crytodactylus tempature ?

[Greenstar]

I never really cared for the genus until a month or so ago when i got to see some of the ones marcus imported in person. They blew my mind, both in coloration and intresting body structure. I really want to get some but my reptile room tends to get very, very warm in summer, mid to upper 80s ambient for most of the day. I have heard that most like mid 70's. Are there any speices that can tolerate/require higher temps? I could set them up in rubbermaid bins in the closet where it would be signifcantly cooler and the tempature would be much more stable, however they seem like they would make awesome terrarium display animals. Any advice would help.


Thanks in Advance
Danny

 

[Bowfinger]

You can take some of the warmer loving species but they are limited on only a few. If temps where low 80s on the hottest days I would not worry, but sounds like you are too hot for them without making some changes. An A/C unit in the window (set at higher temps if moneys a problem) would work well as long as you watch humidity levels. You concept on closet sounds alright except it most likely will still get too warm on top of humidity damage problems etc.

 

[Greenstar]

thank you bowfinger, the closet tempature even on the hottest day will not exceed 84. Now which species do well at the higher tempatures? What are the minumun temps and humidty? I really want to get a few of these especailly some of the new imports established before summer.


thanks for the help,
Danny

 

[Bowfinger]

Consobrinus and quadrivirgatus/publiscus are great choices for your temps. Keep them in high humidity but not wet just like for most egg incubation and they will do fine. Heat only if temps go under 70 in the winter.
Also Pulchellus have done well under these high temps. for short periods without any problem, but they are increasingly harder to obtain. Another great project would be the Green Eyed Gekko as they too are increasing in rarity.
Not sure how handy you are, but there is a Coleman Cooler at Walmart for a fair price. This is a portable frig...there are also wine coolers, portable a/c etc. You might want to start a seperate thread on this subject if interested in making a "cooler cabinet" for your geckos or in the closet. I personally am going to use central air a/c if it gets too hot i.e. say 78F.
I would also consider Cnemaspis "nigridus" (actually think these really are C.kendalli) for a slightly warmer toleration. Consider they can be touchy at first.

 

[Psycoreptile]

Hey Shane, how's it goin? Anyway. How do u maintain humidity. Since we are so close as far as location u would probably have the best suggestion. Oh, have u and Marcus finished arguing over whether it is peguensis zebraicus or zebraicus peguensis? lol

Thanks

 

[Bowfinger]

keep substrate moist and mist the cage, then walla!, you have humidity

 

[Greenstar]

Okay well my room is pretty much around 60-72 degrees throughout the winter, with the average day time temp about 68. In summer the tempatures are about 76-85 during with the average hovering between 78-81 degrees. At night I get a 5-10 degree temp drop year round. The closet would be probably 65-68 in winter 74-76 in summer probably 78 at the hottest. Also i am a little strapped for money right now and am curious if the malaysian imports keep coming through spring and summer or if they are winter seasonal?

Thanks
Danny

 

[Bowfinger]

I would do a google search on temps from Malaysia as they can be close to this range, but consider keeping out of the peak low/highs as in the wild they have hide spots insulated from this.
The book "Snakes and other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia Singapore and Thailand" not to mention some more google searches can give you distribution of individual species. I am still learning about Cyrtodactylus and if you take the same ideas you might not catch what I might have missed. So I recommend doing your own research and taking only some of my ideas to get started.

 

[Greenstar]

Shane I will take your advice and do some of my own research, thanks for the help. You are the resident crytodactylus expert on the board and are a great asset. I'll tell you what I end up doing.

Thanks again,

Danny

 

[Bowfinger]

*Sorry, I did not see your last post so edited this in...thank you for the compliments and good luck.

Otherwise your temps do not look so bad for most of the cyrtos Marcus imports. I think the seasonal issue falls under tsunami season being difficult to collect yet they still come in if there are time window of low storm activity to collect. Remember, these guys are collecting under harsh weather conditions, not to mention the dangerous wildlife. They also are collecting what they find AND can catch, this is easier said than done, so you will see fluctuation in the availability any time of year. Also commonly said is the chance of closing doors on export of individual species, this is a fact and has happened many times before in other countries. A lot of people say ohh its talk, they have been talking about it for years, but thats how it started with the $35 Monkey-tail Skinks, the $35 Crocodile Lizards and the $45 Armadillo Lizard (cataphractus)...what all range in price from $300-1000 now with very low numbers for any decent project, with exception of Monkey-tails.