Are mourning geckos good for beginners?

Yes — mourning geckos are one of the easiest and cheapest reptiles there is: tiny, hardy, and kept happily in a small colony. The catches are that they're too small to handle, they self-clone and multiply to fill their space, and 'easy' still means a gentle warm gradient, UVB, and enough calcium to support constant egg-laying. They're a superb first gecko for someone who wants to watch a little planted colony rather than hold a pet.

Do mourning geckos really clone themselves?

Yes — the entire species is female and reproduces by parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction, so no male is needed. Offspring are essentially clones of their mother, which means a group quietly reproduces to fill whatever space you give it. Plan for a growing colony (and for re-homing or feeding off the surplus), and keep calcium up, because near-constant egg-laying is a real drain.

Can you keep mourning geckos in a group?

Yes — unusually for a reptile, they're social and thrive in a small colony, and they even cohabit peacefully with dart frogs in bioactive setups. A 12×12×18-inch planted tank suits 2–3 adults, adding space per extra pair. Because they multiply, plan ahead for numbers. It's one of the few reptiles you keep as a little community rather than solo.

What do mourning geckos eat?

An easy diet: a complete powdered crested-gecko diet (CGD) as the base, plus small live insects (fruit flies, pinhead crickets) a couple of times a week for enrichment and protein. Dust the insects with calcium and D3 — this matters more than for most geckos, because a self-cloning colony lays eggs constantly and that drains calcium. The full diet is on the care reference.

Do mourning geckos need heat and UVB?

A gentle warm gradient, yes — not the 'no heat, room temperature is fine' myth. They want a warm top around 80–85°F and suffer if kept consistently cool, and above the mid-80s°F risks heat stroke. Low UVB is beneficial too, especially for healthy hatchling growth. Exact temperatures and the UVI target live on the mourning gecko care reference.

The Complete Mourning Gecko Guide: The All-Female Colony Gecko

Thinking about mourning geckos? They’re pocket-sized arboreal geckos with a genuinely wild trick: the entire species is female, and they clone themselves — so you keep them not as a single pet but as a chirping, self-sustaining little colony. This guide walks the honest journey: whether they suit you, the small planted setup, the easy powdered diet, why a colony multiplies, and the calcium care that matters most. For the exact husbandry numbers, this pairs with the full mourning gecko care reference — that page is the spec sheet; this one is what living with a colony is really like.

🦎 The 30-second version: Mourning geckos are tiny, all-female, self-cloning geckos kept as a small social colony — one of the easiest, cheapest reptiles there is. They want a gentle 80–85°F warm gradient (not pure room temp), low UVB, a powdered diet plus small insects, and plenty of calcium (constant egg-laying drains it). They’re too tiny to handle, and the colony grows over time, so plan for numbers.

What real reptile keepers actually worry about

We didn’t guess at any of this. Baskden began by reading what reptile keepers actually say — over 3,100 real posts and comments across the big keeping communities — and pulling out every genuine question. (Here’s the full analysis.)

Across all 388 care questions, feeding is the most-asked topic overall (about 32%), and for these easy little geckos the worries are unusual ones:

“They keep laying eggs / multiplying — is that normal?” — yes, it’s the whole nature of a self-cloning colony.
“Do they need heat and UVB, or is room temperature fine?” — a gentle gradient and low UVB do help.
“Can I keep them with dart frogs?” — yes, they’re one of the few reptiles that cohabit peacefully.

The thread underneath every one is the same: keepers who care and are anxious about getting it right. If that’s you, you’re in exactly the right place, and worrying about it means you’re already paying attention.

How we use this: these are real questions from the keeping community — a signal of what people worry about, never our source for what’s true. Every care fact in this guide is checked against the vets and sources cited throughout. Get the answers in our gecko Q&A.

1. Are mourning geckos right for you?

Their defining feature is also their biggest quirk. ReptiFiles explains it:

“Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction, which means they don’t need males to reproduce.”

An honest fit-check. Mourning geckos suit you well if you:

Want a tiny planted colony to watch, not a pet to hold — they’re far too small and fast to handle.
Like the idea of a self-sustaining group — and will plan for it multiplying.
Want an easy, cheap, low-space reptile with a simple powdered diet.
Will provide a gentle warm gradient, low UVB, and good calcium.

If you want a slightly larger gecko you can occasionally handle, the crested or gargoyle gecko suits better; weigh options on the best beginner reptile guide.

2. Before you bring them home

Build the setup before the geckos, small and vertical.

A planted, vertical, escape-proof tank (12×12×18 in suits 2–3 adults) — seal every gap, as hatchlings are minute.
A gentle warm spot (around 80–85°F at the top) — not the “no heat needed” myth.
Low UVB and a misting routine for humidity that dries between mistings.
CGD and a feeding ledge, plus small feeder insects and calcium+D3.

Exact temperatures, humidity, and the UVI target live on the mourning gecko care reference; check your build with the setup checker and budget with the reptile buying guide.

3. The first weeks: set up the colony

Escape-proof the tank first — check every seam.
Expect them to hide by day and come alive at dusk — chirping and hunting in the evening is normal, healthy colony behaviour.
Offer CGD every day or two and dust small insects with calcium+D3 a couple of times a week from the start.
Don’t try to handle them — they’re too fast and fragile, and can drop their tail. Interact by feeding and watching.

The general new-reptile version is in your first two weeks.

4. The colony that grows (and the calcium that matters)

Two things define mourning gecko keeping.

A colony multiplies. Because they clone themselves, the group reproduces to fill the space — plan for a growing population and a way to re-home or feed off the surplus (many are kept as feeders for exactly this reason).
Calcium is the real risk. Near-constant egg-laying drains calcium, so calcium+D3 dusting and (ideally) UVB matter more than for most geckos, to prevent metabolic bone disease.

Exact diet and supplement details live on the care reference.

5. A tiny living ecosystem

The joy of mourning geckos is observational: a planted, misted tank where a little colony wakes at dusk, chirps, stalks fruit flies, and laps CGD from a ledge. They’re genuinely one of the lowest-effort reptiles to keep well, and a brilliant bioactive-terrarium project — they even cohabit peacefully with dart frogs. Watch for steady feeding and activity, and don’t be surprised when little white eggs (and then hatchlings) start appearing — that’s a thriving colony.

6. The beginner mistakes worth skipping

Assuming “no heat needed.” Give a gentle warm gradient; they suffer below ~72°F.
Skimping on calcium/UVB. Constant egg-laying causes MBD without it.
A gappy lid. They’re tiny, glass-climbing escape artists.
Overheating above the mid-80s°F.
Trying to handle them like a bigger gecko.

🌙 Mourning geckos ask for a small planted tank, a gentle warm spot, and plenty of calcium — and give back a chirping, self-sustaining little colony that’s about as easy and rewarding as reptile-keeping gets. For a keeper who wants a living terrarium to watch, they’re a gem.

Go deeper (the basics): the fact-checked mourning gecko care reference · printable care sheet · the handleable cousins crested and gargoyle geckos · is my reptile sick? when to see a vet.

Sources & further reading

This guide is the plain-language companion to our mourning gecko care reference, where every husbandry number is traced to authoritative sources. The quote above is reproduced verbatim from its original publication:

Healey M. Mourning Gecko Care. ReptiFiles.
Divers SJ, Comolli JR. Reptiles — lizard husbandry and disease. Merck Veterinary Manual, last updated Jul 2025.

It’s honest general guidance, written and fact-checked by The Baskden Team against veterinarian-authored sources — not veterinary advice. For a gecko with a rubbery jaw, a female straining, or that stops eating, see an exotics vet.