The Madagascar day gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis madagascariensis ) is a diurnal species of gecko. It lives on the eastern coast of Madagascar and typically inhabits rainforests and dwells on trees. The Madagascar day gecko feeds on insects, fruit and nectar.
Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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starts withThis lizard is one of the largest living day geckos. It can reach a total length of about 22 cm (8.7 in). The body color is light green or bluish green. The skin between the scales often has a light color. A rust-coloured stripe extends from the nostril to behind the eye. On the back there are brownish or red-brick coloured dots which may form a thin line along the mid back. These geckos do not have eyelids, and they have flattened toe pads.
P. m. magascariensis is often found on trees along the edges of forests. They also inhabit local huts and banana trees in the east coast of Madagascar because it has a humid and warm climate.
Like most Phelsuma spec., the males can be quite quarrelsome and do not accept other males in their neighbourhood. In captivity, where the females cannot escape, the males can also sometimes seriously wound a female. In this case the male and female must be separated.
These day geckos feed on many arthropods (insects and arachnids) as well as some fruit matter (mashed). They also like to lick hard, tart fruit, pollen and nectar.
The mating season is between November and the first weeks of April. During this period, the females lay up to 6 pairs of eggs. At a temperature of 28 °C, the young will hatch after approximately 55 days. The juveniles measure 55–60 mm.Madagascar day geckos engage in a mating ritual in which sexually mature males approach the sexually mature females and attach to them with their teeth. When the courtship is complete, they will both lick their vents and let out a small noise.
