Building of a Conservation Breeding Facility for the Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica) in Southern Vietnam

Vietnam belongs to the global hotspots of biodiversity, and new vertebrate species have been regularly discovered from this country. Lizards and in particular geckos are among the groups with the highest discovery rates. One of the most beautiful geckos recently discovered from Vietnam is the Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica), an endemic species of Hon Khoai Island, a small island with a total area of only 8 km² in Ca Mau Province, southern Vietnam. Although Hon Khoai is protected through the Ca Mau Biosphere Reserve, and collecting and exporting of the wild fauna and flora for commercial purpose is prohibited, the beautiful geckos made their way to the international pet trade. But the species is not only threatened by illegal collecting for the pet trade, but also by macaques introduced on this island. To act against this alarming development, Wildlife at Risk (WAR), the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) and Cologne Zoo decided to cooperate in building up a gecko house as basis for the establishment of a reserve population, which could become the beginning of a potential conservation breeding program for C. psychedelica. The gecko house was planned in May 2014 and finished in November 2014 in WAR's Hon Me Station in Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. It has a movable rain cover with sunblind and contains ten large terraria consisting of aluminium, metal gauze and glass. Terrarium furniture mainly consists of cemented rock walls, plants, and natural soil with leaves. The gecko house also has a double door system to prevent accidently escaped geckos from breaking out. The exterior of the gecko house is covered by a large water proof poster which points both in English and Vietnamese languages to the threats to the Psychedelic Rock Gecko and the background of the conservation project. First small gecko breeding groups were transferred from Hon Khoai Island to the Hon Me Station in March 2015, with relevant permits provided by the respective authorities. Furthermore we report about our first experiences with the keeping and breeding of C. psychedelica, and document colour pattern change during juvenile development.