Phelsuma pusilla hallmanni Meier

Harald Meier

Harald Meier was a German herpetologist who discovered the Phelsuma pusilla hallmanni, a subspecies of geckos....

, 1989 is a diurnal

Diurnal animal

Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...

 subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of gecko

Gecko

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....

s. It lives in eastern Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 and typically inhabits different trees. This day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.

Description

This lizard belongs to the smallest day geckos. It can reach a total length of about 9 cm. The body colour is dark green. On the back there are red dots present. On the snout, a blue triangle is present, which is bordered from behind by a red bar. On the neck and back of the head bluish speckles are present. The tail is turquoise. The flanks are brown or black. The ventral side is white.

Distribution

This subspecies inhabits the east coast of Madagascar. It is only known from the region around Andasibe.

Habitat

Phelsuma pusilla pusilla lives in a moist and warm climate. It inhabits different trees and can often be found on trees on the edge of forest along the road.

Diet

These day geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also like to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.

Behaviour

These geckos are quite quarrelsome and do not accept other males. 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.

Care and maintenance in captivity

These animals should be housed in pairs and need a well planted terrarium. The temperature should be about 28°C (locally around 30°C) during the day and drop to around 20°C at night. The humidity should be maintained between 75 and 80% during the day. It is also important to include two colder months with a daytime temperature of 24°C and 16°C at night. In captivity, these animals can be fed with crickets, wax moth larvae, fruit flies, mealworms and houseflies.