Identifying a lizard...Skeleton Gecko???

[Jabba93]

I know this isn't chameleons, but I have run into a lizard that apparently cannot be found on Google. It is called a skeleton gecko. Has anyone ever heard of it? I forgot to take a picture but it's a Long dark brown arboreal lizard with a white coloration down it's spine. Setup and care in the pet shop looks similar to a Crested, but these guys are double the length and much thinner. I have searched several times, no entries in any forums can be found....at least by me. Does it go by another name??

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Going to be really hard to get solid answers without pictures...

 

[Jabba93]

Going to be really hard to get solid answers without pictures...

I know! Thought of that too late. I'm asking the store to send me a pic if they can!

 

[Jabba93]

Aha! Found one through some intense facebook searching!!

 

[Twitchet]

I had one, It was sold to me under the name of a white lined gecko, no surprise I guess! But I think they are also called a skunk gecko, and palm gecko.
gekko vittatus.

 

[Jabba93]

I had one, It was sold to me under the name of a white lined gecko, no surprise I guess! But I think they are also called a skunk gecko, and palm gecko.
gekko vittatus.

Thanks @Twitchet! It was really bugging me!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Aha! Found one through some intense facebook searching!!

Wow, beautiful animal

 

[Skylark]

I know this isn't chameleons, but I have run into a lizard that apparently cannot be found on Google. It is called a skeleton gecko. Has anyone ever heard of it? I forgot to take a picture but it's a Long dark brown arboreal lizard with a white coloration down it's spine. Setup and care in the pet shop looks similar to a Crested, but these guys are double the length and much thinner. I have searched several times, no entries in any forums can be found....at least by me. Does it go by another name??

Who the heck told you they're called skeleton geckos? Not many people recognize the common name, Skunk Gecko. Where they're wild caught, they're known as Shite-Striped geckos, and here in the states we call them White Lined Geckos. The best thing to call them for the confusion is flat out: Gekko Vittatus. I have three specimens, one captive bred male and two wild caught females. They're different shades of grey, black and green. They come from all over the eastern hemisphere, so I ended up with three individuals from different regions most likely. The most appealing thing about them is their prehensile tail and ability to fire up or down to black or banana green, or tan amidst golden amber eyes.

(He physically could not let go of this glove for half an hour.)

I've included a picture of my male, about 5 years old now, and two females in order from oldest to youngest. Wild caught vs captive bred makes a massive difference, since they deal with so many parasites in the wild. I only know of one store breeding them on the east coast, other than that I've only heard of Big Apple Inc, who never responded to my inquiries. Captive bred, healthy gekko vittatus reach a about the same size of a leopard gecko, albeit less chunky and a little longer.

(adult)

(adolescent)

(juvie)

I've read everything a person can find on the internet about these funky critters. Nowhere have I seen them referred to as skeleton geckos. You won't find very much information since this species is sidelined as the 'poor mans gecko'. Frankly they aren't well documented, and a hell of a lot of fun. They're like baby crocs climbing walls and doing 360 twirlflips off of things. The only other noteworthy thing about them is their mouth rot vulnerability and toe-shed problems. Their aggressive behavior makes it easy for these two things to go left unchecked and become serious issues. I might upload a video of how to evaluate and treat layered toe shed, since they can lose the ability to use their toes overnight if a shed goes bad. The only reason I haven't is because nobody seems to care about them.

(Male vs Crested Juvie)

And here's that same crestie all grown up, since I love her to death.