Make Money with Reptiles

There is a buzz going through Asia, some of you may already know. Rumour is that , Tokay Geckos or Giant Gecko, are worth a lot of money.. Supposedly they contain something that might can cure aids/ HIV. To what extent this rumour is true, I have yet to see. This hub is just to inform you what's going on with these Geckos at the moment,, because currently it's a hype!

The Tokay gecko is mostly found in Asia, in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia etc. They have a very distinctive sound, a sort of horny call.. Something like 'Toookaayy' but only faster. Hence, the name 'Tokay'. Generally, Tokays that are found in the wild will have an average length of 10" and up to 15" weighing up to 300 gram.Geckos are opportunistic eaters, and will bite anything that they see in front of them. Favorite food are crickets, but they can eat toads, pinkies (baby mice) and butterflys and the occasional bits of food as well.

Geckos are arboreal, meaning that they can hang upside down, walk on glas and jump. They are night creatures, so in the day you will rarely find one unless you see a Tokay that forget to tuck his tail in at the place where he is hiding.

You can find a lot of info here on hubpages about Tokays and I am not that of an expert that I wanna just read them down.. I have selected a few hubs for you to enjoy ;)

So how can I make money then?

Well, it will sound easier than it really is but it appears that you can make quite a bit of money with them. Before I tell you how much, have a look at this article first "Giant Gecko Worth $19million"

Now, before you run out to your local reptile store, let me tell you 'it is FAKE'! This is a big ass Tokay, but unfortunately fake. No Tokay will will ever come close to weighing 64kg, no way tookaayy..

Money can't be made then?

I didn't say that. I just want to point out that this article, which appeared even in national newspapers here in Indonesia is not true. That's all.

This article created such a buzz in Asia that people started to look for this reptile. Everyone is on the hunt for these Tokays and the local bird stores are having the best times ever! They sell crickets like crazy at the moment, because that's what these babies grow on. Whole villages in Indonesia are in search for Tokays and hope to get rich..

Money can be made, as it appears. In Indonesia there are actual businesses that consists completely out dealing with these reptiles. The Tokay has been used for ages in countries like China, Japan, Korea to treat itchy feet or other skin diseases. Some people like their Tokays with some hot sauce as well..

But, most of you probably won't be able to stomach to go to such great length let alone be able to buy a couple of hundred tokays.

The Tokays that are wanted by buyers need to be heavy, big and long. They are currently being bought under the following critera: Have a complete tail, never broken, be about 10% longer than their weight, have a bright colour, greyish and with orange/red dots, aggressive and no missing limbs. They just need to be healthy.

They are bought if these requirements are met, and the starting weight is 300-330 gram (length about 33cm) against $5000, 330-360 will get you around $25,000 and if you are able to fatten them up to 420gram you can 'expect' to get $200,000. Prices vary per buyer but to me these sound the most 'realistic'.

But are they?

Is it really true, is this not some load of stool (a reptile term for crap). Well, there is some proof, and that's Bapak Davied Hendra (bapak means mister/ sir). Mr. Hendra is known to be 'the expert' on Geckos here in Indonesia, and his abilitiy to tame tokays and get them fat and beyond is nearly unbelieveable. I have held some of his Tokays on my arm, and saw with my own eyes that they were indeed very fat and obese.

He sells them of course, and they are quite pricey. He claims also to buy them, if you meet the requirements of course. Other buyers are out there as well with some crazy prices. If I ever have one big fat tokay, I'd go with 'Big Daddy' Hendra.

Have a look at his site here: Pasartokek

At the moment he sells one for the highest bidder, a tokay buyer, who knows at what price...

I have a few friends that are also 'in the game' and travel extensively to chase these bigger ones. Official accountancy documents, lawyers, I have seen all the stuff so people are serious about it.

So if it is maybe true, where's the catch?

The catch is in taking care of the tokays. They are extremely sensitive, and get stressed out of their little minds if care is not taken. If you just put them in a regular cage, maybe would or glass they wouldn't get big. Why, because they keep running around and that is like exercising for these little fellas.

You need a place that prevents them from walking around sit in one place all day. Poor little creatures, maybe, I don't know.

Once adapted to a specific place, they need to eat, A LOT! And, that's catch number two. Like humans, we can't all muster an appetite like sumo wrestler. They need to be so happy and hungry somehow that they eat a targeted amount of food. Stimuli can be used, like honey and sugar, but it is not a guarantee that they will eat. And if they eventually eat (they can go without food for weeks, so you need to be patient here) it is not sure if they will like eating so much that they eat each and everyday enough to end up big enough to sell.

Another catch is that the bigger they get, the more obese and the faster they die. Yes, that's a bit of a sad fact but that's how it is. So, how happy you are when you have a big fat gecko and aiming for that weight, and suddenly you find your gecko hanging dead in his cage :(

So, that's about it, I think you are now well informed about something you might or might not be interested in. To the very least I hope it entertained you a bit ;)

-Theo