Growth Rates of the Mediterranean Gecko,Hemidactylus turcicus, in Southwestern Louisiana

Abstract

We captured and marked Mediterranean geckos, Hemidactylus turcicus, occupying a one-story building in southwestern Louisiana in 1999–2000 and 2002–2005 and calculated 2 estimates of growth rate: length growth rate (difference in snout—vent length [SVL] between captures divided by time between captures) and mass growth rate (difference in gecko mass between captures divided by time between captures). Both length growth rate and mass growth rate were significantly negatively correlated with gecko snout—vent length. When data from all years were combined, adult female geckos showed greater mean length growth rates and mean mass growth rates than males, but the trend was not statistically significant. Length growth rate and mass growth rate varied dramatically between years; neither correlated with yearly differences in rainfall. Comparison of our results to studies done in Texas and Florida showed that Mediterranean geckos in Louisiana had the lowest mean length growth rates and a much wider range of variation.