Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry to bother you all again, i don't know if african fat tails are welcome in this forum but i picked the closest forum. Can anyone tell me about this little guy i purchased. Does he look healthy? I havn't been able to get him/ or her to eat since i bought it two days ago. It takes no interest in crickets, am I feeding it at the wrong time of day, should i wait til night since their nocturnal?

It did create a stool a day ago, it smelled a little, but it was on paper towels, and you could only smell it when you opened up the tank (10Gal, over the top). I really appreciate all the help i can get, I purchased the guy from petsmart, not to sure of their quality with reptiles, but i hope its alright. Its a present for my gf, her first reptile. Thanks again for the help.

This guy looks nice and healthy judging by his tail. The rest is a bit hard to predict but I would definetly say that he's in great shape. It will most likely not eat during the first few days to a week so dont worry, thats what their tail is for. I also find that they begin eating quicker if their terrarium is more natural rather than paper towels. I know this is quarantine procedure but if a lizard is as healthy as this I generally recommend to set up a natural tank to get it accostomed to. He will most likely begin to eat in a few days anyway though. Cant say much for the quality of petsmart since it really depends on the store owner IMO. Good luck they make great pets.

This little girl, also seems to be active when the lights are out, or little light in my room. Where can i buy an infared light, that won't bother her, but also allow me to see what shes up to at night, I got a "nightlight" from petsmart, but it doesn't seem to do the trick, when i turn it on, she flinches as if its too bright. Any ideas, or recommendations?

Nocturnal geckos have very sensitive eyes. Red lights are designed for daiurnal animals who "cannot" see this light. I prefer the blue bulbs for nocturnal geckos (I use one for my tokays). They tend to put out less light than the reds. If you can obtain an ESU black bulb, its nearly black. Exo terra red bulbs are the deepest and darkest red but have relatively bright blue light. Zoo med and Flukers make bright bulbs all around. Your best bet at low disturbance is a heat emmiter from Zoo Med or ESU. They cost about 40$ but are well worth the cost as they last quite a bit longer than normal bulbs (up to 5 or so times, so its 5x10=50).

I ended up getting an exo-terra blue moonlight bulb 40w. When i turn it on at night, fat tail doesn't flinch like she did when i had a red zoo med bulb, and shes more active with this bulb, but its not really to bright at all, i can still view her at night, and at the same time night as bright as ZooMed. I did try ESU with my other lizard, and the bulb just didn't last long, burnt out in like a month, and i wasn't happy with that. Exo-terra seems to be realativly cheap at 5$.

The exo terra blue bulb is just about as bright as blue bulbs get. Sorry. Unfortunatelly it is hard to make noctural animals active and viewable. I guess you can put a tint or something on her tank or a one sided see through thing....In any case, you can also try the red bulbs by exo terra which tend to be darker than the zoo meds. I dont know if it will be bright enough for you, but it shouldnt disturb the lizard. The exo terra bulbs are cheaper because from what I understand they are using a new build house (or at least thats what the rep said).