Mahé day gecko 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 on the western granite islands of the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

 and typically inhabits trees and human dwellings. The Seychelles giant day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.

Description

This lizard is a mid-size day gecko. It can reach a total length of about 15 cm. The body colour is bright green or bluish green. A red stripe extends from the nostril to the eye. On the back there are irregularly shaped reddish dots and bars present which form longitudinal rows. On the head there is a red v-shaped marking. These geckos have a yellow eye ring. The ventral side is yellowish white or yellow.

Distribution

This species is found on the western granite islands of the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

 including the island Mahé

Mahé, Seychelles

Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...

.

Habitat

Phelsuma sundbergi longinsulae is often found in coconut plantations, gardens, bushes and trees. This species often lives near or on human dwellings. This day gecko also shares its habitat with Phelsuma astriata astriata.

Diet

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

Behaviour

While feeding, these geckos aid in the pollination of palm trees by transferring pollen between female and male trees. These geckos often live in small groups of one male and several females.

Care and maintenance in captivity

These animals should be housed in pairs. They need a large, well planted terrarium. The temperature should be about 28°C during the day. The humidity should be maintained around 75–85% during the day and slightly higher at night. In captivity, these animals can be fed with crickets, wax moth larvae, fruit flies, mealworms and houseflies.