Here's what I have:
Just bought a 20 gal. 'high' tank w/ a screen lid. I've got several attractive plants (pothos, schefflera, selaginella, fittonia, ficus, asian jasmine) to choose from that I believe will do well in the enclosure & a couple of select pieces of driftwood I've had for a while. The plants are checked for toxidity on http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants-ag.html. All checked clean.
I've got a lobster roach colony setup as a supplemental food source to a pair of crested geckos. Roaches are easy to care for, don't make any noise, very nutritous... but, hard as hell for me to catch. My crested's seem to like them very much.
I'm planning on using a naturalistic vivarium type setup w/ an organic substrate. Looking to follow recipe mentioned on the site below. Plan on using the "Forest Floor" mix. Contains decomposing leaves, coconut fiber, & orchid bark.
http://www.livingunderworld.org/amphibianArticles/article0021.shtml
Questions:
1.) I plan on gutloading the roaches & dusting them w/ calcium before feeding. Should I consider keeping other feeders? Have you heard of anyone feeding them crested gecko diet/fruit as a supplement?
2.) The geckos are W.C. & have only been treated w/ panacur @ a 1/4 strength. Should I treat these geckos again (possibly w/ flagyl also)? Can I ask any vet for these drugs?
3.) Should I quarantine the geckos in a sterile (paper bag, plant, twigs, etc.) enclosure for a while (~30 days) before placing them in the naturalistic setup they will be in permantely to make sure their enclosure does not get infested w/ parasites?
4.) What's the average life span of a captive U. Phantasticus live (can't find it anywhere)?
5.) Can any suggest a bulb/lighting that will be beneficial for the geckos as well as one that will help the plants grow?
6.) I've read different places that some suggest more than one pair in one enclosure is believed to help to induce breeding. Seems that the aggression between the males causes 'activity' among the geckos. Does anyone know if this is true? Do you know of any that have had regular breeding success w/ just one pair?
7.) Is keeping the vivarium on a window sill a bad idea as this one available window gets direct sun the majority of the day? It's got a nice sill on it that will fit the 20 gal. 'tall' perfectly. Was thinking that's great for the plants... but, is this bad for geckos as it could quite possibly get over 80 deg. inside the tank. My apartment usually stays in the lower to mid 70's constantly, but the sunlight in the aquarium could possibly trap the heat...
8.) If the "Forest Floor" mixture as described above a proper substrate for the satanics? Should I have any concerns with this mixture? Anyone have any other suggestions for a good substrate?
9.) If the "Forest Floor" mixture is an appropriate one, does anyone have any suggestions for the type of tree leaf litter to pursue? Oaks are toxic (according to Anapsid). Any other suggestions?
Any help/comments/suggestions are appreciated for any of the above questions I've asked.
I'm looking forward to my new pets very much & want the best for them.
~Ben Guillaume
Ok, Ill start by saying good luck with geckos, they're really a joy to watch. Ill start with your questions directly then make a few comments afterwards.
1) Phantasticus are small geckos. Im sure you realize this but when I got my pair they were much smaller than I imagined they would be. This in mind, the roaches you feed will need to be small, and Im unsure of phantasticus jaw stength, but I dont imagine the exoskeleton of a small roach would be too much to handle, they can crush snail shells afterall. If they take to the roaches that should be fine as a staple, as far as other feeders, thats up to you though I would recommend getting snails for them when you can. Local land snails (check for toxicity beforehand) make an excellent calcium source and the phants will suprising eat them up if they catch their eye.
As far as feeding the crested gecko mixed diet, I dont believe I've heard of anyone trying it, and I dont personally think they would take it anyways. If they are feeding on roaches then I would stick with that.
2) Talk to a local vet (preferable a few, to compare) and see what they know about treating exotic and small animals. They should be able to get the medication for you, though before you treat your animals, get a fecal done. Any vet office should be able to do this for you, and if your into microbiology you can do it yourself.
3) As I understand from your post, you dont yet have your naturalistic enclosure set up yet. Which means you will have to have them in something else before hand. This is recommended anyways, and if you can house them seperately that is even better. You can monitor the health of each one individually, monitor stools and eating much easier.
As the naturalistic set up is concerned. It's really not as easy as you think. There is a lot to think about here. The lighting for the plants, pruning the plants, and the list goes on and on. My advice here is to set it up, and having it "running" for about a month before introducing the geckos to it. This should be enough time to make sure humidity and temperature levels are going to be maintained, as well as remove any plants that arent doing so well and so forth. Make sure you clean the plants extremely well before planting them in the vivarium as well.
4) No way of telling to be honest, depends on the age of the gecko when he was captured. In my best guess, a good while. There are people that have kept these geckos for quite a while and have had their geckos in captivity for quite some time (5 years I believe).
5) Lighting should depend pretty much completely on your choice of plants, whether they be high light or low light plants. The natural light that enters the room through windows will be sufficient for the geckos to have a day/night cycle. The gecko's themselves don't have an extreme use of UV rays, though I do believe they are occasionally found in the wild sleeping in direct sunlight.
6)A single pair should be fine for regular breeding success. On a side note, breeding phantasticus isn't all that difficult, given proper conditions they will typically breed. They difficult part is keeping the hatchlings alive. Especially for a person new to geckos. Agression between males may induce more "activity" but there is also a risk of serious damage being done to your gecko. A risk most keepers aren't willing to take.
7)The window sill is an extremely bad idea. The light coming through this window will quickly overheat the geckos in the tank. DO NOT PUT THE TANK ON THE WINDOW SILL.
8) That soil mixture should be fine. I personally use eco-earth or bed-a-beast. The only complaints I have with it is that it drys out oddly. The mix is likely a better option as it looks like it will retain moisture a bit better.
9) Ficus leaves are great for this. Find a home improvement store, walmart or similiar place that sells "tropical house plants" in the spring. (Should be in stores now) Ask them if they can keep any leaves that fall from the ficus trees or if you can gather up some yourself. Other than that, small leaves typically work best in my opinion.
Ok, any further questions feel free to ask them here or shoot me an email. As far as further suggestions. Let them settle in a bit before you really start to mess with them, and then once moved into the naturalistic set up, give them some more time. Make sure they get plenty of water as newly imported uroplatus have a tendancy to be dehydrated and especially phantsticus seem to dehydrate easily because of theyre small size.
When misting or watering the enclosure, try not to get the geckos themselves wet, basically dont intentionally soak the animals and make sure the water isnt too cold. Getting hit with water that is too cold can send the geckos into shock, ultimately resulting in their death.
Best of luck with them, and post some pics if you can.
-Dave
My crested's seem to like them very much.
