This page describes how The Geeky Gecko researches, produces, reviews, and corrects its content. It applies to every article on this site.
Our standards
- Accuracy over speed. We would rather publish later than publish wrong.
- Evidence first. Claims about animal health, behavior, and biology are checked against reputable sources before publication.
- Animal welfare. We only recommend care practices that are humane and consistent with mainstream veterinary and welfare guidance.
- Clarity. We write for curious general readers. Where science gets technical, we explain the terms we use.
AI-assisted content, disclosed
Our editorial team uses AI-assisted tools in researching and drafting articles. This is a deliberate, disclosed part of our workflow — not a secret. Drafts are then edited and reviewed against the standards on this page before they are published. Responsibility for everything we publish rests with our editorial team, not with any tool.
The sources we trust
We prioritize sources in roughly this order:
- Veterinary and scientific authorities — the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), veterinary schools and their outreach centers (such as the Cornell Feline Health Center), peer-reviewed journals, and government bodies like the USDA and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
- Established animal-welfare and specialist organizations — the ASPCA, breed and species registries such as the AKC, conservation bodies such as the IUCN and Audubon.
- Reputable science communicators and institutions — natural history museums, zoos and aquariums with accredited research programs, and established science publications.
We avoid sourcing claims from forums, social media, or sites with no evident expertise.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, we fix it. Our approach has three levels:
- Minor fixes (typos, formatting, broken links) are made silently.
- Substantive corrections (a factual error that changes the meaning of a passage) are corrected in the article promptly after verification.
- Major corrections (an error affecting the core guidance of an article, especially anything touching animal safety) are corrected immediately, and the article is re-reviewed in full.
To report an error, use our contact page. We take these reports seriously and act on them.
Independence
Advertising never dictates editorial conclusions. How we make money — and how we keep it separate from what we publish — is described in our Advertiser Disclosure.