U. phantasticus photoshoot

[SsarahH]

It's been a long time since I have visited these forums, and it's been awhile since I've made an update on our phants. We picked up 4 new females from the San Diego Supershow, so I figured it is time to show their beauty, and update everyone on our older ones.

This is our HUGE female, Stella (our only original female we have left ). She weighs in at about 8-9 grams. She is also the one that we have been getting all of our eggs from this year. We just got another clutch from her last night, making that the 4th clutch so far this season.

I have posted this picture before, but just to give you an idea of her massiveness.

This is one of our older males, Izar. Probably our most prized male. He is a beautiful gecko, with an awesome tail!

I guess this is what he thought about the whole photoshoot idea.....

He has an amazingly beautiful 'mosaic' type mottling covering his ventrum.

Close-up of his tail:

 

[SsarahH]

Next is our other original male, Stunner. Who, I believe to be the sire of all the eggs/hatchlings that we currently have.

One of my overall favorite phant shots....talk about camouflage!

Hangin' in there

There is a tail in this photo:

Here is the first female that we picked up at the San Diego show....she is not the prettiest of the ones that we got but she is still unique in her own way.

 

[SsarahH]

Here are the other three females that we picked up from the San Diego show....

This one was marked at about $300 at the show, because they were trying to sell her as a U. malama. After Andrew told the seller that that is not what she truly is, he dropped the price and we got her for about 1/3 of what he was asking. ( I'm still trying come up with names for all of our new ones....)

This girl decided to fire up and pose quite nicely for the photoshoot.

Had to save the best for last....this one is absolutely amazing! She has the most beautiful patterning and color I have ever seen!

Check out how red her eye is!

Close-up to show the 'periwinkle' coloration she has on her dorsum.

 

[SsarahH]

All of the above geckos are LTC. Now it is time to show you the CB.

This little guy, I have been calling 'Elroy'. He is the only one of our hatchlings from last season to survive. We found the clutch of eggs on Feb 10, 2008 and he hatched out on June 23, 2008.

Here he is when he first hatched out:

These next two were taken about 5 months later. Many of the male phants will have the 'tear drop' characteristic. This little guy has a double tear drop, which is kind of cool.

Here he is today. He is quite a photogenic little fellow...

Last but not least, our newest addition....'Little Tyke' (he has a sibling 'Mighty Myte', but I did not photograph him) The eggs for this clutch were laid on April 2, 2009 and they hatched on July 23, 2009. They both hatched out at 0.5 grams.


In these two photos you can see the egg in the background.

Here is a size comparison with a crested gecko that was hatched out on the same day.

 

[Debbie]

Very nice photo's! But we didn't expect less from you guys!

 

[RFB2]

Top notch collection.;-) Is this you first time hatching phantasticus?

I have had some success this season also. They are an amazing species my favorite by far.

 

[Woohoo]

Simply stunning!!

 

[Graham_s]

amazing geckos! you've made me green with envy...


What is the plant that a lot of the photos are taken with them on?

 

[The_Greg]

wow, those shots are Phantastic!!

heh heh, zing!

Really though, excellent shots and absolutely beautiful geckos!

 

[Justin]

By far some of the best phantasticus photos I've even seen.

 

[kapidolo]

Amazing collection!!!!
I think the plant use for shots is from Operculicarya family. I use it with species living in drier conditions but never try with Uros.
Thanks to share!

 

[scintillatingstar]

wooooooowwwww amazing!

 

[Graham_s]

Amazing collection!!!!
I think the plant use for shots is from Operculicarya family. I use it with species living in drier conditions but never try with Uros.
Thanks to share!

Thanks!

Sarah - When are the other Uroplatus photos coming?

 

[Chazdude43]

They are the coolest patterns and colours i have ever seen!

They have the most realistic tails i have seen so far and the little guy with the double tear drop looks awesome fired up...

Well done and good luck breeding them in the future...

 

[SsarahH]

Thanks for the comments everyone! We are really enjoying having these unbelievable geckos in our collection.

Is this you first time hatching phantasticus?

We have been keeping phantasticus for about 5 years. Up until last year, we were not having any luck with them at all. We hatched out a total of three last year, the first one we hatched out was the only one to survive.

We have only had one female breeding so far this year. A couple of weeks ago, we hatched out her first clutch laid this year, and have 3 more clutches in the incubator.

What is the plant that a lot of the photos are taken with them on?

Operculicarya decaryi. It is a pretty awesome plant! Works especially well for the smaller Uroplatus.

 

[Graham_s]

Operculicarya decaryi. It is a pretty awesome plant! Works especially well for the smaller Uroplatus.

I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some! just to go off on a minor tangent, what's its hardiness and speed of growth like?

 

[MonteQ's]

Great shots! Wonderful collection too!

Either you have tiny hands or Stella's huge! Lovin the tail on Izar too. Congrats on the babies. Hope they'll continue to do well for you. If you happen to have any luck from those red girls...sign me up!

 

[Riemer]

That is a very nice photoshoot, and even better geckos

 

[erik]

very, very nice pic's!!!!!

grtz,e

 

[mikek]

very, very nice pic's!!!!!

grtz,e

These are some of the best, if not THE BEST Uroplatus photos that I have seen. Heck, these are some of the best REPTILE photos I have ever seen !!!
Congratulations on your productive breeding season. I wish you the best of luck with your eggs. :biggrin:
Do you mind me asking what mixture of substrate you are using for your Uroplatus ?
Also, if nobody else is going to ask, what kind of camera/lens/lighting did you use for these incredible photographs ?