[Blazesnake]

Hi
I'm thinking about getting a P.laticauda, ive never kept geckos before only snakes, can anyone who has kept these before give me any basic care info that is specific to this species, i have found basic day gecko care but it does not go into detail about the needs of individual species. (e.g. How much to feed and how often)

Although i imagine that temp and humidty would be the same for all but correct me if im wrong.

i plan to keep it in a exo terra 18" x 18" x 24" viv is this a good size or should i go bigger/smaller?

Thanks, Sam

[Gecko Ranch]

Bigger is always better, that size will work fine though! This arboreal, tropical gecko will eat two week old crickets as an adult and also fruit puree and/or Repashy MRPs. I provide either bamboo or PVC pipe just bigger than the gecko diagonally and, if you can manage, horizontally in the terrarium. I also like to use real plants, misting daily as Phelsuma like to drink the water droplets.

I am sure you can learn lots here about what books to get and more husbandry specifics by searching. There are some really great Phelsuma breeders on here so please ask if you have any specific questions!

[Blazesnake]

thanks, i have planned to use live plants but would i be better off using live potted plants in the substrate or just to use a soil substrate with a mossy layer on top to plant the plants in?

also what is the best way to heat them lightheat combination or heat mat under the viv?

[Gecko Ranch]

Originally Posted by Blazesnake

thanks, i have planned to use live plants but would i be better off using live potted plants in the substrate or just to use a soil substrate with a mossy layer on top to plant the plants in?

also what is the best way to heat them lightheat combination or heat mat under the viv?

Either way will do (I do both), using plants in a substrate is the best way to maintain moisture in the terrarium.

As far as heating/light goes, there are a number of ways to do that and none of them involves heat mats, those can burn their feet. The key is to provide a good bright light and and some heat, that can be through a fish-type bulb or a split combo of flourescent and halogen, it goes on and on. Perhaps Ingo will kind enough to explain current options and their cost on the European market.

[PhelsumaUK]

Heating depends somewhat on where your tank is positioned. It pays to set a tank up first and experiment with a thermometer before you get the geckos. When mine were in the house, I used a spot light and a UV tube to give them enough heat during the day. Nights got a bit cold, so I used a heatmat on the outside of the tank at the back which warmed the glass a little if they wanted it. The colour of the gecko is influenced by the quality of the light to some extent. I use 3 tubes per tank now, the Phillips TLD 950, the Activa 172 and the Reptisun 5.0, which give a reasonable quality light and the accumulative effect of so many tubes in the room mean that I have to cool the gecko room during the day rather than add additional heat. In the winter, the lower tanks get a couple of hours of spotlight just too bring the temps up first thing. You're aiming for a temp in the hight 20's-30degC near the basking position and a gradient away from this and a nighttime ambient temp of about 18degC..doesn't matter if it periodically drops below this at night though, so long as a cold night is followed by good temps during the day. Humidity needs to fluctuate between about 60-80%, which can be quite hard if you have central heating on in the house. The live plants and regular mistings will help this.

[Blazesnake]

to keep humidiyty consistent are there any automated misters or foggers for sale in the uk or are they bad idea?

[PhelsumaUK]

I saw a mister for sale not long ago in a UK shop but they only seem to be starting recently. Mine came from the States..which was a bad idea because of the customs charges! You can get them fairly easily from Holland. That said, for a single tank or just a few tanks, they're probably not worth it unless you are away from home overnight regularly. A spray from a garden mister 2-3 times a day in winter will help you get through it. For the rest of the year, you only need to spray morning and evening if you've got them in the house rather than in a specific gecko room (If you have a gecko room, you can raise the ambient humidity higher than you'd want in the living area)

[lil j]

im new to day geckos wat is a gd 1st day gecko?

[Blazesnake]

the one this thread is about is usually considered one of the best for a begginer but there are a few others like phelsuma lineata or is you want a larger species the Phelsuma Grandis is very nice, these tend to be the easiest to find and to keep, but keep looking there are plenty of day geckos.