Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok guys, im just starting to think about Day Geckos, and i was looking for some general input on what type of species would be good for me.

I have a large planted vivarium with lots of live plants, vines, uvb lighting and two basking spots (one is 80-85degrees, the other is 85-90degrees) the bottom have of the cage is a cooler 75degrees.

Currently the tank houses two flying geckos, two green anoles, and a red eye tree frog.

I was thinking about adding a day gecko to the set up - the tank is large...the dimensions are odd so i dont know exactly what size it is...its aprrox 3ft long 3ft tall and almost 2 feet deep.

I've never owned a Day Gecko before - so i was wondering what, if any, species would be able to live in a set up like this? I would ideally like a hardy species, as its my first day gecko venture.

Any thoughts?
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

Hi -

When I kept day geckos, they were the only thing I kept in an enclosure. I'm not sure how they would do with other species. That issue aside, depending on the size of the enclosure there are a number of species you could consider.

Phelsuma grandis, standingi and laticauda are (to my way of thinking), great beginner species. All are hardy and colorful. All are easy to breed if you want to do that - in fact you may want to be prepared for all the babies that they are capable of producing!

Grandis and standingi both get large. Laticauda are much smaller. I have seen varying degrees of shyness among these three - my grandis always seemed to be the boldest and would take insects from my hand. I have never kept more than a pair of Phelsuma together. They are just too likely to beat each other up. I didn't even keep groups of standingi together, although I've heard they will tolerate each other. I'm not sure how this would translate to anoles, frogs or flying geckos, but I personally wouldn't try it unless I had other caging prepared.

Also - day geckos of the same sex (with the species I have dealt with) will harass each other until one is dead starting from a pretty young age. Adults will cannibalize babies (I have seen this with grandis in very large, well planted enclosures where the eggs were hidden until hatching).

Sorry to get long winded, but I wanted to be fairly thorough. If these are your first Phelsuma, I would definitely steer clear of cepediana (very, very shy and sensitive)and guimbeaui (same thing). If you have lots of space, I would go with grandis, less space and I'd go with laticauda.

Hope this is of some use.

Bill
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WJS Herps
Brooksville, Fl
Bill & Jennifer Smoot