[rhacoboy]

Hi All,
I'm planning my set-ups for my U. Ebenaui trio's. They will be in 18x18x24" Zoo Med's. I plan on using several different draceana plants, as well as small branches. I will also have cork backgrounds in each cage. Is it true that people say they like to hide under bark? I picked up quite a bit of cork bark today because of my expected Ebenaui, but I was wondering how you guys suggest placing them.

For my Phant. pairs, I will be using 18x18x24" Zoo Med's as well. Small, full, umbrella plants in each cage with some vines and think branches I collected. Do you guys think this will suffice? Let me know what you guys think.

Pictures would also be great!

Thanks!
-Armen

[gekkoterra]

Cork bark is of no real interest to either of these species. Bark backing is not important to their behavior either. Maybe for looks; photographic sheets of tropical ecosystems (often sold in aquatics departments) covering 2 sides of the enclosure ad a virtual DEPTH (unlike a solid backing) as well as a sense of security. They prefer to hide under leaf litter, but if not available, they will hide under what ever is on the floor (if they choose to sleep there). Umbrella plants require more light than these geckos do. Ficus benjamina is great plant species for both phantasticus and ebenaui and does well in low light conditions (however a few hours of indirect sun is beneficial to geckos and ficus). Ficus; live and dead is the all star plant. Dead twigs (from almost any species of tree), with leaves still attached, planted in the substrate are favored. Though from Madagascar also they don't typically frequent Draceana sp.'s either. Thick branches are are usually only used for transportation or if they don't have a better "perch" option. They really just like to hang out in plain sight like a dead leaf for 20+ hours, only moving to hunt and breed . So the twigs should be around the same thickness as their arms or legs. Hope this helps, I know it's a bit different from what you've started. Here are photo's of their general routine. Couldn't upload images of their vivariums. Best to you and your geckos.
Ashton
Vivarium Essentials

[luevelvet]

Quite a few species will sleep under leaf litter or sphagnum moss, but I've found our phantasticus to prefer to sleep in the branches out in the open. The ebenaui will hide for sure though, and often they group together and sleep together. The umbrella plant and ficus should both do well if you provide fluorescent lighting during the daylight hours. One suggestion I would make is, keep the live plants to a single bush in the middle or corner and arrange the rest with thin branches (as mentioned above, about as thick or thin as their legs).

Actually there is a good example of what I mean in a previous thread...

My new U. phantasticus trio!

Check out the video near the end to get an idea of what I mean.

Luis

[David]

keeping of phantasticus and ebenaui is different and I'm sure it's why you never see CB of true ebenaui, as it is often mistaken
they don't have the same ecology and don't live in the same habitat

[luevelvet]

David,

What would you say the differences are? We just hatched out our first "ebenaui" with 6 more eggs incubating and what's made the biggest difference in allowing them to thrive is to keep them much dryer than is typically recommended. RH of 50-75% and one misting a night (occasionally two on dryer evenings) is all we give our ebenaui and phantasticus.


Thanks,

Luis

[NigelMoses]

I disagree with not using Cork Bark Backgrounds, I think they will work great for you. I have them in all of my zoo med enclosures and every species will use them. Both the ebenaui and phantasticus sleep on the background during the day. The bright red female phantasticus that you like always sleeps on the background with her head under a ficus leaf. I find they feel much more secure climbing on this type of background as opposed to glass or a fake picture. Keeps the feel natural in the cage.

Also cork pieces work great for your ebenaui, angle them towards the wall as if to create a roof. They will most of the time sleep under the shade, a top the leaf litter. I have never seen any sleeping under the leaf litter, only to lay. I also keep my ebenaui much much dryer than the phantasticus. But both are kept relatively dry. I feel the biggest problem with both species is hobbyists keeping them far too moist. There are times in my ebenaui enclosure that it is completely dry.

