This is probably my favourite species of gecko! Small, but incredibly active and extremely inquisitive, they're absolutely adorable. Originating from Australia, they can be found in NE New South Wales, Queensland, SE South Australia and NW Victoria, where they inhabit arid to semi-arid grassland, shrubland and woodland.
Appearance
This small, slender species has a more or less uniform pale silver-grey background colouring, with numerous black spots and reticulations. Rows of pinkish-red spines run along with back, with an increasing number of rows being present on the tail. Further distinctive features of the species are their intense golden-yellow coloured irises, which are mottled with silver, the blue interior to their mouths and their deep blue-purple tongues. A healthy adult specimen should also display a prominent 'lump' towards the rear of its head; this is, in fact, the gecko's calcium reserve. A further feature of note is the presence of a caudal tail glands, which enable the species to squirt a foul-smelling secretion on any potential predator.
Uppermost image shows a sub-adult female eastern spiny-tailed gecko clearly displaying the spines that give the species its name. The sub-adult male gecko in the left hand image shows the distinctive eye colouring of the species, while the adult male in the right hand image shows their blue-purple tongue.
Size
This diminutive, slender species grows to a maximum of 110mm - 120mm in length and weighs around 4g - 5g.
Sexing
Male eastern spiny-tailed geckos can be identified not only by the presence of a hemipenile bulge, but through two enlarged 'cloacal spurs' on either side of that bulge. Males also clearly display several rows of pre-anal pores, which are absent in females.
Photograph on the left shows the hemipenile bulge and pre-anal pores of a male eastern spiny-tailed gecko; the cloacal spurs are also clearly visible, flanking the top of the bulge just behind the gecko's vent. In contrast, the photograph on the right shows the absence of these features in a female gecko.
Care requirements
Eastern spiny-tailed geckos are one of the hardiest and easiest species of their genus to care for and have straightforward care requirements.
Housing
Personally, I prefer to house my geckos separately, as it eliminates the risk of the female suffering health problems due to over-breeding. However, if a male: female pair are housed together, I'd advise separating them over winter (between November and January) so that the female can recuperate from breeding, while being conditioned for breeding the next season.
Enclosure
Eastern spiny-tailed geckos are semi-arboreal and therefore require vivariums with plenty of height in addition to floor space. A single gecko or a male: female pair can be housed in a vivarium measuring at least 30cm x 30cm x 45cm.
Temperature / lighting
Eastern spiny-tailed geckos are a tropical / warm temperate species and therefore require an ambient temperature of around 30°C (86°F), with a cool end temperature of around 24°C (75°F) also being needed to enable effective thermoregulation. A basking hotspot of around 35°C (95°F) should be provided using a spot lamp, which is switched on for 12 - 14 hours per day during summer and 8 - 10 hours per day during winter. The spot lamp must be controlled by a dimmer thermostat to prevent it from overheating and, potentially, killing the occupants of the vivarium. No background heating is required overnight when the spot lamp is switched off. As with the tessellated gecko, eastern spiny-tailed geckos should undergo a period of cooling during winter, when temperatures are allowed to fall to about 20°C (70°F) in order to condition the female for breeding.
Humidity
Coming from arid regions, this species does not require high humidity; however, vivaria should be lightly sprayed with water two or three times a week as this will assist the geckos when they are shedding.
Substrate
In order to replicate the natural habitat of this species, I use a substrate consisting of 50% eco earth and 50% fine sand, over which can be scattered a thin layer of leaves.
Decor
Being semi-arboreal, this species requires plenty of climbing material; cork branches, twigs and pieces of mopani wood are all suitable. Ideally, these should be of a variety of thicknesses and placed at a variety of heights and orientations within the vivarium; this will allow the gecko to select an appropriate spot for basking in order for it thermoregulate effectively. I also attach cork bark panels to the back of my eastern spiny-tailed gecko vivaria, as they are very enthusiastic climbers, climbing the glass of their vivaria with ease, and often taking advantage to scale the back panels. Additionally, small cork bark tubes / hides / plants should also be provided, so that the gecko has an opportunity to take cover if it chooses. However, I've found that this is not a particularly secretive species; I generally find mine sleeping in full view either pressed up against their cork panels or 'hugging' the branches in the vivarium.
Feeding
Eastern spiny-tailed geckos are incredibly voracious insectivores and will eat just about anything! Mine are offered small crickets (1st or 2nd instar), hatchling locusts, mini-mealworm, phoenix worms (nutri grubs) and small dubia roaches three times per week and will normally take between 8 and 10 feeders each time. All should be gutloaded and dusted with the appropriate supplements.
Water
A small dish of water, which should be changed daily, should be available to these geckos at all times.
Supplements
In order to guard against the geckos succumbing to MBD, all feeders should be dusted with the appropriate supplements. I dust feeders with a calcium balancer with vitamin D3 (Nutrobal) one or twice per week and with pure calcium powder for all other feeds. A small dish of pure calcium is also placed in each vivaria.
Hatchling care
Eastern spiny tailed geckos measure approximately 40mm on hatching and weigh approximately 0.2g - 0.3g. Due to their extremely small size, their diet is more restricted than that of adults; I fed them both micro-crickets and fruit flies, though juveniles will also enthusiastically take very small mini-mealworm and hatchling locusts. On average, they will eat between 10 - 15 feeders five or six times per week. I've kept hatchlings / juveniles at slightly lower temperatures than adults (with a hot spot reaching about 32°C (90°F), simply because the enclosures in which I kept them were too small to permit increasing temperatures further while still providing a thermal gradient. The enclosures used for hatchlings / juveniles, like those of adults, should contain thin twigs to enable climbing and a few dried leaves to provide the geckos with hiding places. In my experience, eastern spiny-tailed geckos display an extremely rapid growth rate, being fully grown at between seven and eight months of age. This rapid growth rate makes it all the more essential for correct supplementation to be provided; for hatchlings, this means dusting feeders with Nutrobal twice a week and with pure calcium powder for all other feeds.
A juvenile eastern spiny-tailed gecko at approximately 10 weeks of age
Further reading
Relatively little information on this species is readily available. However, one of the best resources is Dr Dan Brown's website
