Classification: Introduced Species - They have been introduced into central and southern Florida, including the Florida keys.

Description: Tropical house geckos have a slender body, and a flat head that is wider than their neck. Most of their bodies are covered in black/brown bands, but the geckos also have the ability to change their color based on the temperature and light. Their colors can expand from dark brown to a grey almost white. Tropical house geckos also have dorsal scales, and have tubercles that are in rows on the body of them. On their toe surfaces are lamellae, which are the spike-like scales that help the geckos grip onto vertical surfaces. They have an average mass of 4.6 g (range 4 to 5 g). Their average snout-vent length is 58 mm (typical range 35 to 70mm). In a study by Iturriaga and Marrero, adult male SVL (snout-vent length) was 51.56 (range 43.85 to 59.75) and female SVL was 54.47 (range 40.3 to 60.82 mm). Total body length is estimated at 12.5 tp 12.7 cm. Females tend to be slightly but not significantly larger than male geckos.

Habitat: The tropical house gecko can be found predominantly in urban locations. In their native range, tropical house gecko habitat was confined to African tropical forests and the shrub forests. Now widespread, their habitats include sandy areas, scrubby areas near beaches, on tree trunks, and on the outside walls of houses. They are commonly found in urban and suburban areas - as their common name suggests, they commonly live inside houses, as well. They can live very close to sea level (5 meters) to elevations of 1600 meters.

Range: Hemidactylus mabouia, better known as tropical house geckos, are native to south-central region of Africa in countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda and others. Their range includes the islands west of Western Sahara. Tropical house geckos are also native to the island of Madagascar. They are present on Ascension Island in the Atlantic, but it's unclear whether they are native or introduced here.

Tropical house geckos also are in the Caribbean island such as Cuba, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands, and the Dutch Windward Islands. These geckos also have a presence in South America, with a geographic range that borders the continent in the shape of a horse shoe from the north coasts to the central region. Their range stretches south, but geckos are absent on the southern tip of the continent.

Found in these States: CA | CO | FL | GA | IL | KY | LA | MD | NC | NH | NJ | PA | RI | SC | TN | TX | VA | WV

Diet: Tropical house geckos are generalist, opportunistic insectivores that mainly feed at night. In urban areas, they rely on artificial light sources and are sit-and-wait predators. Iturriage and Marrero found that cockroaches were the most common insect group consumed, but they consumed non-flying arthropods opportunistically. This included spiders, isopods, grasshoppers and centipedes, beetles, moths (adults and caterpillars). Adult geckos consume much more food than juveniles do, but there was not a difference in food choice between males and females or between adults and juveniles.

Reproduction: Tropical house gecko males attract female mates by using chirping signals and pheromones. When approaching females, males will arch their backs and flick their tongues. If the females are interested in the male calls, they will show receptive behavior and let the male mount them. If the females disapprove, they show rejection by biting and whipping their tales at the males. Male geckos will defend their mates by showing their strength in arching their backs and leg extension and fighting if need be. Tropical house geckos are polygynandrous.

Tropical house geckos have a year-round reproductive cycle, with up to 7 clutches per year. Females have the ability to store sperm. Breeding is favored from the months August to December in tropical areas. They have a fixed size of 2 offspring per clutch. Larger females are capable of producing eggs with larger volume, but not more than 2 eggs will be produced. The hatchlings have an average incubation period of 22 to 68 days (average = 56 days) to hatch. Tropical geckos are oviparous and hatchlings have a range of birth weight from 0.20 to 0.35 grams, with an average of 0.24g. The hatchlings' snout-vent length averages 23.1 ± 1.0mm. It takes roughly 6 to 12 months for both sexes to reach sexual maturity, and maturity is based on size not age. Female gecko average size at maturity is 52mm.

Female tropical house geckos' have fixed clutch sizes of 2; even if the female is larger, she will only produce bigger eggs. In the pre-fertilization phase, females provide and protect themselves and their eggs. Females lay their eggs in a location prodie no further parental care. Male provide no parental care beyond mating

Status: Tropical house geckos have not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List. They don't have any special status on the US Federal List, CITES, and State of Michigan List. In many parts of their range, these geckos have been accidentally introduced, and have been established for hundreds of years. Food habitat studies suggest they coexist with native lizards and resource partitioning takes place. In Florida, its introduction has caused declines in native gecko species, and there is evidence that they consume hatchlings of other gecko species and of anoles. Anecdotal notes of orb-weaving spiders consuming tropical house geckos has led to the suggestion that orb-weaving spiders could be a biocontrol option for this species. No other conservation or eradication measures are in place

Vocalization: As with many gecko species, it has the ability to vocalize. Its vocalizations range from quiet peeps to rapid short squeaking sounds. They may be heard most easily on a quiet night when they are sitting near an open window. Male tropical house geckos communicate with other geckos using chirps of varying frequencies. The chirps are most often made by males when they are courting a female, and typically follow pheromone or other chemical cues between the sexes. There is a low frequency chirp that geckos will emit only during male-male fights. Only females while courting raised their heads. Tongue flicking and tail waiving also are signals.

Taxonomy: