Gecko substrate use is likely influenced by adhesive performance, yet this has not been demonstrated empirically. For the first time, we examined the substrate use, adhesive performance, and vertical clinging behaviour of Gekko gecko in captivity to investigate whether adhesive performance influences patterns of substrate use. We found that geckos were observed significantly more often than expected by chance on the substrate that elicited maximal adhesive performance. Our work here provides some of the first data establishing connections between adhesive performance and patterns of substrate use in captivity, suggesting the hypothesis that substrate preferences of free-ranging geckos should be correlated with adhesive performance.