African Fat Tails; humditiy?

Jheuloh · #1 04-13-2010, 07:28 PM

I've come into confusion regarding African fat tailed geckos; are these the kind of creatures which do best in a high-humidity environment, or are humid dens what African fat tail geckos do best with? The various caresheets I've read don't clearly state which of the two types of humidity provisions are acceptable, if one of the options isn't appropriate, and some have even stated that either option can be used. The general notion seems to be a generally humid atmosphere is best, but the humid-den option mentioned on some caresheets adds a level of confusion for me.

acpart · #2 04-13-2010, 09:22 PM

As far as I can tell, fat tails do not need an extremely high humidity environment like tropical day geckos (where it can be 80%), but do need more humidity than leopard geckos, for example. I think your best bet is to mist their cage a few times a week. I keep my fat tails in a planted tank on coco fiber. I mist most days because they seem to like to lick the water drops, but I could go down to 3 times a week (I also have to keep the plants watered). I provide a lay box which doubles as a humid hide. It doesn't hurt to provide a humid hide as well. When I have fat tails in quarantine on tile I mist the cage 2-3 times a week. I also mist the babies which I had in a rack last season a few times a week.

Aliza

geckofactory · #3 05-07-2010, 03:04 AM

As acpart said, it's not like they need a tropical environment, but you're good to go with a humidity of 50% - 70% during the day, and between 65% and 80% by night. Also, for simulating the dry season over winter, you can drop the humidity to 40% - 50% by day for about two months. (like, beginning november ending januar)

I have a part of the enclosure covered with terrarium moss, it covers the humidity pretty good, if you don't have plants in it. (Plants keep the humidity high as well)

yours,
Fabrizio

Samajade · #4 05-08-2010, 10:42 AM

They need the humidity in their enclosure to be 50-80% ?? I mist every single night and the humidity in there (a 10 gallon tank) is usually around 20%. Even after misting it doesn't go over about 35%. This, you're saying, is bad for them? They do have a humid hide, I will test the humidity in there; I'm quite sure it's a lot higher. That's not enough? The entire enclosure needs to be 50-80%?

geckofactory · #5 05-09-2010, 04:07 PM

20% average humidity is by far not enough. Even if you have a higher humidity in a wetbox, it still can cause shedding issues, since your gecko won't be in the box all the time.
So you're using an aquarium? Because in that case it's no wonder you can't keep the humidity up, since it escapes upwards (from what I can tell).
Could you tell us (and show some pictures) how your tank is set up?

acpart · #6 05-09-2010, 04:32 PM

I am having no problems maintaining fat tails in an aquarium under the following conditions (all of which aid in raising humidity). I think 80% is excessive for fat tails:
--20 long with coco fiber
--live plants to maintain humidity
--fairly large water bowl
--misting nearly daily

Aliza

geckofactory · #7 05-09-2010, 05:17 PM

80% is the maximum at night I try to get in the cage.
Having plants in there is a great way of keeping humidity high, I forgot to mention that before, thanks acpart.
About the aquarium: that was just what I experienced, I'm using terrariums usually, so I didn't use aquariums a lot.

yours,
Fabrizio

Samajade · #8 05-12-2010, 04:19 PM

Sorry for the delay in responding ... battling a *nasty* case of strep throat...

Okay, will get a pic of their tank and post it. In the meantime, they are teensy still, so are currently in a 10 gallon aquarium with screen top. I have eco-carpet down with a double layer of paper towels on top that gets changed daily. There's an UTH on one side and over that are 2 hides - one with nothing in and one with sphagnum moss in that I rewet nightly. The cool side has a hide and the water bowl. I expect to be switching to a tile floor very soon.

I will test this out, but I THINK the humidity is actually a bit higher when the reading is taken about mid-level rather than where the probe is now (on the floor over the heat pad).

Dunno if this matters, but I went to feed last night and one of my girls was completely white except for her entire face and forehead, where the shed was peeling back. I watched her and she shed the entire thing with no problems at all. Looked at her afterward and I don't see signs of anything left over on toes, tail tip etc either. So does it mean anything as far as the humidity in the tank if she didn't have any trouble shedding?