[filecore]

Hi, I'm pretty new to keeping lizards of any sort, but instead of posting in the noob forum, I thought I'd post here as my questions are all Hemidactylus-specific. I'm wanting to get one of these beautiful little creatures, and I've been doing a hell of a lot of research on the internet over the past few weeks, but I have a few practical questions first:

1) I found general info on how often and what the gecko should be fed - although I realise it varies, I'd like to get an idea of what to budget for. How long could I expect, say, 1kg of mealworms to last? Related to that, how many mealworms per day and/or crickets per day should I generally budget for?

2) UVB. Some people say nocturnal species like Hemidactylus don't need it, others say it helps their health. I agree with the latter. Some also say to change bulbs every six months. Do you guys agree with this information?

3) Probably lots of other stuff that I've forgotten - I'll post follow-up questions as and when. Thanks for your help and your patience with a gecko noob!

[Uroplatus]

Welcome!

Generally the genus Hemidactylus has a large circulationarea/district in nature. Also the size varied strongly of species to species. Therefore would be a preselection recommended.

Do you like big geckos or little buggers?
Buggers from arid habitats or more rainforest species?

You find a selection of photos for example on Global Gecko Association or here in the forum over the search function. I can recommend you as entrance Hemidactylus t. triedrus, its a very simple species to keep and breed, particularly beautiful. I feed my Hemidactylus daily or each second day small quantities. I do not feed flourworms/mealworms. The main food consists of crickets and grasshoppers. I use tubes with easy UV portion. Some species live rather hidden, some come also to sunbathing outside. In the forum you find descriptions of attitude also resuming to Hemidactylus and photos of enclosures. Use simply the search function.

You find photos of my animals also in my Photobucket album!
Greetings!

[filecore]

Oops, I should have maybe more specific - something small and fast, along the lines of House Gecko or Leaf-Toed Gecko. I'm not bothered about handling it, I'm happy to observe. Something small, 3-5" is fine (6-12cm).

[filecore]

4) Moisture/humidity - I've read that it should be kept at around 65% humidity, I know this comes down to each specific case or design but in general, how often (and for how long) should I add moisture to the terrarium? How often/much do the geckos need to drink?

I really would like an answer to this UVB thing; do I need one for nocturnal geckos? Some sites say a simple incandescent bulb for basking along with a wall-mounted heat mat will do fine.

5) What should the temperature gradient be between one side of the cage and the other? Should I have a vertical gradient as well as a horizontal one? I've heard the average temperature should be 25'C in the daytime (with an incandescent bulb providing a hotspot of about 30'C), and between 20-24'C at night.

Other suggestions welcome!