“Tokay geckos are named after the loud, barking 'To-kay! To-kay!' sound that males make to attract mates and defend their territory.”
Tokay geckos are large, vocal lizards native to South and Southeast Asian forests and buildings, with introduced populations elsewhere. Adhesive toe pads support vertical climbing, while males advertise territories after dark with a loud two-part call.
By An Nguyen · Published · Updated
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Core article
A closer look at habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction, and conservation.
When night falls over the humid forests of Southeast Asia, the repeated "To-kay! To-kay!" call reveals the presence of a tokay gecko (Gekko gecko). This large nocturnal gecko has blue-grey skin patterned with orange or red spots and uses strong jaws, adhesive toe pads, and territorial calls to occupy trees, cliffs, and buildings.
Microscopic structures on its toe pads allow the tokay gecko to climb smooth vertical surfaces and hang upside down. Its light-sensitive eyes support nocturnal hunting, while its jaws are used to capture prey and defend against threats. Males use the species' two-part call to advertise territories and attract females.
The tokay gecko belongs to a widespread group of lizards in which many species have adhesive toe pads and use vocal signals.
The family Gekkonidae contains the "true" geckos and occurs across much of the world. The genus Gekko includes numerous South, Southeast Asian, and Pacific species; Gekko gecko is among its larger members. Adhesive toe pads enable tokay geckos to use tree trunks, rock faces, walls, and ceilings as hunting and shelter surfaces.
Adult tokay geckos reach 11 to 15 inches including the tail and weigh 5 to 10 ounces, making them larger than many geckos commonly found in buildings. Their soft, granular skin is slate-grey or pale blue with rust-red to orange spots.
Tokay geckos climb through dry adhesion rather than suction. Their wide toe pads carry millions of microscopic, hair-like structures called setae, each branching into smaller pads called spatulae. Close contact between these structures and a surface produces van der Waals forces, creating temporary adhesion on surfaces including smooth glass.
The eyes are large and have vertical, slit-shaped pupils. Their retinas lack rod cells but contain sensitive cone cells, and their low-light color vision has been measured at roughly 350 times the sensitivity of human color vision. Tokay geckos lack movable eyelids; a transparent scale called a spectacle covers each eye, and the gecko cleans it with its tongue.
The tokay gecko is native to warm, humid parts of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The pet trade and transport in cargo have also produced introduced populations in places such as Florida and Hawaii.
In their native range, tokay geckos occupy tropical forest and secondary growth, sheltering in tree hollows and beneath loose bark during the day. They also live in farms and urban areas, using roof spaces, wall crevices, and gaps behind fixtures. In buildings they hunt insects such as cockroaches and crickets.
The tokay gecko is a nocturnal carnivore. It shelters during the day and emerges around dusk to hunt across tree trunks, rock surfaces, and building walls.
The diet consists mainly of large invertebrates, including cockroaches, crickets, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes. Tokay geckos also take small rodents, frogs, snakes, and other geckos when available. Their strong bite helps hold relatively large prey and is also used in defense; an animal may maintain its grip after biting.
Tokay geckos are strongly territorial, unlike many of the more docile geckos kept as pets. Males live alone and defend their chosen area from intruders; these disputes can cause injuries or the loss of a tail.
Male tokay geckos produce a loud, two-part call commonly rendered as "To-kay! To-kay!", from which the common name is derived. The call advertises a territory and attracts females. Tokay geckos also hiss, croak, and bark when threatened.
Like many lizards, the tokay gecko can shed its tail through fracture planes in the vertebrae. The detached tail continues moving, which may divert a predator while the gecko escapes. A replacement grows over several months but is often shorter and differently colored than the original.
Breeding occurs during the wet season. A male attracts a female with calls, and after mating the female selects a concealed site such as a tree crevice or a crack in a wall.
The female lays two adhesive eggs that harden after being attached to bark, rock, or a wall. Both the male and female are known to guard the eggs. Incubation lasts 90 to 120 days depending on temperature and humidity. Hatchlings are independent, measure about 2 to 3 inches, and begin taking small insects. Wild tokay geckos may live 7 to 10 years, while captive animals can reach 15 years.
(Population and conservation trend data sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species)
The tokay gecko is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a stable overall population trend. Its broad distribution and use of modified habitats reduce some of the risk from local habitat loss.
Wildlife collection affects some local populations. Millions of tokay geckos are captured from the wild each year for the pet trade and traditional medicine markets in East Asia, despite unsupported medicinal claims. High or poorly regulated harvest has reduced numbers in some regions, prompting stricter trade monitoring.
The following sources provide additional information about tokay gecko biology and conservation:
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Gekkonidae
Genus
Gekko
Species
G. gecko
Tokay geckos are named after the loud, barking 'To-kay! To-kay!' sound that males make to attract mates and defend their territory.
Millions of microscopic structures called setae on their toe pads allow Tokay geckos to climb smooth glass and move upside down.
When grabbed by a predator, a Tokay gecko can detach its tail as a distraction and later grow a replacement.
Tokay geckos lack movable eyelids; a clear scale covers each eye, and the gecko cleans it with its tongue.
Tokay geckos have strong jaws and may hold on after biting.
Their night vision is 350 times more sensitive than human eyes, allowing them to see color even in pitch-black darkness.
Select a question to reveal the answer.
A Tokay gecko is a large lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It has blue-grey skin with orange or red spots and a loud, two-part call.
Their toe pads carry millions of microscopic structures that make close contact with a surface and generate temporary adhesion, allowing the geckos to climb walls and ceilings.
Male Tokay geckos make a loud 'To-kay!' sound to mark their territory and warn other geckos to stay away, as well as to attract females.
They are carnivores that eat insects, spiders, cockroaches, and occasionally small birds, rodents, or other lizards.
No, they do not have eyelids. They protect their eyes with a clear scale and lick their eyes with their tongue to clean off dust.
Yes. If a predator grabs the tail, it can detach and continue moving while the gecko escapes. A replacement tail grows over time.
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