rowellagera
17th Jun 2011 Fri, 07:41
The current local market price
for a Tokay gecko above 300
grams is at least RM25,000. What
price it fetches abroad is
anybody's guess.
A kampung folk who has a marketable sized Tokay gecko
for sale will not have to wait
long for serious buyers to make
him an offer.
In light of its high market value,
catching and trading in Tokay geckos have become a lucrative
side business especially for
villagers in the northern West
Malaysian states and in East
Malaysia.
Residents in northern towns of Peninsular Malaysia such as
Pendang in Kedah and Balik Pulau
in Penang have seen the gecko
business grow into a cottage
industry after news reports
revealed that overseas buyers are willing to pay up to RM1
million for each reptile.
As the supply is getting scarce in
Malaysia, agents have started to
head towards Thailand to source
for fresh supplies. Just drive into border towns such as Bukit Kayu
Hitam in Kedah and you can
easily sport wildlife trappers and
agents advertising the Tokay
gecko for sale.
While numerous gecko species are sold as pets at nominal
prices, the highly prized specie in
demand for its medicinal value is
the Tokay gecko.
Tokay geckos are in high demand
by the traditional medicine industry abroad as it is believed
that the reptile’ s tongue can cure AIDS. Some believe that its
meat is also an aphrodisiac while
its blood and bile suppresses
tumors in cancer patients.
Despite the on going rumours of
the medicinal cures of the gecko, Augustine Tuuga, the deputy
director of Sabah Wildlife
Department, was quoted in one
news report saying that there is
currently no scientific evidence
to verify the claims. Villagers who are involved in this
business say that although the
Tokay gecko is difficult to find
and capture, those who manage
to find this illusive reptile can
expect to sell it at a lucrative price while the current gecko
market is still sizzling.
As buyers are only interested in
Tokay geckos weighing 300
grams and above, those
possessing smaller Tokay geckos would rear the reptiles hoping to
sell them once their weight
exceeds 300 grams. Although
Tokay geckos usually feed on
insects such as crickets,
cockroaches and grasshoppers, the Tokay geckos in captivity
are also fed chicken liver to
speed up its growth process.
The Tokay gecko (also known as
the Gekko gecko) is a nocturnal
arboreal gecko whose native habitat is the rain-forest trees
and cliffs. The Tokay gecko is
commonly found in northeast
India and Bangladesh, throughout
Southeast Asia and western New
Guinea. According to a news report,
Rahim Ahmad, the director of the
Department of Wildlife and
National Parks of Peninsular
Malaysia (Perhilitan) in Kedah,
said that the Tokay gecko is not classified as a protected species
of animals and it is thus not an
offence to capture and rear the
reptile.
The typical current prices for
Tokay geckos are as follows: 300 grams - 399 grams =
RM25,000 - RM35,000
400 grams - 499 grams =
RM80,000 - RM120,000
500 grams - 599 grams =
RM200,000 - RM400,000 600 grams - 799 grams =
RM500,000 - RM700,000
800 grams - 999 grams =
RM800,000 - RM980,000
Above 1000 grams approximately
RM1 million. At the moment there is no
indication whether the Tokay
gecko business will continue to
grow as an industry or will fizzle
out just as the Flowerhorn
ornamental fish business did a few years ago. For those who
remember, during the peak of
the Flowerhorn craze, mature
cichlids were sold for up to
hundreds of thousands of
Ringgit. Despite the current demand for
the Tokay gecko, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Agro-Based
Industry has thus far not taken
any steps to assist people to
formally commercialise the business.
for a Tokay gecko above 300
grams is at least RM25,000. What
price it fetches abroad is
anybody's guess.
A kampung folk who has a marketable sized Tokay gecko
for sale will not have to wait
long for serious buyers to make
him an offer.
In light of its high market value,
catching and trading in Tokay geckos have become a lucrative
side business especially for
villagers in the northern West
Malaysian states and in East
Malaysia.
Residents in northern towns of Peninsular Malaysia such as
Pendang in Kedah and Balik Pulau
in Penang have seen the gecko
business grow into a cottage
industry after news reports
revealed that overseas buyers are willing to pay up to RM1
million for each reptile.
As the supply is getting scarce in
Malaysia, agents have started to
head towards Thailand to source
for fresh supplies. Just drive into border towns such as Bukit Kayu
Hitam in Kedah and you can
easily sport wildlife trappers and
agents advertising the Tokay
gecko for sale.
While numerous gecko species are sold as pets at nominal
prices, the highly prized specie in
demand for its medicinal value is
the Tokay gecko.
Tokay geckos are in high demand
by the traditional medicine industry abroad as it is believed
that the reptile’ s tongue can cure AIDS. Some believe that its
meat is also an aphrodisiac while
its blood and bile suppresses
tumors in cancer patients.
Despite the on going rumours of
the medicinal cures of the gecko, Augustine Tuuga, the deputy
director of Sabah Wildlife
Department, was quoted in one
news report saying that there is
currently no scientific evidence
to verify the claims. Villagers who are involved in this
business say that although the
Tokay gecko is difficult to find
and capture, those who manage
to find this illusive reptile can
expect to sell it at a lucrative price while the current gecko
market is still sizzling.
As buyers are only interested in
Tokay geckos weighing 300
grams and above, those
possessing smaller Tokay geckos would rear the reptiles hoping to
sell them once their weight
exceeds 300 grams. Although
Tokay geckos usually feed on
insects such as crickets,
cockroaches and grasshoppers, the Tokay geckos in captivity
are also fed chicken liver to
speed up its growth process.
The Tokay gecko (also known as
the Gekko gecko) is a nocturnal
arboreal gecko whose native habitat is the rain-forest trees
and cliffs. The Tokay gecko is
commonly found in northeast
India and Bangladesh, throughout
Southeast Asia and western New
Guinea. According to a news report,
Rahim Ahmad, the director of the
Department of Wildlife and
National Parks of Peninsular
Malaysia (Perhilitan) in Kedah,
said that the Tokay gecko is not classified as a protected species
of animals and it is thus not an
offence to capture and rear the
reptile.
The typical current prices for
Tokay geckos are as follows: 300 grams - 399 grams =
RM25,000 - RM35,000
400 grams - 499 grams =
RM80,000 - RM120,000
500 grams - 599 grams =
RM200,000 - RM400,000 600 grams - 799 grams =
RM500,000 - RM700,000
800 grams - 999 grams =
RM800,000 - RM980,000
Above 1000 grams approximately
RM1 million. At the moment there is no
indication whether the Tokay
gecko business will continue to
grow as an industry or will fizzle
out just as the Flowerhorn
ornamental fish business did a few years ago. For those who
remember, during the peak of
the Flowerhorn craze, mature
cichlids were sold for up to
hundreds of thousands of
Ringgit. Despite the current demand for
the Tokay gecko, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Agro-Based
Industry has thus far not taken
any steps to assist people to
formally commercialise the business.