Oscar is back!!

donkeykong · #1 11-29-2009, 11:53 PM

Hello everyone, it has been a while. A little recap of who I am.

My name is Sal, about 7 months ago I bought my niece a AFT gecko. She had just recieved all straight A's and was wanting a pet. She had grown bored of her hermit crabs and a dog was out of the question. She had been doing really well with the little guy but no fault of hers things in our lives have gotten complicated for my family. After a healthy little discussion she agreed that taking care of him was beginning to be a little much for her that we should take him back. Well having gotten attached to the little guy myself and the fact that it wasn't really her fault that she was having a hard time with him, I decided to keep him at my house so she still could come and visit him.

Now the back story is filled here we are, he is about a year old just under 7" and doing well. Me being me, I tend to get a little carried away with whatever I do. I am not happy with his current 10gal tank. I like for any animal I have to not just live but thrive. So I have been thinking about a 20 long for him, a couple of live plants and maybe a second level for him to roam. But I was also thinking about some tankmates for the guy. I was thinking of going with a 30 long and adding a female. I hear that they can be a little over zealous with the females and stress them out. Is this true? What If I get 2 females, will that help? Still just bouncing ideas around in my head, and wanted to get some outside opinions. Below are a couple of pics of him currently.

GeckoGirl1990 · #2 11-30-2009, 01:29 AM

before you add females, consider if you are ready to house fat tailed gecko babies/ incubate the eggs. thats a whole other story

otherwise your intentions sound awesome! but keep in mind that these guys aren't the most active geckos... a 20g long would be plenty of room for one fat tail and a second level probably would never be used...
their favorite activity is sleeping =P

donkeykong · #3 11-30-2009, 01:41 AM

yes, the only activity he ever does in the cage is hunt for crickets. I let him roam around on a blanket and he will roam around just long enough to find a warm dark spot then he sleeps again. I am kicking around the idea of females, simply to maybe see a little more activity. But I am afraid it will all be at 3am. I was thinking about a 55gal and mixing something else like a turtle or something on one side. I am use to having saltwater tanks were I had 12 different fish, starfish, hermit crabs, shrimp, and 20 different corals. It is a little weird having this tank, and hopefully a larger tank soon, with just one animal...that doesn't really move around all that much.

BlackIrisReptiles · #4 12-02-2009, 11:30 PM

Na, mixing species is never really a good idea.
He's always going to be that lazy, unfortunately, most geckos just aren't active during the day. There's not much you can do lol.

The best thing is to keep him in a 20 or something like that and just decorating it so that's it's pretty for you (while giving him his proper hides and all that good stuff, of course). I've had to come to grips with that with some of my leos, who just never really come out except when the house is pitch black. But I've had fun decorating their tanks with desert plants and rocks and making it something that I enjoy seeing, while at the same time making it something that they'll enjoy exploring at night.

GeckoGirl1990 · #5 12-03-2009, 02:14 AM

well stated!

donkeykong · #6 12-03-2009, 11:13 AM

I think I have come to terms with this. I plan on going with a 20 long, and just setting it up as aesthetically pleasing to the eye but still a safe and comfortable home for him. Once that is done, if I still have the urge I can start a second tank with something else.

Saille · #7 12-04-2009, 12:17 AM

Oscar is sure a beautiful male! I think you've gotten very sound advice. I had to separate Burgerbutt from my female so she could rest and quit laying eggs. I got 6 beautiful hatchlings, 4 of which I've sold to excellent homes that give me updates on how the kids are doing. I've debated not breeding the fatties this year because I am very picky about homes they go to and our market in the Pac NW is difficult at best for selling geckos right now.
I do think my fatties are the most mellow and lazy of all my lizards, but they're great to hang out and watch TV with!

newtogeckos · #8 12-06-2009, 06:37 AM

Gorgeous gecko.
That's the exact kind I wanted to get, except it would've cost me a lot.

donkeykong · #9 12-06-2009, 02:49 PM

I got him from a local breeder for $99. She works at a local pets store and sells her stock through the store.