Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...elvet-gecko-oedura-castelnaui-care-sheet.html
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Oedura castelnaui (Thominot -- 1889), the Northern Velvet Gecko, is a species found on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
Enclosure -- 10 gallon horizontal tank (20 inches long x 10.25 inches wide x 12.5 inches tall). That's enough room for a 1.1 pair. Nice space for even just one adult.
Screen top -- Four Paws heavy duty, not hinged
Substrate -- 100% Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Fiber or mixed coconut fiber with peat moss 50/50. Do not use ANY sand in the substrate. Use paper towels for juvies and subadults till they are about 1 year old. It is easier for young northern velvets to find their crickets and not ingest any substrate when one uses paper towels.
Cork bark -- Virgin cork bark has the most texture and is nicest! Relatively flat and large piece to lean up against the back of the tank, side-to-side, almost top-to-bottom. The advantage to NOT gluing down the cork bark is that it provides refuge on either side! This facilitates upkeep.
On the 28 Feb 2012 all my Ocs were hanging out right beneath their 40 watt basking lights. The temperatures there as measured by a PE-2 temp gun were: 94 F, 88 F, 97 F, and 95.5 F. Since they all have cooler sides in their 10 gallon horizontal tanks, they seem to prefer these warmer temperatures.
Thermometer -- digital or PE-2 temperature gun. HDE temp guns are reliable.
Water dish -- ~3 inch diameter x 1.5 inch deep
Coconut shell hide
Paper towel tube hide -- 12”. They love snuggling in it!
Rock -- 3” or so
Driftwood -- several good pieces for climbing
Spray bottle -- NEVER mist the enclosure and feed at the same time, IF you feed free range!
Large-leafed silk foliage -- sometimes
Feeding dish
FEEDERS:
Brumation -- Oedura castelnaui breeding benefits from cooling.
Nestbox -- Cut a hole the size of a USA quarter on one end of the lid of a rectangular pint-sized Rubbermaid container. Fill the container 2/3rds full with a 50/50 mixture of Jurassic Sand and Eco Earth coco fiber. Dampen the sand and coco fiber mixture to the consistency of butter cut into flour. You might need to redampen this during the breeding season. After the eggs have been buried by the female, gently remove them and place them half-buried in some damp incubation medium such as seramis. Place in your incubator from 75-80*F.
2012 Hatchlings ----> Kept eggs from 75-80 F degrees. Those incubation temperatures produced 4.4 Oedura castelnaui! Hatchlings produced were from two separate bloodlines: bloodline F (7 hatchlings) and Mrs. Squeeze (1 hatchling).
Except for the first photo, these pictures \/ are all Oedura castelnaui whom I've bred.
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Northern Velvet Gecko (Oedura castelnaui) Care Sheet
ElizabethFreer@aol.com
Geckos Unlimited
19 October 2021 (updated)
ElizabethFreer@aol.com
Geckos Unlimited
19 October 2021 (updated)
Oedura castelnaui (Thominot -- 1889), the Northern Velvet Gecko, is a species found on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
Enclosure -- 10 gallon horizontal tank (20 inches long x 10.25 inches wide x 12.5 inches tall). That's enough room for a 1.1 pair. Nice space for even just one adult.
Screen top -- Four Paws heavy duty, not hinged
Substrate -- 100% Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Fiber or mixed coconut fiber with peat moss 50/50. Do not use ANY sand in the substrate. Use paper towels for juvies and subadults till they are about 1 year old. It is easier for young northern velvets to find their crickets and not ingest any substrate when one uses paper towels.
Cork bark -- Virgin cork bark has the most texture and is nicest! Relatively flat and large piece to lean up against the back of the tank, side-to-side, almost top-to-bottom. The advantage to NOT gluing down the cork bark is that it provides refuge on either side! This facilitates upkeep.
- Virgin Cork and Cork Tube (Maryland Cork Company) 800-662-2675 Ask for VIRGIN cork. 2016 pricing: "flats" = $2.95 per pound; tubes = $3.95 per pound. (Ask for Marilyn.)
