[Scarletta]

I have a few questions because I am confused as to what I shoudl be getting for my williamsi set up and not.

- Under tank heat pad ? Ive read that this should NOT be used as it makes the tank far to hot. But I have read others that say yes to using them as it help keep the humidity up. So Im not sure which way to go!


- Waterfall ? Would this be appropriate for them ?


- Plants that can be used with them ?


- Fogger? Do I get one of these or is misting them a few times daily enough ?

Any other straight forward tips would be fabulous!
I am new to them and all the research that I have been doing on them is just confusing the heck out of me and some things I can not find lol

[VICtort]

Dear Scarletta, I think under tank heaters (UTH) are not indicated here...they are OK, new ones much better than the old style, but I think mostly for ground dwelling or burrowing forms, i.e. leopard geckos, Coleonyx, etc. Your little L. williamsi will want a basking type light, providing heat from above I should think. There are so many gimmicks and gadgets, some of which are designed for your animals, others just to make a sale. Try to find an experienced and successful keeper and do as they do...you can't argue with success. Check out some photos posted of nice set-ups. Hudmidity is important, so yes, you could have a little water feature, or find another way, i.e. mister, or spray bottle. I would think a Canadian winter home is a very dry place, so misting may be very important. Good luck, Vic H.

[hexentanz]

Under tank heat pads are generally only used with these geckos where a heat lamp and normal lamp are not fully enough to raise the temps alone, or if you are unable to provide a heat lamp.

I would caution against a waterfall as these are small geckos and can drown easily, esp the young.

Foggers are not really needed (and could burn the animal if not properly secured), misting should be able to provide the right amount of humidity in combination with plants.

You can use many plants with these geckos, Sanservia, philodendron, miniature orchids, mini ferns, medium growing ferns, bromeliads, creeping fig and so on to name a few that work with them.

There is an excellent book to get which covers a bit about lygos, it is called Day Geckos (Professional Breeders Series). While the williamsi is not directly covered in the book, kimhowelli's are and their care is pretty similar.

[Scarletta]

Ahh ok gotcha, thanks for clearing that up, especially the plant ideas

And one more thing what would you suggest for substrate ? Obviously something that would help with the humidity!

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by Scarletta

Ahh ok gotcha, thanks for clearing that up, especially the plant ideas

And one more thing what would you suggest for substrate ? Obviously something that would help with the humidity!

It is usually recommended to give them a potting soil (fertilizer, chemical free) & sand (be sure it is not too fine) mixture in a 1.1 ratio. Though you can use some bark chips in there if you like or peat plates. I use peat plates in the majority of my lygo tanks and potting soil/sand in the rest.

[zohariels]

Originally Posted by hexentanz

Under tank heat pads are generally only used with these geckos where a heat lamp and normal lamp are not fully enough to raise the temps alone, or if you are unable to provide a heat lamp.

I would caution against a waterfall as these are small geckos and can drown easily, esp the young.

Foggers are not really needed (and could burn the animal if not properly secured), misting should be able to provide the right amount of humidity in combination with plants.

You can use many plants with these geckos, Sanservia, philodendron, miniature orchids, mini ferns, medium growing ferns, bromeliads, creeping fig and so on to name a few that work with them.

There is an excellent book to get which covers a bit about lygos, it is called Day Geckos (Professional Breeders Series). While the williamsi is not directly covered in the book, kimhowelli's are and their care is pretty similar.

I absolutely agree on every point, definitely stay away from the waterfalls.
Misting twice a day keeps the humidity in there tank good, a lot of thatdoes depend on the soil or plants you use as well. I use a layer of clay balls, covered with some gardening fabric, with about a 3-4 inch layer of plantation soil/coco husk, you can buy bricks of these for about 3.99 here in canada, and you only need to use part of the brick since they expand in water quite a bit. I have a couple basking spots, but the rest has some heavy leaf coverage, which also helps keep the humidity up. One plant that wasnt on the list was pothos, they grow like weeds so you can have a relatively new tank covered quite nicely with these.
I'm sure you already know but they like a diet of bugs/fruit mixture's. Rpashy works great, and since we are having a cricket shortage, at least in wetern Canada, keep a flightless fruitfly culture handy. Have fun, they're definitely one of my favourites!

[WARMACHINE]

I am by far no expert on these guys however I have did my fair share of proper research and question asking.

I have two breeding pairs of the Williamsi and I love-em, I also have some Yellow Headed Dwarf geckos I'm breeding. I keep them each in 12x12x18 Exo Terra enclosures with live plants. I would be sure to mainly keep an eye on there temperature but at the same time be mindful of their humidity level, I do this with Fluker's Digital Thermometer/Humidity Guage. Keep the temp. around 80 no higher then 85 and the humidity should be any where from 60% - 80%.

Yeah a waterfall might be more trouble then it's worth I was tempted to add one to maintain the humidity, however you run into unnecessary maintenance with filter changing which means placing the filter in an easy to get to area and stressing the animal out.

That's why I believe the live set up is the best way to go with these little guys and best looking to, the plants will help maintain the humidity. I have the clay hydro balls for the 1st layer about 2 inches and then some eco earth which is made up of coco fiber, this maintains moisture nicely and is ok to grow the plants in. I also have live moss, African Violet, Bromeliads, Tillandsia, these guys come from Tanzania which these plants espacially the African Violet.

p.s. foggers are good but are some what dangerous for the animals if them come in contact with them, could seriously injury them due to the fact that they operate utilizing ultra-sonic vibrations to turn the water into vapor.

hope this helps