Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm wondering how many folks agree with the caresheets I've read that the crocodile gecko does not require UV bulbs since it's supposedly nocturnal.
I kept one of these a long time ago with UV and would like to get pair of them again, now. For reasons I won't bother getting into, it would be logistically easier to keep them without the UV bulb but I am nervous about doing so.
Has anyone here kept these guys without UV? Success/Failure? Input?

Thanks
MP

I've not kept Croc Geckos, but I do keep Fat Tails, who are also nocturnal. I don't use UV. Any bright light will actually stress them if they don't have someplace to hide away from it. Nocturnal animals sleep during the day and the light will only keep them awake, stressing them. I keep an incandesent red bulb on 24/7. They don't see the color red, and at the same time the enclosure is still using the heat from the bulb. Hope this helps.

Quig

>>I'm wondering how many folks agree with the caresheets I've read that the crocodile gecko does not require UV bulbs since it's supposedly nocturnal.
>>I kept one of these a long time ago with UV and would like to get pair of them again, now. For reasons I won't bother getting into, it would be logistically easier to keep them without the UV bulb but I am nervous about doing so.
>>Has anyone here kept these guys without UV? Success/Failure? Input?
>>
>>Thanks
>>MP

I got a one of these as a rescue about a month ago. He was a juvi with a missing tail and missing the front left foot. When I got him he was 4.5 grams, now he is up to nearly 8. He is in a 10 gal with paper towel substrate and a number of rock slabs stacked to make lots of crevices. I have been using only an ordinary 60 watt bulb for both heat and light. Feeding has been daily with only crickets so far, dusted twice a week with Fluker's Repta-Vitamin, all other days with calcium.

My opinion is that UV is unnecessary if proper supplementation is used. Granted I have only had him a month, but he is growing remarkably well. Many Phelsuma keepers use supplements instead of UV for proper Vitamin D levels, if day geckos can do without UV then certainly Tarentola can.

I would just add that I think light intensity is a factor as well, that is, even though they will likely spend the daylight hours hiding in a crevice, I happen to think that having light levels bright enough to mimic natural daylight in their part of the world is beneficial to them on a "psychological" level, if you know what I mean.
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Chris

2.0.0 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
0.0.1 Tarentola mauritanica
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

well put. i would have to agree that some form of mimicking day time lighting is definately helpful atleast in establishing a " day" and a "night" time for your geckos. calcium ( with d3 if not using a u/v lamp) a varied diet, proper husbandry, and low stress levels are key.

I will go as far as saying UV never hurts. Most commercial UV bulbs are fairly low in UV output so "burn" is very rare. I provide UV for all my reptiles, nocturnal or not. My tokay likes basking under UV/heat and hes as nocturnal as they get. The way I see it, in the wild they have UV. Whether they hide from it or not is their choice. Most nocturnal animals come out for sparse periods during the day and can get more UV out of sunlight in 20 minutes than a day of most "bulbs". For them its usually enough to properly synthesize vitamins, although many say that D3 supplement is enough. I have no opinion on that issue, but I know that 30$ for a UV bulb cant hurt.