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Care sheet

Chahoua Gecko

Mniarogekko chahoua

Also known as: Mossy Prehensile-Tailed Gecko, Bavay's Giant Gecko

Diplodactylidae · Squamata

IntermediateIUCN VU
Activity
🌙 Nocturnal
Temperament
Docile
Adult length
8–11 in
Adult weight
60–110 g
Lifespan (captivity)
15–25 yrs
Native range
New Caledonia — Grande Terre (Mainland) and Pine Island (Île des Pins). The two populations are tracked separately in the hobby.

Care guide

Overview

Chahoua Gecko (Mniarogekko chahoua) — Also called the Mossy Prehensile-Tailed Gecko. Same room-temperature husbandry as the other rhacodactylids, MRP-based diet with 1+ insect meals per week, and a tall arboreal enclosure. Two distinct locality types are tracked in the hobby — Mainland (Grande Terre) and Pine Island (Île des Pins) — and ethical keepers don't cross them. Unlike crested geckos, chahoua regrow their tail, and their prehensile tail is genuinely grippy in a way crested or gargoyle tails are not. Generally calmer than gargoyles and quieter than leachies; a good intermediate-keeper rhac.

Environment

Climate

Cool side
68–74 °F
Warm side
72–78 °F
Basking spot
76–80 °F
Nighttime
65–72 °F
Humidity (ambient)
60–75%
Shed-cycle boost
70–90%

Housing

Enclosure

Orientation
Arboreal
Bioactive setup
Suitable
Minimum size by life stage
  • HatchlingKritter Keeper or 5-gallon equivalent (chahoua hatchlings stress in oversized enclosures)
  • Juvenile12"L x 12"W x 18"H minimum
  • Adult18"L x 18"W x 24"H (24"H+ preferred for adults)

Housing

Substrate

Depth
2–4 in
Safe options
coco fiber / topsoil blendbioactive mix with sphagnum topperpaper towel (quarantine)
Avoid
calcium sandwalnut shellcedarpine

Nutrition

Diet & feeding

Dietary type
Omnivore
Prey size by life stage
  • HatchlingPinhead crickets (rare treat)
  • Juvenile1/4" crickets, small dubia (1× per week)
  • AdultMedium crickets, dubia, hornworms (1–2× per week)
Feeding frequency by life stage
  • HatchlingMRP (Pangea, Repashy, Black Panther Zoological) nightly; insects 1× per week once feeding well
  • JuvenileMRP 3–5× per week; live insects 1× per week
  • AdultMRP 2–3× per week; live insects 1–2× per week
Prey ratio by body weight
Stage
Body weight
Prey (% BW)
Interval
  • Hatchling
    up to 10 g
    3–6%
    1–2 days
  • Juvenile
    11–30 g
    3–5%
    2–3 days
  • Subadult
    31–60 g
    2–5%
    2–3 days
  • Adult
    61 g+
    2–4%
    2–3 days

Feed prey roughly the listed percentage of the snake's current weight, at the listed interval. Use it as a starting point — adjust based on body condition, not the calendar.

Feeding thresholds
Typical hatchling weight
3–5 g
Power-feeding line
> 8% body weight
30-day weight-loss concern
> 10% in 30 days
Supplementation

Primary diet is a complete powdered gecko meal-replacement (MRP). Chahoua are more insect-driven than crested geckos — plan on at least one insect meal per week. Dust insects with calcium (no D3 if MRP is the primary diet).

Care

Water & behavior

Water

Small bowl plus nightly misting. Chahoua drink from droplets on leaves and glass; the enclosure should dry through the day.

Defensive displays
tail drop (tail *does* regenerate, unlike crested geckos)biting (rare; chahoua are typically calm)vocalizing (quieter than gargoyles or leachies)

Legal & ecology

Conservation

IUCN Red List
VU · Vulnerable
Wild populations

Endemic to New Caledonia with two distinct populations — Mainland (Grande Terre) and Pine Island (Île des Pins). IUCN Vulnerable. Captive population is well-established for both locality types; all animals in the pet trade should be captive-bred and provenance-documented.

Genetics

Morphs

Morph market
Active
Complexity
Moderate

Citations

Sources

Every husbandry parameter on this page is backed by the references below. Click through to read the originals.

  1. Chahoua Gecko Care Sheet

    Pangea Reptile

    breeder community

    Breeder reference covering both the Mainland (Grande Terre) and Pine Island locality types of Mniarogekko chahoua.

    Published: 2023-01-01

  2. Mossy Prehensile-Tailed Gecko Care Guide

    ReptiFiles

    breeder community

    Keeper reference for Mniarogekko chahoua with locality notes and feeding cadence guidance.

    Published: 2023-01-01

  3. Chahoua Gecko Care

    Northern Gecko

    breeder community

    Specialist breeder reference for Mniarogekko chahoua from a well-known Canadian producer of New Caledonian geckos.

    Published: 2023-01-01