Wall Geckos Hemidactylus angulatus Hemidactylus mabouia Parasitic Infection Helminth Parasites Parasite Prevalence Pentastomids Raillietiella species Oochoristica species Parapharyngodon awokoyai Thelandros scleratus Paradistomoides

Investigation of wall geckos, caught in IDP Uhogua, Benin City, Edo State for their parasites was undertaken between July and September , 2025. A total of 27 specimens were collected consisting of 20 males and seven females. Two species of geckos were encountered, consisting of Hemidactylus angulatus and Hemidactylus mabouia. Out of the 27 samples examined, 17 were H. angulatus and 10 were H. mabouia. Twenty three out of the 27 wall geckos examined were infected with parasites giving an overall prevalence of 85.18%. The parasites recorded included pentastomid;; Raillietiella sp. (55.55%), Cestode; Oochoristica sp. (7.41%), Nematode; Parapharyngodon awokoyai (3.70%) and Thelandros scleratus (62.96%). The most encountered parasite was Thelandros scleratus while the least encountered was Parapharyngodon awokoyai. More males (74.1%) were infected than
Females (25.93%). This difference in prevalence values was statistically significant (p<0.05). The four parasites recorded in this study have previously been recorded by other researchers in Nigeria.Further study needs to be conducted on the helminth parasites of wall geckos from IDP camp Uhogua in order to unravel other species of wall geckos and helminth parasites infecting them which were not recorded in this study due to small sample size and short duration of study. Investigation of two species of wall geckos caught in Uhogua, Benin City, Edo State for their parasites was carried out between July and October, 2025. A total of 32 specimens were collected and all were males. Two species of geckos were encountered, consisting of Hemidactylus angulatus and Hemidactylus mabouia. Out of the 32 samples examined, fifteen were H. angulatus and seventeen were H. mabouia. Nineteen out of the 32 wall geckos examined were infected with parasites given an overall prevalence of 59.38%. The
parasites recorded included; Pentastomid; Raillietiella sp. (37.50%), Cestode; Oochoristica sp.(15.63%), Trematode; Paradistomoides(3.13%) and Nematodes; Parapharyngodon awokoyai (15.63%) and Thelandros scleratus(28.13%). The most encountered parasite was Raillietiella sp. having overall prevalence of 37.50% and mean intensity of 5.67 while the least encountered was Paradistomoides having an overall prevalence of 3.13% and mean intensity of 1.00. The difference in prevalence value was statistically significant (p<0.01). All parasites recorded affected both H. angulatus and H. mabouia except Oochoristica sp.
and Paradistomoides which infected only H. mabouia. The parasites recorded in this study have all been previously reported b other researchers from Uhogua and other localities in Edo State.