[Elizabeth Freer]

Northern Velvet Gecko Habitat, Husbandry, & Breeding Recommendations
ElizabethFreer@aol.com
Geckos Unlimited/Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society/Global Gecko Association
29 February 2012 (amended)

Tank -- 10 gallon horizontal tank: enough room for a 1.1 pair. Nice space even for just a single adult.

Screen top -- Four Paws heavy duty, not hinged

Substrate -- 100% cocopeat fiber or mixed cocopeat with peat moss 50/50. Do not use ANY sand in the substrate. You could continue to use paper towels for a while. I think it is easier for young northern velvets to find their crickets and not ingest any substrate using paper towels.

Cork bark -- relatively flat and large piece to lean up against the back of the tank, almost side-to-side, almost top-to-bottom. The advantage to NOT glueing down the cork bark is that it provides refuge on either side for these geckos! As well, that facilitates habitat upkeep. For pressed cork squares: http://www.widgetco.com/1-2-inch-12m...FUoZQgod_SyXSA and 30 foot cork rolls: http://www.widgetco.com/cork-rolls

(WidgetCo---USA: 1-800-877-9270 Squares come with adhesive from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick as well as in 30 foot cork rolls in varying widths and some different thicknesses 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch thick, no adhesive.)

For Zoo Med cork products: http://www.amazon.com/Cork-Sheets-Pl...N%3DB001ACPP4I

Clamp lamp & overhead heating -- 10” Fluker Farms’ clamp lamp comes with holes around the edge that can be utilized for fastening this lamp to the screen top with twistie ties. Cover only one half the tank with the clamp lamp to give your geckos a thermal gradient. Use a 40 watt red or incandescent bulb maximum, or perhaps a 30-60 watt ceramic heat emitter on a rheostat, and on a timer.

On the 28 Feb 2012 the Ocs were hanging out right beneath their 40 watt basking lights. The temperatures there as measured by a PE-2 temp gun were: 94 F, 88 F, 97 F, and 95.5 F. Since they all have cool sides of their 10 gallon horizontal tanks, they seem to prefer these warmer temperatures . I have the heat cycle on 12 hours and off 12 hours. The room lows get to about 68 F. Hope this helps!

Thermometer -- digital! PE-2 temperature guns are extremely handy. Dial/analog thermometers can be very inaccurate!

Water dish -- ~3” diameter with pebbles to keep crickets from drowning

Coconut shell hide

Paper towel tube hide -- 12”. They love snuggling in it!

Rock -- 3” or so

Driftwood -- several good pieces for climbing

Spray bottle -- NEVER mist and feed at the same time to prevent any chance of substrate ingestion !

Sturdy clear drinking/bar glass -- to contain Blaptica dubia feeders

Rep-Cal’s Phosphorus-Free Calcium with D3 (ultrafine powder) for lightly dusting the crickets no more than 2-3x per week. For breeding adult females leave a small dish of pure calcium in the cage for free access.

Rep-Cal’s Herptivite with Beta Carotene (Multivitamins) –- Use twice a month.

Adult weight -- A good weight for adult Oedura castelnaui is 15-26 grams.

FEEDERS:
Crickets -- Feed adult northern velvet geckos 2 one-half inch (~4 wo) crickets every other night. Juveniles and subadults should be fed appropriately-sized smaller crickets just about every night. Lightly dust the prey 2-3x per week with calcium with D3. Use Herptivite much less frequently.

Blaptica dubia -- An excellent, nutritious feeder for northern velvet geckos

BREEDING SUGGESTIONS:
Brumation -- Oedura castelnaui breeding benefits from cooling. Brumation Guidelines for Oedura castelnaui: USA...by Jerry Peebles

Nestbox -- Cut a hole the size of a USA quarter on one end of the lid of a rectangular pint-sized Rubbermaid container. Fill this container 2/3rds full with a 50/50 mixture of Jurassic Sand and cocopeat fiber dampened to the consistency of butter cut into flour . Might need redampening during the breeding season. Once the eggs have been buried, gently remove them and place half-buried in some incubation medium such as Seramis and place in your incubator.

Incubation temperatures --