Reptile & Amphibian Forums

once again, im new to the world of phelsuma, but i was just wondering what makes a crimson giant? are these guys just the result of selective breeding? thanks

yeah for the most part. its kinda like a powder blue standings. it probably has a little to to with environment,dominance, and food( i know paprika helps bring out the reds in arrow frogs, although ive never tried it with geckos). But im thinking that its like 90-95% genetic.

To bring out naural colors there is a spray made by Nature Zone called Liquid Color. It comes in a few color varieties and for my standing's I bought the one for blue thru green. You spray it on their food or in their water dish and weeks later their natural colors should begin to become more vivid. I wouldn't buy the red and give it to a standing's to see if it makes a crimson giant though.

If you want to go a more natural route, I also have heard that putting bee pollen in their fruit will also bring out their beautiful colors. I haven't actually tried it, but it's supposed to work.
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Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
3.3.1 P. standingi (too many to name!)

Crimson giants occur naturally but are local specific in Madagascar but have also been bred by the selective breeding of high red grandis. Many people advertise crimson giants but to me a crimson not only has a lot of red but also the red chevron bands. I would not recommend adding anything to a phelsumas diet to improve color unless it is proven safe. I doubt food has anything to do with it because people are breeding crimsons without food adatives.
-Matt