- The Bean Farm....Carnation, Washington: 877-708-5882
- For pressed cork rolls: Rolls of Cork | Buy from WidgetCo®. WidgetCo---USA: 1-800-877-9270 Comes with no adhesive from 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch thick.
- For 24 inch x 36 inch flat cork sheets in multiple thicknesses from Amazon: Cork Sheets - Plain 24" x 36",3/8" thick: Amazon.com: Home & Kitchen
On the 28 Feb 2012 all my Ocs were hanging out right beneath their 40 watt basking lights. The temperatures there as measured by a PE-2 temp gun were: 94 F, 88 F, 97 F, and 95.5 F. Since they all have cooler sides in their 10 gallon horizontal tanks, they seem to prefer these warmer temperatures.
Thermometer -- digital or PE-2 temperature gun. HDE temp guns are reliable.
Water dish -- ~3 inch diameter x 1.5 inch deep
Coconut shell hide
Paper towel tube hide -- 12”. They love snuggling in it!
Rock -- 3” or so
Driftwood -- several good pieces for climbing
Spray bottle -- NEVER mist the enclosure and feed at the same time, IF you feed free range!
Large-leafed silk foliage -- sometimes
Feeding dish
- Sturdy 10 ounce bar glasses contain feeders nicely!
- Clear 8 ounce glass dishes with vertical sides work too: 1" & 5/8" deep x 3" & 3/4" diameter https://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-H...ck-1-Cup-Capacity-Food-Storage-Set/149842349?
- Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 -- Lightly dust feeders at 1 feeding per week.
- Zoo Med ReptiVite multivitamin without D3 -- Lightly dust feeders at 2 feedings per month. Be extremely cautious about the amount of Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins you use for Northern Velvet geckos! Since I gutload all crickets 24/7 with Zoo Med's Natural ADULT Bearded Dragon Food, I don't recommend additional light dusting of feeders @ 2 feedings per month!
FEEDERS:
- Crickets (Aceta domestica) -- Feed adult northern velvet geckos 2 one-half inch (~4 wo) crickets every other night. Juveniles and subadults should be fed appropriately-sized smaller crickets just about every night.
- Blaptica dubia -- A nutritious feeder for northern velvet geckos.
Brumation -- Oedura castelnaui breeding benefits from cooling.
Nestbox -- Cut a hole the size of a USA quarter on one end of the lid of a rectangular pint-sized Rubbermaid container. Fill the container 2/3rds full with a 50/50 mixture of Jurassic Sand and Eco Earth coco fiber. Dampen the sand and coco fiber mixture to the consistency of butter cut into flour. You might need to redampen this during the breeding season. After the eggs have been buried by the female, gently remove them and place them half-buried in some damp incubation medium such as seramis. Place in your incubator from 75-80*F.
2012 Hatchlings ----> Kept eggs from 75-80 F degrees. Those incubation temperatures produced 4.4 Oedura castelnaui! Hatchlings produced were from two separate bloodlines: bloodline F (7 hatchlings) and Mrs. Squeeze (1 hatchling).
- 2012-1 (21 July 2012 female at 101 days) & 2012-2 (22 July 2012 female at 102 days)
- 2012-3 (9 Aug 2012 male at 90 days) & 2012-4 (11 Aug 2012 male at 92 days) -- 2012 #4 (11 Aug 2012 male) sold to NH: 23 Oct 2017
- 2012-5 (20 Sept 2012 male at 94 days)
- 2012-6 (10 Nov 2012 male at 104 days) & 2012-7 (15 Nov 2012 female at 109 days)
- 2012-8 (23 Nov 2012 female at 99 days---mom is Mrs. Squeeze)
- 2014-1: 25 Sept 2014 (darker female) -- Sold to NH: 23 Oct 2017
- 2014-2: 28 Oct 2014 (lighter female) -- Sold to NH: 27 Nov 2017
Except for the first photo, these pictures \/ are all Oedura castelnaui whom I've bred.
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