Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My local reptile dealer is getting a Uroplatus shipment in next week. I am trying to decide on which species to get in to. I am not sure exaclty what all he is going to get, he is trying to get as many 'pairs' as possible. I really like the phantasticus, so I know I want to get a pair of those, but I was also interested in getting a pair of the larger species. Now I want to be able to breed them one day too. I was thinking about the henkeli because I have read they are very hardy and the easiest to breed in captivity. So, any suggestions?
Thanks

i would start with a henkeli, fibriatus, sikorae, and lineatus. these are the larger of the species and seem to be a bit more tolerable of their keepers mistakes. of the 4 i have dealt with lineatus and sikorae and would suggest sikorae as a beginner lizard of this advanced species to keep. i haven't had very good luck with satanics but am interested in getting some more when i have a superb set-up for them.

I have heard that the satanics are not very hardy. But I like them because of their small size. What about the ebanaui? How hardy are they? Have you had successfull breedings with them?
Which of the larger species are the hardiest in your opinion?

i've never had ebenaui, " boy" on here has had great success with them and a few other people " leah", and "bsmith" also know a lot about what they're doing with ebenaui and phantasticus.

well, like others i would recommend starting off with one of the larger species, they're hardier in general and if breeding is what your goal is, then theres been a lot more success it seems from breeders of henkeli and sikorae. now i honestly didnt start out big. i started with satanics, but i had read a whole lot about them for several months before i got one. i started with a pair and with more luck than anything else, i got 2 batches of eggs of which 3 hatched and survived. a year and a half wiser i have moved to more than a pair as well as other species. the biggest problem i have had with satanics is that they can die rather suddenly, and having them shipped has been a real bad experience for me in the past few months. being smaller they're very sensitive, plain and simple. you gotta be prepared to water these guys every single day, i often spray several times a day. you also gotta be around to make sure the temperature doesnt get too high. they require a lot of attention, but they're awesome. so if you really wanna breed them, i would recommend buying all the same species and starting with that. if you buy a pair of 2 different species, then 1 dies from each pair, your dreams of breeding them are put on hold till you can find more (at a reasonable price!) as far as ebenaui, perhaps jason (boy) can give you some pointers on them. from what i read, they're very similar to phantasticus, except a tiny bit bigger and without the big tail, and the uroplatus book mentions that they're bigger hiders than phantasticus. hope that gives you some insight.

Thanks for all of the great info guys! Ok, I think you have convinced me to start out with a larger species. The species will depend on what is available to me. I won't know until next week. I would either like to get a mossy or henkeli I think. I will keep you posted on what happens. Does anyone out here have any good pictures of their cage setups? I have some ideas, but I would like more. Thanks!

henkeli is gonna be real hard to come by right now since they didnt make this most recent shipment. so if you're looking for a larger species, id say try mossies or fimbriatus.

Well, I actually do like the mossy's better than the henkeli, so that os good. I do hope my dealer gets in the mossy's!

I dont reccommend fimbriatus for someone with out a lot of experience. Sikorae is the way to go.

Set ups that I've had at various times, sorry you have to cut and paste them into the browser:

http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/DSCN9368.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN7825.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN0853.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN0855.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN0857.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN7869.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/DSCN7923.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/DSCN7918.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/DSCN7921.JPG
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www.wildeyereptiles.com

Chameleons, geckos & invertebrates

Thanks for all the great pictures! You guys are so helpful on this forum, unlike others.
I've got some more ideas now....
I will keep you posted.

im guessing you keep mostly larger leaf tails in the screen enclosures? do you have a misting system for all those cages because i know the screened extension i built for my henkeli caused it to dry out a lot faster, so naturally i have to spray more often. and does anyone know if anyone makes misting systems for multiple cages? (im getting lazy and wish i could put a mist system on a timer for all my tanks instead of making a few rounds with the sprayer daily, plus it would help out a lot for those short vacations!)

We do keep the large species in the screen cages, and most of them are hooked up to a misting system. All you have to do is get a pump and mist nozzles, plumb them together, put it on a timer...

I like my cages to dry out during the day, I think people overestimate the humidity needs. Its not the humidity so much that is necessary, its WATER in general. It works for us. You'll have a lot more potential problems with mold and mildew growth than with a dryer cage...
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www.wildeyereptiles.com

Chameleons, geckos & invertebrates

i wonder what the misting systems are like that they use at grocery stores in the produce area. or if they would be helpful if a store was going out of business and you could pick one up. just an idea....

haha yea actually when i first started thinking misters i thought of the grocery store kind for the produce.

I also keep my pietschmanni in a large screen enclosure. I have found like leah that it really helps to dry out the cages during the day. I really helps reduce the amount of mold. Actually in Madagascar the humidity is often 60%-70% during the day which is about the humidity in my house.
-Matt