Help With U.Milii Setup Please

M

maspar

New member
Hi everyone :)

I was wondering if anyone could help me with my U.Milii setup? The guy at the pet store says all I need is sand substrate, a blue light at night when they feed, water dish and hiding hole. He told me they were very low cost and easy to keep, so I brought them... however, I think he might be a bit wrong.

I've read lots about temp gradients and heating. Also about mixing sand with moss as the substrate. So my questions are:

Do I need any type of heating for them? Or do they do okay on their own?

Is moss good to add to the sand? How often would I have to change the moss, and will it grow mold being a damper material?

They are going to live in my bedroom, so a bit of sun will come in the room in the day, not direct light, but is some okay? They will have their hiding hole to stay away from it.

With misting, I've been told not to get the substrate wet. Do I just spray the sides of the tank then?

Also, what veggies do these guys eat? I know they mainly eat insects, but I want to give them veggies or baby food one per week.

Sorry for alllll the questions :) I just want to make sure I look after them well. I can find heaps of info on leo's and such, but not much about keeping Barking geckos as pets.

Thank to all who reply and read,
~Maspar
 
oli

oli

New member
I don't actually have or keep any milli, but I'm pretty sure they are similar to smooth knobtails that I do have quite a few of. I think that once you have your setup proper, the reptile should thrive, right?? I'd recommend highy** that u use an under tank heater(ex. heat pad, heat tape, heat coil, whatever your means use a dimmer/rheostat to control the heat and only have 1/4-1/2 of the bottom of the enclosure covered with the heat pad and the remaining floor space can be room temp) You want your milli to have a gradient of heat, and you want them to have options. I would set up a hide on the cooler side of the tank, and one also in the warmer part of the tank, and maybe one in the middle if you want to hook him/ her up. Therefore this reptile can go comfortably from warm to hot to cool whenever needed and also the hides will make this reptile comfy in any area of the tank. Trust me this will make him feel secure, and when he/she feels settled in enough you will notice him out and about more often. Sunlight is natural and is fine, just make sure your milli can escape the sunlight during the day. Milli are 100% insectivorous so I don't think fruit or veggies are going to be too appetizing for him. For hides you can use coconut shells, or plant saucers turned upside down with holes cut in them. They are simple but big enough for the milli to walk around within them. You won't need to add pete moss to your sand, but don't think it will hurt either. A water bowl won't hurt either (on the cool side of the enclosure) I'd give the milli a spraying on the cooler part of the tank and/or under one of the cooler hides so that he can absorb some humidity during sheds too. When you wet the substrate just wet enough so that it can dry before morning if you spray at night. Don't worry too much about mold as long as you keep up on cleaning the dead insects/turds. I hope this helps and is not just a bunch of scrambled info. I tried to cover most of your ???'s. If I missed some feel free to pm me. I'm down to help out as I've been helped along.
 
V

vierfleck

New member
Hello,

2 pics of my milii-enclosure:

MiliiBecken.jpg


U.jpg


regards

Matthias
 
M

maspar

New member
Hey Oli! Thanks for the reply :)

You didn't rant. Everything you said was very helpful. It's nice to be able to know you are doing the right thing, and get other ideas.

I've got my two U. Milii now. They are in their tank as I type this, one sitting near the moon bulb.

I've got them on sand, but I don't feed them in the tank. I put them into a little carry case, one at a time to feed them, because one seems to eat alot faster and a lot more than the other. They seem to be doing well. One dug a hole under the hide last night, and both crawled into the sand :)

Thank you for your reply! Sorry if took so long to reply myself. I will PM you with one more question. Thank you :)
 
oli

oli

New member
It's prolly not necessary to feed them in another sand-free tank, but I guess it couldn't hurt if they feel comfortable and eat in there. It's probably good to keep competition between the two to a minimum, and you keep you enclosure clean of cricket legs and dead corpses. How are they feeding?? Are they aggressive eaters in general, or are they shy when you watch?? I'm just interested in them and like I said don't have any milli in my collection, yet that is :) hopefully soon I'll acquire a pair once i get some space for them...
 
M

maspar

New member
They are both pretty good feeders :) The one with the re-grown tail seems to be a rather agressive eater. One night last week, I had them both in the tank, feeding together. The regrown tail one at 10 crickets while the normal gecko only consumed 2. That's when I thought I best feed them apart ;)

So yes, one is a lot more agressive with hunting than the other. He also barely ever misses the cricket, whereas the other (original tailed), does miss sometimes, and is a lot slower at hunting. He's also a bit smaller, so I think this was going on in the pet shop too.

I'm feeding them on about 5 crickets each every second night, but I may up that a bit. I think they may be a little to thin. Their tails don't seem to be 'fat' enough.

They are both shy when I'm around. I don't think they are used to people at all. When there's crickets involved, they don't seem to care that I'm around. When there are no crickets though, they often slink away to their hiding spots. I do hope they get used to me soon so I can watch them more :)
 
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