Hello! and....Question About Phantasticus Enclosure. :)

luevelvet · #1 06-13-2009, 11:36 PM

Hello all,

I'm new to the boards and excited to have found a resource to assist us with successfully keeping Uroplatus. I'm not new too reptiles, having worked with a plethora of species in my time, however this is the first time we'll be jumping into Uroplatus.

I'm expecting a 4.2 of Phanasticus next week and in preparation for adequate housing I was curious if they can be kept in a vertical enclosure. At 70" tall, I thought it would make a gorgeous display and accommodate their arboreal preference, but it only has a 17 x 17 foot print. Do you think I can house 6 Phantasticus in such an enclosure? I wasn't sure how arboreal they are, but I can't imagine they wouldn't use the height and it would make for an interesting environment to observe them in. Different than the typical fish tank shape. I was thinking if using long dried grape vines with live taller plants with a coco fiber/soil mixture to hold the plants and assist with the humidity.

All aesthetics aside, I thought I would run the idea by a few of the experienced folks here to make sure I wasn't going down the wrong road.

Thank you for any input and I'm hope to one day repay the favor by being experienced enough to answer questions for other new comers.

Luis

luevelvet · #2 06-14-2009, 08:33 AM

We're looking at something similar to this, water proofed of course.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Luis

jadrig · #3 06-15-2009, 11:30 PM

Put it on its side and it will be a better set up...

I personally would not put them in such an enclosure so big...you will not be able to keep up with them either...

Also, I would not steer anyone away from attempting to keep/breed the species, but getting 6 at once is biting off more than you can chew...

I think it is better to aquire them individually...but if you have the patientce and resources go for it...

When you aquire them, you should keep them seperate for a couple months to ensure that they are all eating what you are offering to them.

luevelvet · #4 06-16-2009, 08:50 AM

Thank you for the advice. I realize it's not the norm to get so many at once, but I'm an experienced reptile keeper and these are LTC specimens. I don't want to jinx myself, but I feel confident that I can do it. Last night we decided to house them in a planted 65 gal. I would still like to utilize the enclosure in some way, but we'll see how everything pans out first. Again, you're right, 6 new uroplatus is a lot to deal with and I don't want to confuse things with unconventional housing.

Thanks again, all opinions and advice is certainly appreciated!

Luis

jadrig · #5 06-17-2009, 01:33 AM

Also, i feel that the quarantine process is often overlooked because with this species, similar to dart frogs, people feel the need to have an extremely elaborate enclosure...

This is fine, if thats their perogative, but I believe they should be quarantined for at least a month or two. If not for anything, just to make sure that they are ALL eating what you are feeding them.