How blue is your electric blue?

getmealemon · #1 04-26-2011, 07:21 PM

Mine, not very! More of a green than blue. Is their setup/habitat likely to effect this? Is it a sign of happiness? Anybody got any ideas?

Do they vary in the wild? Could it be to do with lighting?

Attached pics show difference i'm talking about.

Mainly would like to know incase this is related to happiness so i can try and sort it.

Cheers

Hannibal · #2 04-26-2011, 08:58 PM

The males are a vibrant blue color, and the female are an olive/green color.

getmealemon · #3 04-27-2011, 07:47 AM

Apologies, i'm talking specifically about Male williamsi. My male is bright green as can be seen in the second picture. He has never looked as blue as the Williamsi in the first picture. Just wondering if it's normal?

hexentanz · #4 04-27-2011, 08:04 AM

How old is your animal now?

Looking back on your older thread about this you mention only a 5.0 lamp. Do you also have a 2.0 lamp in there?

Are you really positive it is a male?

getmealemon · #5 04-27-2011, 08:38 AM

I don't know his exact age, he was 6 months to a year old when i got him in october last year. So i guess 1 or 2 years old. He measures over 3 inches which i believe is fully grown size (not sure what age they attain full size?)

He is 100% a he. He has the v shaped pores on the rear of his underside. I hope the picture attached isn't too small to see, will try and get a better one.

When he was in the 18X18X24 he had a 5.0 and a 2.0. Since getting the female i have moved him to 12X12X18 with just a 5.0 as it only takes a single canopy and a heat lamp. His colour is the same as when he was in the larger viv.

hexentanz · #6 04-27-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getmealemon

I don't know his exact age, he was 6 months to a year old when i got him in october last year. So i guess 1 or 2 years old. He measures over 3 inches which i believe is fully grown size (not sure what age they attain full size?)

He is 100% a he. He has the v shaped pores on the rear of his underside. I hope the picture attached isn't too small to see, will try and get a better one.

When he was in the 18X18X24 he had a 5.0 and a 2.0. Since getting the female i have moved him to 12X12X18 with just a 5.0 as it only takes a single canopy and a heat lamp. His colour is the same as when he was in the larger viv.

It could just well be he is one of the males, that never really color up. Or it will be quite awhile until he gets really nice and blue. Honestly if everything you are doing is correct, I would not worry about the lack of blue.

The V shape you talk about is seen on most all Lygos of both sexes so it is not a 100% sexing method. The V shape with pronounced pores hanging out of these, is usually more the way to sex the Lygos, besides the dark throat seen in your picture (so yes it is indeed a male).

If you can in the future avoid it you really need a 5.0 & 2.0 bulb as the 5.0 is a very poor lighting choice alone. In cases where I cannot add a second bulb I use the 2.0 alone and the animals do just fine.

getmealemon · #7 04-27-2011, 05:42 PM

I agree the 5.0 on it's own isn't great in terms of lighting. It's interesting you would just go with the 2.0 though.

I've been trying to find alternative lighting and have looked at LED's but don't think they have any UV rating. There must be a better way of lighting the viv than the exo terra canopy!

hexentanz · #8 04-28-2011, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getmealemon

I agree the 5.0 on it's own isn't great in terms of lighting. It's interesting you would just go with the 2.0 though.

I've been trying to find alternative lighting and have looked at LED's but don't think they have any UV rating. There must be a better way of lighting the viv than the exo terra canopy!

LED's do not provide much light anyway, so these should be forgotten unless you are trying to light a dartfrog tank for example. On tanks where there is not much room for lighting if you are crafty with DIY & Electrics you could build your own canopy with ventilation slots to allow for some of the heat to escape and install compact bulb sockets. With the 12x12x18 this could easily be achieved with both a 15w 5.0 and 2.0 lamp along with a halogen lamp.

Here is an example of a home built canopy http://www.phelsuma-world.de/bilder/BK-T5-08.jpg this one uses T5 and T8 bulbs however.

Airedale · #9 04-28-2011, 11:11 PM

The color of williamsi can vary a lot, both for their base color, and other times. My male ranges from blue-green to almost black in color, depending on his mood. The female ranges from bright green (not neon though) and almost brown. I have honestly seen a picture (it could have been altered, but Idk really, since it looked pretty legit) of a male williamsi that was blue with like a purple hue to his scales. Really sweet looking. Again, there can be a lot of variation.

He is for sure a male judging by the throat color. I would say he is just a slow bloomer or just never really colored up. Still a beautiful animal (Williamsi is one of my favorite geckos, for sure)

getmealemon · #10 04-30-2011, 07:44 PM

Hexentanz, sadly i'm not blessed with any diy skills, my girlfriend is better than me! The canopy you provided a link for looks good, might have a try at it one day....

Airedale, i think i've seen the picture you were talking about! Maybe mine is just a slow bloomer, who knows. He's still alot of fun no matter what colour he is!

I watched him earlier stuck to the glass facing downwards then face plant into his dish of clarks gecko diet...he looked a tad embarassed as he licked it off his face bless him!