[David]

problem with ebenaui is to know the exact locality of origin, but they are usually found in dryer or warmer habitat than the ones prefered by phantasticus

I keep / have kept various ebenaui locale during several years without any breeding success (but lot of dud eggs)
I just got my first babies of the "classic" form since I placed them in screen cage provided with twigs and cork tubs of various size
I put cork panels on the sides of the enclosure

now they always hide in horizontal tubs, just under the hot spot
my females laid the good eggs at the base of vertically oriented tubs
(I observe the same behavior with the montagne d'ambre locale, but I keep those ones in more humid and fresh enclosures)

sorry for bad english

best wishes from France,
David

[rhacoboy]

Originally Posted by NigelMoses

I disagree with not using Cork Bark Backgrounds, I think they will work great for you. I have them in all of my zoo med enclosures and every species will use them. Both the ebenaui and phantasticus sleep on the background during the day. The bright red female phantasticus that you like always sleeps on the background with her head under a ficus leaf. I find they feel much more secure climbing on this type of background as opposed to glass or a fake picture. Keeps the feel natural in the cage.

Also cork pieces work great for your ebenaui, angle them towards the wall as if to create a roof. They will most of the time sleep under the shade, a top the leaf litter. I have never seen any sleeping under the leaf litter, only to lay. I also keep my ebenaui much much dryer than the phantasticus. But both are kept relatively dry. I feel the biggest problem with both species is hobbyists keeping them far too moist. There are times in my ebenaui enclosure that it is completely dry.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone.

Bruce, I agree on the backgrounds. I will be using the backgrounds regardless, I feel that the backgrounds help reduce more stress off the lizards, and on top of that it makes the cages look nice.

I read in the Uroplatus book that Ebenaui like to hide in loose bark. And since loose bark is not easy for me to provide for them the way they did in the book, I feel cork bark is the next best thing. The male Ebenaui I own now love to hid in between cork slabs and in the crevices of cork bark.

Also, thank you for the information on the humidity and moisture amounts. I have also found this to be true, that humidity and temperature are stressed more than they actually need to be.

And as for plants, when I said draceana I didn't mean the large thick draceana, I'm reffering to smaller species that would be better suited for the U. Ebenaui. I use the larger species for my Sikorae and the even larger species for Henkeli.

Thanks!
-Armen

[Phantasy]

Originally Posted by luevelvet

Actually there is a good example of what I mean in a previous thread...

My new U. phantasticus trio! - Geckos Unlimited

Check out the video near the end to get an idea of what I mean.

Luis

Thanks for the thumbs up ! My geckos seem to be really thriving in these setups, and are very active at night. The male is also showing unbelievable color after being set up in his vivarium--though I'm pretty sure this might be a result of the UV exposure he's now getting. The general consensus from what I've gathered after talking with a few individuals who have had a lot of success with phantasticus, is to not over-complicate setups. I think the general tendency is for people to over-plant, or over-fuss their enclosures. More isn't always more. Good luck with the vivariums, and good luck with the species! I feel it's an important time for Uroplatus keepers--with the quotas cut, we all need to boost CB efforts. I would highly recommend keeping detailed records of all your pairings, and the lineages of each of your hatchlings. It will really help in the future to prevent unneeded inbreeding when it comes to others buying CB geckos, and if others are doing the same, it will also allow you to confidently add genetic diversity to your breeding stock. Again--good luck!!

Cheers,
-Matt

[rhacoboy]

Originally Posted by Phantasy

Thanks for the thumbs up ! My geckos seem to be really thriving in these setups, and are very active at night. The male is also showing unbelievable color after being set up in his vivarium--though I'm pretty sure this might be a result of the UV exposure he's now getting. The general consensus from what I've gathered after talking with a few individuals who have had a lot of success with phantasticus, is to not over-complicate setups. I think the general tendency is for people to over-plant, or over-fuss their enclosures. More isn't always more. Good luck with the vivariums, and good luck with the species! I feel it's an important time for Uroplatus keepers--with the quotas cut, we all need to boost CB efforts. I would highly recommend keeping detailed records of all your pairings, and the lineages of each of your hatchlings. It will really help in the future to prevent unneeded inbreeding when it comes to others buying CB geckos, and if others are doing the same, it will also allow you to confidently add genetic diversity to your breeding stock. Again--good luck!!

Cheers,
-Matt

Thanks, Matt! Your set ups are awesome!
I do plan to keep detailed records of my lines, I should have either 4 or 5 pairs together this season, so we'll see what happens.
Thanks again!
-Armen