Parasites in 30 Captive Tokay Geckos, Gekko gecko

First record of an Asian tongueworm, Raillietiella orientalis (Pentastomida: Raillietiellidae), parasitizing a Tokay Gecko, (Gekko gecko, Squamata: Gekkonidae): a novel interaction between two non-native species in Florida

“…Geckos serve as definitive hosts for several species of Raillietiella (Ali and Riley 1983), and Gekko gecko is parasitized by at least three species (i.e., R. affinis, R. indica [syn. R. frenatus], and R. gehryae; Reese et al 2004). Additional species of Raillietiella might have been present and undetected in our sample, but pentastomes are difficult to definitively identify to species through morphological analyses alone (Kelehear et al 2011;Westfall et al 2019).…”

Genotypic and phenotypic evidence indicates the introduction of two distinct forms of a non-native species (Gekko gecko) to Florida, USA

“…Gekko gecko (including Gekko verticillatus Laurenti, 1768 as its junior synonym) is the type species of the genus Gekko (Wood Jr et al 2020). Despite being heavily studied (Reese et al 2004, Rösler et al 2011), the taxonomy of the tokay gecko sensu lato is unsettled (Kongbuntad et al 2016, Saijuntha et al 2019). Rösler (2005) recognised four morphologically distinct forms of tokay gecko: G. g. azhari Mertens, 1955, distributed in Bangladesh and possibly adjacent parts of India; G. g. gecko (Linnaeus, 1758), from Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, the Malaysian islands of Sarawak and Sabah, and possibly parts of mainland southeastern Asia (e.g., peninsular Malaysia); “Form A” from northern Vietnam, southern China, and Taiwan; and “Form B”, with a widespread distribution including Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, and possibly also northern India, southern Vietnam, the Andaman Islands, and peninsular Malaysia.…”

Infection ofHexametra angusticaecoidesChabaud & Brygoo, 1960 (Nematoda: Ascarididae) in a population of captive crested geckoes,Correlophus ciliatusGuichenot (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae)

“…Healthy reptiles can harbour a number of parasites with no apparent ill effect; however, if placed under stress, disease can become an issue in captive reptiles (Rataj et al ., 2011; Reese et al ., 2004). A compounding factor in parasite transmission can be the mixing of host species in a tank, either consecutively or concurrently, potentially leading to a naïve host species acquiring a novel parasite that may be harmful.…”

“…A compounding factor in parasite transmission can be the mixing of host species in a tank, either consecutively or concurrently, potentially leading to a naïve host species acquiring a novel parasite that may be harmful. This is especially true if the parasite has a lack of host specificity which can also lead to the potential for transmission among species in a collection (Reese et al ., 2004).…”