More Milii questions????

[DDReptiles]

I have a few questions:

Are these guys good eaters, my adults don't seem to eat that much?? I put in dusted Blaptica Dubia (like med. sized ones) and med.-large crickets but I always end up pulling some out the next day?? Do they only need like 2-3 crickets??

My temps are in the high 80's low to mid 90's on the warm end and high 70's low 80's on the cool end. Mine usually stay in there humid box almost all day though?? I have been told these temps are fine, but I am just wondering is they are too hot since they stay in the humid box (which is on the cool end) almost all day.

They are housed individually in 10 gal. with a inverted plant thing on the warm end and a humid box on a cool end. With a 40 watt bulb over the warm end. And I mist down the tank about 3 times a week at night (right before feeding)

Any help would be great,

Thanks Derek

 

[Sarah]

Too hot Derek!

These little critters like a max temp of 26 degrees (79 farenheit) Mine eat about 5 large crickets every other day. I'd say that they are heat stressed, so once the temps have come down I'm sure they'll start feeding properly.

Your set-up sounds fine (other than the temp of course!)

:0)

 

[DDReptiles]

So should I just put a little heat pad under the warm end?? My reptile room gets about 77-80 during the day just from all the lamps on. So should I just leave them at room temperature??

I am also wondering since these guys have such a WIDE range in the wild wouldn't there temps vary A LOT ???

Thanks Derek

 

[DDReptiles]

Here is a quote from Nathan:

I use heat tape to warm the rear portion of the box to 88-92 degrees F. The ambient temp is usually 82-84 during the summer, and I do cool them in the winter.

This is what I based my temps on???

 

[Sarah]

Yes, it is bizarre that considering the extent of their range they do better at lower temperatures. I don't heat my Milli at all in summer and keep their enclosures at an ambient 26 degrees. I will use heat cord for them during the winter.

It seems to be accepted over here that Milli are easily heat stressed and do better kept at lower temps. If your Milli aren't eating properly and are spending all their time in the moist hide then obviously they aren't happy for some reason.

I have never kept Milli at 32 degrees hot spot (or any of my geckos for that matter) so I can't tell you the difference in behaviour between specimins kept at 32 and specimins kept at 26, all I can tell you is that mine are fat, happy, active and feisty and are kept at 26 degrees, in accordance with instructions from the breeder.

Good luck with your Milli Derek :0)

 

[Jon McMahon]

I've kept mine for several years at basically the same temps, but have heard people say they keep them at room temp without problems. I would say as long as they have a choice to get out of the low 90 temps and into the cooler end this can't be the problem. My females will usually take about 5 medium or 4 week crickets per feeding(every second day) the males seem to eat less like 3 crick's. I've never feed roaches so I can't comment on how many they should be eating. If they are eating and seem healthy I would'nt worry to much about heat stress unless they have completely stopped eating. How long have you had them?

Hope this helps,

Jon Mcmahon

 

[DDReptiles]

I will try turning off the 40 watt off completely for a few days and replace it with a low watt heat pad and see if anything changes.

I have had the male milii for about 3 weeks and the female for a little less and I have a few babies on the way.

Thanks Derek

 

[Hilde]

I'm still new at keeping milii but have read about them for several years. Combine the info in caresheets and natural history, as well as what the breeder of the ones I have said, I set mine up at the lower temperature range than most people here in North America tend to use. The max temperature for mine is about 85-86F, 29.5 - 30C right at the heat source (heat cable). However, it's right at the heat cable, not a place they hang out because there are barriers to keep them from getting that close. The general areas where the geckos hang out to warm up are around 81-83F, 27-28.3 C . They stay there a couple of hours when the heat comes on in the morning and then spend most of the day in the cooler area, around 76-80F, 24-26.5C. The heat is off from 9.30 pm until 6 am. so they're at room temperature around 68F, 20C .

 

[Ari]

I never heat my Milli either, like Sarah. Ambient fluctuates between 25-26 degrees. Infact they would survive quite nicely slighty below that as well. They have a big range - but they can look for cool areas, but remember at nights it can really drop.

I'm guessing but I presume alot of people in the USA do well with them at slightly higher temps because they have adjusted to these temps from generation to generation - not sure, but interesting topic.

Ari

 

[DDReptiles]

I have swithed out the 40 watt with a heat pad so now the hot end is in the high 80's and the low to mid 70's. they seem to move around a little more, but I will update this in a few days.

Thanks Everyone,
Derek

 

[Sarah]

Hi Derek,

Just as a reference, I haven't had the air-con on in my gecko room overnight as it is coming into winter and I wanted to see what temps it is maxing at. This morning it was 30 degrees in the herp room, so the air conditioning went back on.

Everything seemed fine apart from the 9 Milli and the 2 leaf tails, all of which were bunkered down in their moist coir peat hides, which they NEVER do, so obviously the heat was getting to them.

:0)

 

[GeckoHunter]

Hi Derek

How did you go with the U. Milii?
What Sarah was saying sounded pretty acurate to me. I keep my U. milii around 28C. Mostly this is room temperature (Im in Queensland, northern Australia), but during the Autumn and Winter I put a heat lamp on them and boost the temp a bit so that it sits around the 28C range.
The lamp is only at one end of the tank.

Cheers,

Mil - The Gecko Hunter

 

[DDReptiles]

They are moving from one side of the tank to the other fairly often. The warm end is now in the upper 80's sometimes peaking into the low 90's depebding on room temp. withe the cool end in the mid 70's. Then at night the whole tank drops into the mid 60's ish.

I still havent seen them eating a ton, they aren't like my rhacs or leos that will just feed out of style, and I still endup taking quite a few crickets out the next day.

They are maintaining a fairly stable weight. The male is 18 grams and the female is 20 grams.

Any suggestions as to way they still arn't eating, or do adults of this species just not eat a lot????

Thanks Derek

 

[bugman426]

Any suggestions as to way they still arn't eating, or do adults of this species just not eat a lot????

Thanks Derek

Mine are like that too...I thought they would eat a lot more, but usually Ill throw in like 4-5 every other day and there are always leftovers...but then again they arent losing weight

 

[geckodan]

Although milli have a huge range across Austrlia they usually occur in areas that are cooler within that local area. They do this either because the occur at altitude within an area or because they utilise rocky areas where they can seek shelter deep within or under large rocks. I have always maintained mine at room temp for my reptile room and keep them on the lower shelves. This has them sitting most days between 25-28 degress celcius. I would certainly never justify a heat lamp for this species.