Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi all.in a moment of weakness @ the repticon show in columbia yesterday,i purchased a pair of adult israeli dune geckos.now,i have the basics down,from what care sheets i could find thru google.i'm just looking for some tips or pointers from someone with first-hand experience with these little guys.
right now,they're set up on calci-sand,with multiple hides,a small water dish,and a basking light,the hot spot isn't quite 90 degrees.i'm going to let them settle in for a couple days,before i try feeding them.i'm going to start with small dusted crickets,maybe add in some mealies and wax worms on occasion.
does all this sound about right?am i missing anything?and lastly,how hard is it to stimulate successful breeding?thanks in advance!
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.2 cb baby razorback musks (way too cute)
0.0.1 cb baby eastern mud (also ridiculously cute)
0.0.1 cb reeve's turtle (george)
1.2 ltc eastern boxies
0.0.1 cb eastern box (this year's young 'un)
1.1 ltc eastern box breeders
0.1 cb'06 eastern box(nanners)
0.2 cb'08 kenyan sand boas(1 anery,1 normal)
1.0 cb '03 homo sapien(kaelan,6)
"jesus is coming-when i count to 3,everyone jump out and yell SURPRISE!!"

Most of it sounds about right. I have mine on regular play sand, and they seem to do fine. As for the wax-worms, let us know how they liked them. I can't seem to find any that are small enough around here to try as food. I generally stick to dusted crickets and phoenix worms (for extra calcium,) with the occasional small meal worm as a treat.

For the rest, getting the temps a little warmer will help once they start breeding, as they like to lay on the hotter end of the tank.

Depending on your set-up, you might have to get used to the fact that they just sprawl when they sleep, if you ever see them sleeping in a visible place. Other than that, they are lovely little geckos. Since you said you have a pair, you might get to hear them chirp to each other in courtship at some point.

after doing a fair amount of research (mainly google image),i have arrived at the conclusion that neither of the lizards i purchased as 'steno steno' are in fact that species.evidently,the male is 'steno doriae',and the female is 'steno petrii'.
mind you,these are just educated guesses,based on the assumption that the geckos in the pics google pulled up were in fact labeled correctly.
if so,and these geckos are in fact different species of steno geckos,do you think they might breed anyway?
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.2 cb baby razorback musks (way too cute)
0.0.1 cb baby eastern mud (also ridiculously cute)
0.0.1 cb reeve's turtle (george)
0.1 cb '09 eastern box (bella)
3.6 ltc eastern box breeders
0.1 cb'06 eastern box(nanners)
1.2 cb'08 kenyan sand boas(1 albino,1 anery,1 normal)
1.0 cb'08 jungle carpet
1.1 stenodactylus geckos
0.1 redeye croc skink
1.0 cb '03 homo sapien(kaelan,6)
"jesus is coming-when i count to 3,everyone jump out and yell SURPRISE!!"

Hi,

I have 1.9 stenodactylus geckos and have kept them successfully in a 20 long for 9 years (they range in age from 9 to one who hatched out in the tank in April). I keep them on play sand (about 1" depth) I have heat tape along the back of the tank and lots of cork bark hides. I keep two small water bowls as well as two damp hides--basically large water bowls filled with damp sand and covered with cork bark and position over the warm section of sand. Since these guys are so small, I'm careful that anything heavy is firmly seated. These guys are big time diggers!

I feed out pinhead crickets and dust with calcium (critical if you have juveniles and good also if you have females).

These guys are wonderful. They are communal, entertaining and if their basic needs are maintained, remarkably hardy.

Also if you spray the glass tank with water they like to lick the water off. However, they drink just as well out of a shallow water bowl.

If and when you get eggs, best bet is not to touch them, they are hard shelled and incredibly delicate. I do watch out for hatching out time and put a clear glass loaf pan in the tank for the babies, as the adults can eat the hatchlings. The clear loaf pan in the 20 long helped this year as I had just the one hatchling--these guys are incredibly social and do not seem to thrive alone. Babies will do fine in a separate tank as long as there are at least 2 of them. Babies need tiny foodstuff--tiny mealworms work well if you can't get small enough pinhead crickets. Mealworms are easy to breed--give yourself about 3-4 weeks and your beetles should have given you tiny mealworms you can feed out. Tiny crickets or tiny mealworms should be dusted every feeding for at least the first 6 months.

Finally, best bet is not to handle these guys, though over time as they settle you can scoop them. They are incredibly small though, so I only handle them to scoop them and move them as needed.

Hope this helps and enjoy these charming geckos.

S. petrii as most Stenos, are a very poly-morphic (producing various patterns, coloration, etc.) species. S. doriae is quite rare in wild and captive populations. You likely have two S. petrii. If in fact you have these two species, they likely will not breed. It would not be a good idea not to try either. Hybrid animals are of no real value and it is important to keep species separate and not pollute the gene pool. Inter-species breeding is a novel anomaly for some, but is a detriment to the species involved. It's important to keep them warm in the day (around 82F) with an under-tank heater, pull the plug at night but don't get lower than (70). *A neodymium black light is good for night-time hunting and to mimic moonlight. Good luck, if you can post pics, we could tell you the species.
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