Got me 1.1 Ebenavia inunguis yesterday.

[rhaco]

Hi everybody,

yesterday at a smaller show I got me a pair of Ebenavia inunguis.
That was the first time that I saw this species in reality. Before I'd just seen some photos of them on this forum but when I saw them at the show I fell in love with them so I had to buy them.
Too bad my PC is not working at the moment. I hope I get it repaired in the next weeks so I can take some pics and post them here.

So for now I'm searching for some information on keeping this species. All I know for now is, that they are nocturnal; eat crickets, babyfood and (maybe) drosophila; that they should be kept at a temperature not higher than 26°C and should be kept more or less humid. Are these informations right?

What about their eggs (I got 1.1 so I hope I can breed them): soft shelled or hard shelled? How should the eggs be incubated best?

Does anybody know how old they can get?

What would be the best terrarium? For know they live in a small terrarium which I use for my crestedgecko babies (20 cm lenght x 20 cm gage x 40 cm height). So I plan to keep them like my Phelsuma standingis and Crestedgeckos. Just in a smaller terrarium so with smaller plants and some moss. Would that be ok?

How many hiding places should I offer. I mean is there a limit like for crestie babies so they get problems finding the crickets if there are too much hides? Or would many plants and branches be ok for them?

How often should I spray the terrarium?


I hope someone can help me with all these questions. I promise I will post many pics if my PC is repaired and after they finished quarantine.


Thank you very much,
Greetings from Germany, Johannes

 

[rhaco]

I managed to take some pics of the female and loaded them up with another pc.
I realy love the regenerated tails. They almost look better than the original ones.

In this pic the calcium sacks can bee seen quite good:

She was quite hard to photograph. She didn't move fast but she moved all the time and did not want to stay still for a second.


Regards, Johannes

 

[Reptiluvr]

I must first say I am insanely jealous! After seeing your pictures my heart is aching to finally get me some of these geckos. As I said, I don't know much from direct care experience but I can give you lots of natural history info that is helpful.

They range from all over the eastern portion of the continent from the very top to almost the very bottom and on various islands. They've been found in dense forest, savannahs, half-developed towns and even a few meters from the beach. That covers temperatures ranging from the 60's F all the way into the mid 80's F throughout the year! They seem to be quite tolerable there. I would recommend keeping them in the 70's range. I don't know of their densities in these various habitats and if they do better in one versus the other. They are obviously arboreal but tend to hang low to the ground. They're often found in Pandanus palm leaves, often squeezing between a dead palm frond and the trunk. They're also found in, under and around rotting wood a lot.
I like natural terrariums so here is my opinion. A terrarium with one plant like pothos and some pieces of cork on the ground and against the walls would be ideal. I want to find a hollowed out log to put in substrate and leafy debris personally. The substrate should be something like soil, bed-a-beast (coconut fiber) or maybe even peat moss or orchid bark mixed with these. Dead leaves on the ground would make it nice too. A substrate that will not dry out too fast but not be soaking wet is ideal. Sand and sphagnum moss I would avoid.
They lay 1-2 tiny hard shelled eggs on average every 30 days. The average hatching time is 60 days. I would suggest keeping the eggs at the same temperatures as the parents. If you aren't using a heat source you could just put the eggs right next to or on top of the cage. I did that with my Uroplatus with great success.
My most pressing question with this species is ambient humidity. Since their range varies over multiple habitats, I'm not sure. In any case I can safely guess it would range from 55-75% ambient humidity. Even though some are found in savannahs and along the beach, they always seem to prefer local humidity so at least make sure there is a humid hiding area.

If you have more questions I hope I can help. I do have a question for you though, how active are they during the day? What is their feeding strategy like? I asssume they're sit-and-wait predators but it seems to me they may be a little more exploratory than most geckos. I would love to know anything you can tell me of their behaviors.

 

[the moof]

i can give no more advice than Reptiluvr. A great summary. Someone should write a well based caresheet.

Beautiful animals, i do agree with you, the regen tails are quite as beautiful as the untouched ones. I found a specimen with a regen tail about 1.5 m above the ground, hiding behind a leaf of an elk fern. (you know, the dry husks where leaves have fallen off... i don't remember exactly what it's claled meh). It was a stunning creature, and excellently cooperative. not too fast.



Rhaco, a question: your mother tongue, it is german right? your english is quite good

best regards,
Mark

 

[Arjen]

Nice animals/pictures!

 

[Precision Herp]

agreed. very nice.