Teratolepis fasciata Diet

[ChrisLife]

I'm getting some Teratolepis fasciata or Viper geckos at the next reptile show, and i have a few questions that i could not find the answer to threw my research.

1.As for their diet can i feed them fruit flies(hydei) as a staple and crickets every once in a while.

2.How often do they eat, once a week every 3 days?

3.As far as substrate what would be the best, opinions?
I was thinking eco-earth or sand.

4.I know many people dont have lights on their tanks, but would it be ok if i put a fluorescent light on a timer to make a day-night cycle?

Any tips and opinions would be greatly appreciated!Any thoughts on them would nice.
Thanks Chris :biggrin:

 

[Jan Grathwohl]

1. Fruit flies are not enough - they eat quite large items, and in my opinion fruit flies are great for poison frogs, but not for geckos as a stable diet at all - i don't even use them for my small juvies of Saurodactylus - i have had very little success with getting gecko juvies to grow on these as diet - Crickets are what works for me.

2. Feed them 2-3 times a week if they are adults - juvies should be feed more often.

3. I use ordinary sand - no hocus pocus - just plain sand - the cheapest i could get.

4. Light is okay - but expect them to be hiding untill the light is off.

P.S. The name for this species has changed to Hemidactylus imbricata

 

[ChrisLife]

So fruit flies are not enough, i was hoping on using them because their easy to culture and means not stops to the pet store.

OK so crickets, so how many crickets do you feed an adult and how big should the crickets be?
I want a nice trio but the thing is the food, i dont want to have to go out often for crickets. I'v already been down that path and it is not fun in the middle of winter.

 

[Jan Grathwohl]

I don't count how many i use with each sitting - but perhaps 5 or so pr. animal. I use them up to a size of around 1 cm for adults.

 

[Airedale]

I agree about the FF's. From the sage advice of a certain Dendroboard user: "FF's have no nutritional value. They basically serve as a vessel to carry calcium and vitamin powder to your animals." So pretty much, I just use my flies as a supplement to a diet of roaches. Well, this is for L. williamsi, but either way.