Description
- Common Name: Sand Gecko
- Scientific Name: Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
- Locality/Morph: Wild type
- Sex: Mixed
- Age: Mixed
- Source: Wild Caught
- Native Range: North Africa and the Middle East – deserts and arid regions
- Natural Habitat: Sandy deserts, semi-arid scrublands, and rocky desert margins
- Diet: Insects and other small invertebrates
- Basking Temperature: ~35°C hotspot
- Ambient Temperature: 28–32°C (night drop to ~20°C)
- Average Adult Size: 6–8 cm
The Sand Gecko (Stenodactylus sthenodactylus) is a small desert gecko native to arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East. This nocturnal species spends the day buried in sand or hiding under rocks to avoid extreme heat, emerging at night to hunt insects and other small invertebrates. Its delicate build and large eyes give it a distinctively elegant appearance, well adapted for life in sandy deserts.
In captivity, S. sthenodactylus thrives in a terrarium with a deep sandy substrate to allow natural burrowing behaviour. Provide rocks and shallow hides for shelter and climbing opportunities. A temperature gradient with a hot spot of around 35°C and cooler areas around 28–32°C is recommended. Night-time drops to around 20°C are well tolerated. Humidity should be low, around 40% maximum, reflecting its natural desert environment, with occasional light misting to provide water.
Their diet consists primarily of small live insects, including crickets, roaches, and mealworms, all gut-loaded and dusted with calcium and vitamin supplements. Evening feeding is ideal as this species is nocturnal.
Sand Geckos are hardy, fascinating desert reptiles that are well suited for keepers interested in small, nocturnal geckos with specialized habitat needs. With proper care, they can live 5–8 years in captivity.
Livestock Delivery:
Livestock is delivered in our own heated reptile courier vans. Delivery time from ordering will depend on your location and when we next have a van in your area, this will usually be a maximum of 2 weeks. You will receive a date and time slot by phone or email, so please ensure you enter these correctly at checkout. Delivery fee for livestock depends on location, prices start at £45. Livestock orders over £500 (+VAT) are delivered free of charge.
Livestock Sale Terms:
If multiple animals are in stock then not all will be pictured, so the photo above may not be exact animal available.
All prices are per individual unless otherwise stated. All livestock is subject to availability, whilst we try to keep the website as up to date as possible errors may happen, in this situation you will be contacted to arrange a refund/alternative.
Errors can happen with sexing and morph identification. Should this be discovered before leaving us you are entitled to a refund. After the animal leaves us it is the customers responsibility to inform us within 48 hours of the animals arrival. Failing to do so may lose the customers eligibility for a refund.
It is the customers responsibility to have the correct setup available and ready for the animal, if you need any advice please do get in touch. We have the right to request proof of setup at any time, failure to provide an image of an appropriate setup or any image at all, may result in a full order cancellation and refund.
Guarantee for all inverts & amphibians is 24 hours. All other livestock is 48 hours. If issues/concerns are notified upon delivery, then this may be extended. All health related queries will be subject to a full investigation should an issue arise. Failing to provide us with the information we request may void any form of guarantee. If we find reason from the information that its injury or death was caused by negligence or incorrect husbandry then the guarantee may be void. Should death or abnormalities occur then you must inform us as soon as possible. In the unlikely event that an animal passes away please photograph the dead body and freeze until you have heard from us. If death or illness occurs after 7 days, and no health issues were reported, then Ridgeway will not be held responsible.
We have the right to refuse any sale, refund or guarantee at any time if we feel it is necessary.
Livestock sales are for customers aged 18+, if under this age you must have prior parent permission. If we have any reason to suspect this is not the case we will contact you before the animal is released.
When purchasing an animal from us you automatically agree to these terms of sale.
