[downthebeatenpath]

Hey guys, so I've been waiting forever, and now that I finally have a good source of income, I want to make the jump to uro's, my question is what do you guys think is a good starting uro to get. I would prefer a smaller species, but a bigger one is ok too, the ones I am really interested in are the phantasticus and lineatus. Let me know what you guys think, thanks.

[deaxone]

most ppl would suggest guentheri or henkeli as a starter uro but if youve kept reptiles before and are willing to put the research in i think youd be fine with any of them,
its not like uros are alot more work than say crestys its just fine tuning the care requirements,
just get stats on heat sources as most uros dont do well in 85 and up,
if your getting wc be prepared for a fatality,sometimes you could have the best care meathods but wc have been on a long shipment and stressed to the eye balls,so it can happen,
apart from the fact cb are more reliable, wc animals usualy cant be traced to a individual part of madagasgar so you are taking animals from what may be a small breeding pool of a locale or sub species,
i try and steer clear of wc but sometimes wc are sold as cb,im pretty sure my lineatus were wc in march,but i bought them at hamm as cb,
it saddens me to know how many wc are being shipped to the states,where they can still be picked up pretty cheap,so all sorts of rookies must have them,probably most of the americans that are having breeding success are on here,which considering the numbers shipped to the states just isnt enough,
unfortunitely with so many holes in our knoledge on the genus who knows what effect the wc market is having on the sustainability of the relatilely shallow pools of individual species in madagasgar,

sorry to rant but sometimes i wonder if we might see some species/locales extinct in our lifetime,

[Justin]

Originally Posted by deaxone

not like uros are alot more work than say crestys its just fine tuning the care requirements

Not sure I'd agree with that, if you haven't got the knowledge or equipment to deal with the temp requirements of the genus then you can be in a lot of trouble. All it takes is one hot summer day with no sufficient way to cool them down and you've lost an entire colony.

For a number of reasons, husbandry-wise crested's are a lot more forgiving than Uroplatus and you can get away with a lot more mistakes.

[deaxone]

fair point m8,
what i meant was its not like they are realy much more work than say crestys,i believe that its mostly preperation in terms of research and getting the right equipment and tank set up etc,
downthebeatenpath has obviously kept different stuff before and as long as research is done i dont see why ppl have to start with a guentheri or henk,
if someone ddnt know that hot days are a problem,then they obviously havnt done the legwork in the first place,
but as you say its always worth reiterating that you want to find the coolest place in the house to set your tank up and monitor temps before purchasing any animals,
saying that im over here in london and im in a cool house,i cant vouch for temps in the states,its very true that they arnt as forgiving as rhacs,but a close eye and plenty of research should be sufficient for an experienced herper,
no?

[Calfirecap]

Yes many people would say that henkeli are less difficult than some of the others, but space considerations are often times left out of the discussions. Henkeli require much more space than say phants, so depending upon what your space limitations are, the little ones may be easier. Either way, have your cage or cages preped will in advance of your Uroplatus acquisition and if you end up with WC animals and are going to treat for parasites, have a back up vivarium set up for rotation. No matter what you do, there is going to be stress on the animals. Excessive parasites are stressful, as is treating them, as is rotating them through different cages during deparasitation. Quarantining newly acquired Uroplatus is also important and should be done in a simular naturalistic enclosure as you plan to perminently house them in.

Lawrence

[Justin]

I think the reason most people including myself would recommend a henkeli or a guentheri as a ‘starter’ Uroplatus is that they are more tolerant of temp/humidity variants than the others and are generally hardier geckos.

As you say, research, preparation and close eye will go a long way but for most inexperienced keepers who want to get into Uroplatus because they have seen photos (not saying that is you downthebeatenpath – so please don’t take offence) , the level of vigilance they will need and willingness to accept losses especially with WC’s will be a hard learning curve.

As I’ve said in other posts, if they were an easy captive there would be a lot more in the hobby.

So I’d still recommend a henkeli or guentheri to someone who hasn’t kept Uroplatus before.

[downthebeatenpath]

Thanks guys, yes, obviously much research is required, I do that with all my herps, I just wanted a general idea of what would be a good starter rather than researching every species, just to narrow my results. No matter what I get they are going to be down in the basement where my room is where it never gets warmer than 75 (very rare occasion only when its like 105 out, so pretty much never), usually it's around 70. As for size, I would like to get a smaller species just because as you can see from my sig, I have a lot right now and it's getting a little crowded down here, however, if need be I could go larger, like I said the two I'm most interested in is lineatus and phantasticus, I do like henkeli though.

[deaxone]

well as said above,henkeli and lineatus will both need plenty of space,
i had no idea how big lineatus got,id never seen one in person before i got mine,

[Justin]

Originally Posted by downthebeatenpath

I would like to get a smaller species just because as you can see from my sig, I have a lot right now and it's getting a little crowded down here.

I know you said if needs be you could go bigger but would it not be better to chose a Uroplatus for it's suitability rather than but what will fit in the cramped basement?

[jadrig]

Henkels or Mossies would be your best bet...

If you live in the US, it would be tough to get a hold of guentheri, plus you can get a pair of anything else for the same price as an individual of that species.

I was walking down the hall at Duke University, where I work part time now, and I heard a bunch of crickets chirping...

I looked in the office and saw an inverted, hexagonal, well planted tank.

I stepped in and saw a pair of Mossies...I was suprised.

The guy who owned them actually had like 8 offspring that he produced...they were all adults too.

I was suprised with this because as common as mossies are, you dont hear of too many people having success with breeding them and raising the offspring to adulthood...

I ve had WC mossies in the past and they are real easy as long as you can keep the humidity up.

They can eat a lot for their size too.