Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I are keepers and collectors of herps and tarantulas in general. We have 36 tarantulas of 21 species, 16 snakes of 8 species, and 11 lizards of 7 species. Although we've only had herps for 11 months, both of us have had previous experience of 2-8 years of care. We're not new to properly caring for our animals. I'm not here for any arguments, sacastic remarks, or other ridiculous comments from those who are not trying to truly help. (I've gotten WAY TOO MANY annoying responces on Kingsnake from idiotic keepers).

So onto why I'm here. There's a pair of Tokays at a reputble store near my home. The guy I deal with doesn't know how to sex them, but he trusts the dealer he purchased from and says they are 75%+ a true pair. They are 5-6" long and B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Tony has wanted a Tokay for awhile now, so I want to get them for his birthday - we have 1 month before that, and the guy will hold onto them for us until then, so we have a little bit of time to get everything set up and research them a bit more before they come home.

We'll build them a cage, and will likely want it to be a live terrarium that will need little extra-upkeep (normal cleaning of fecal matter and such). What dimentions would be good for this? What would be the best plants to include for these? And would a container for the feeders be good, or free-roaming crickets/roaches/etc? Also, how mmuch ventalation would be best for them? I want to think about making the top screened and have screened holes in the sides as well, but...

Also, how long will it take for them to get full grown if they have the ideal habitat and food (they are 5-6" right now)? At what size might they start breeding? What suggestions would you suggest to be prepared for the breeding season to make sure she'll be able to lay and the eggs be viable if fertalized? I've read up on this, but I just want to see what YOU will say.

Also, what are NOT good foods for them? What are the most common mistakes you see that I can avoid?

Thanks for all your help!

~Krystie

ps - if I do say something stupid, please respond respectfully - otherwise I'll likely ignore all you say cuz I refuse to deal with jerks anymore. Too frustrating. Thankyou for your consideration.

I agree there is alot of jerks on here.

Cages size, I honestly was going to build a cage for mine that was somewhere around 3feet wide x 3feet deep x 4feet tall. Everyone has their own opinion. You can make it as big as you want or as little as you want. Mine breed in a 24x18x24. I would love to get them a bigger cage but right now I dont have the room. You can experiment with ventilation. I try and keep my between 60-80%. So a good 3-5 inch substrate with live plants will help alot and misting once or twice a day too will help alot. I would probably make the whole top screen and if you need more you can add it. But that is all up to you on how you want to set it up. . maybe a small vent in the back or front to help with air flow. I use pothos. . phothos(spelling?) I'm going to go threw and revamp my cages and use snake plant and maybe umbrella plant, maybe mother-in-laws tongue.

Food. I just let mine free feed. I dont use containers unless I'm feeding some kind of worms so they cant dig into the dirt. They will pretty much eat anything you put in front of them. They are not to picky of eaters thats for sure. People say if you put to small of bugs in there they wont eat. I watched mine go ape sh*t over ants once that tried setting up nest in the cage with them. I wish I had a video camera it was great.

Mature size. I'm not sure of this. I dont know if maybe Ingo or Kev over at NERD knows. A friend of mine is raising some females up to see how long it takes. It seems it can take between one and a half to two years. Maybe one of the other guys knows for sure but I dont. I keep a container of calcium in the cage so she can eat it as she sees fit. And she tares it up too.

Thats pretty much all I can think of. If you need anything else you can feel free to email me. I'll help with whatever I can. Tokays are my favorite gecko and WAY underrated. One of the coolest things about them is they guard their eggs and young. Whenever you try to get the babys they will run under the parents and they definitely make sure you stay away.

Good luck,
Blake

It sounds like you're not gonna have any problems with Tokays as they're one of the most durrable lizards I know of. That being said they can survive just about anything but can become incredable captives with a little more.

Cage size.
I think a pair could be comfortably housed in a 2x2x3tall. If you have the means they won't mind as big as possible. I think 2x3x6 would be awesome and you could certanly keep a trio. Blakes right I would vent it on the top somewhere and somewhere lower down to keep some circulation. Pothose are about the best plant you could use and would hold up to a large active gecko. search "safe plants for reptiles" and you could use just about anything.

Growth and reproduction.
I have personaly raised numerous tokays to adulthood and it takes about 1.5 to 2 years from a baby to a "fully functioning" adult, around 8". I have fed tokays suplimented crickets thier whole lifes and not had any problems. I currently feed suplimented crickets and dubia roaches. When raising young I feed them as much as they can eat and keep them in the 1x1x18? exoterra. If a female is not old enough and is constantly laying eggs she will run into calcium deficencies. Make sure she is of good size and healthy weight.

I'll post more latter as I have to make it to a ski movie now
Nate