Giant Madagascar Day Gecko
Phelsuma grandis
- Habitat: Different types of habitats in rainforests, moist and dry forests, agricultural, orchard and urban settings
- Range: Northern Madagascar
- Natural Diet: Insects and other invertebrates
- Status in the Wild: Common
Fun Facts
- The giant Madagascar day gecko is bright green in color with some reddish-brown blotches on their dorsal area and head. When an animal is under stress,
its body color darkens. This bright green color helps them camouflage
when they are on tree in their natural habitat
- They are active by day and rest by night living in tree canopies.
- Sexually mature adult females have calcium deposits stored in sacs on each side
of their necks, which is used for the formation of egg shells.
- Their toes have special adaptations which allows them to adhere to a variety of surfaces.
- When they are being hunted by a predator, geckos are able to
drop their tails. The tail continues to move even after being
dropped to distract predators giving the gecko time to make a
quick getaway.
Conservation Threats
- Illegal trapping for pet trade has a detrimental influence on their
free-ranging population numbers
These geckos are brilliant green in color that helps them camouflage from predators
The gecko's exhibit is thickly vegetated to provide several hid outs
and places for them to camouflage in their nature habitat
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Distributional range - Giant day geckos are endemic to Madagascar, the island in black to the right of Africa.