangerous to have in the house?

No. It has no venom and does not bite defensively in any meaningful way. It actually helps by reducing moths and roaches near lights, and its only real downside is small dark droppings near its favorite perch.

How can I tell a tropical house gecko from a Mediterranean house gecko?

Look at the skin. The Mediterranean house gecko has rows of raised, wart like tubercles down its back. The tropical house gecko looks smoother, with chevron shaped bands pointing toward the tail.

Can I legally keep a tropical house gecko I found in Florida?

In most cases yes, since it is already established statewide. Most states do not specifically regulate a common non native gecko like this one. Rules can change, so confirm current requirements with your state wildlife agency.

Why do so many show up in one spot?

Females lay two eggs per clutch up to seven times a year. They often glue those eggs to a shared crevice or bark surface used by several females at once. That communal nesting, combined with fast growth to sexual maturity, produces dense local populations quickly.

Does the species hurt native lizards?

Field studies in Florida have documented this species displacing the smaller Mediterranean house gecko and eating hatchling anoles where ranges overlap. Wildlife agencies track its spread partly because of this pressure on other species.

What does it eat in the wild?

They hunt nocturnally around lights for cockroaches, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and centipedes. They will take almost any invertebrate small enough to swallow. This opportunistic diet is a major reason the species thrives around human buildings worldwide.