Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! Im wondering what kind of tree is good for the Uroplatus henkeli. Was thinking about collecting some sticks and branches from the forest before the snow comes. Should the barch be smooth or rough? What about the diameter? And if I´m not wrong the colour should be dark so the animal can camouflage in to it? So what is the imitation closest to their normal environment? Please it would be nice if you also could put in the latin names. To help you out I can tell that my location is Finland, so we can count out many of the trees from the warmer/southern parts of europe and the states.

And then over to the forestfloor-substrate. moss? deadleaves? sticksnstones? dry? moist?

I´m going to try to build the background of a mixture of Sikacem 830, peatmoss and some other interesting organic substrate.

It's late so I'll just make a quick comment on one of the questions...

In my experience, henkeli prefer smoothed bark, thinner branches... Just over the width of their body...
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Ben

i agree. a rule of thumb when planning a Uro tank with regards to branching that seems to work for me is to use oak, maple or apple; hard woods won't rot as fast, and the diameter should be about the same size as their necks. also, i've noticed most of the uro's don't much like to have their fingers touch when they are holding on to the branches.

well, i think the branches you use are simply a matter of preference. i like to use oak (Quercus spp.) branches because of the nice mosses and lichens that grow on them. it seems to add to the look of the enclosure. i dont think you necessarily have to get any bark pattern that matches your gecko, although it might just look cooler if you did. roughness of the bark is also a matter of taste, mine are smooth for the most part as that's the way oak branches (not trunk bark) tend to be. you're probably gonna want to use some kind of hardwood as i think they should last better against molding and rotting, as the natural course of things should be as you leave a dead stick in some dirt. i would recommend letting the branches dry for a couple days to 2 weeks so they dont start popping up bows, cracks, and fungi. the branches i use are about equal in size to maybe 2x the size of the geckos. for the floor substrate you can use just dirt, i use peat moss. my henkeli rarely take trips to the bottom of the enclosure, 99% of the time when they do it's a female laying eggs. of course, if you add dead leaves and whatnot, it will give the female a lil more security for her eggs. dried moss can work just the same.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Ok, thank you very much for sharing your information and knowledge.
Why I asked about the colour was that I in some other forum (can´t remember wich one) that the animal might get stressed if the colour of the floor/bottom substrate is too light in colour.

By the way, have anyone tried the stem from sea buckthorn(Hippophaë rhamnoides)? Ofcourse I mean dead bushes and with the all the thorns removed. If im not totally wrong the wood should be hard and strong. Also the look of their roots is pretty wild and organic.

i looked up pictures of that and honestly it doesnt seem like too good of a choice for a couple of reasons. first of all, those branches/stems dont look all that thick. remember you're gonna want some branches that are around the same width as your geckos. second of all, those branches do not look smooth at all, and it really looks like a heavily branched plant, so you're not gonna get the smoothness unless you dry it out and sand it all down.

i would try to just cut down some branches from the backyard.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Yep you are right. The sea buckthorn isn´t smooth at all.
Forgot that.:/
Just thought of it as a good idea when I was thinkin about what hardwood I have in this area. The thickness on the other hand might be enough. Depends on how the bush have grown and how old it is. The pictures on the web seems mostly to be delicate closeups of the
berries hanging on thin branches.

But yes I think it could be easier for me and better for the animals if I look for something more safe and common. Oak,apple and maple is no problem.

If the branches should be as thick as the henkelis neck then how thick is that?

mine seem to do well on branches around 2 to 3 inches in diameter. although, if you go on the width of the neck, it would be closer to 1 inch, which i would say would be too small for the branches required by a full-sized henkeli.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina