new addition - our first aft

[the_sneetch]

And she's pretty friggin' cool. We've been talking about getting a fat-tailed gecko for a while now. We saw one at the NARBC show this past weekend and had to have her. Ironically, we got her from the guy who sold us our first pair of crested geckos way back in the day, and only lives a town away.

She needs a name yet too, so I'll be working on that and her enclosure over the next few days. Kind of a learning curve going from all arboreal geckos to a sand species. I think she's just a normal striped morph, nothing fancy, but we don't really plan to do any breeding or anything like that. Just wanted a cool pet.

Without further ado...

(photos by Kyle, I am not that good!!)

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Krystal...congrats...it looks just like you!

 

[thorrshamri]

From my male: nice lady!
Is it a morph of some kind? She has quite clear colors compared to other specimens.
My male also says, like all males from all species, a good meal first, ladies next. :biggrin:

 

[the_sneetch]

Is it a morph of some kind? She has quite clear colors compared to other specimens.

I guess she's just a normal striped? We picked her out because of her bright colors, we didn't really care about the morph, we just wanted something "pretty". No intentions on breeding.

Plus, this is our second sand gecko. Our first one didn't go well, so we want to make sure we get it right this time. I'm still not used to those eyelids!

 

[thorrshamri]

I am not sure about the morph. It is lined for sure, but particularly contrasted and light-colored for a "normal" one. Don't take me wrong, I know nothing about morphs. Maybe someone else will be able to tell more precisely if it is a morph and which one. It's anyway a nice-looking gecko, hope she will thrive in your reptiles room

 

[JSmithGirl]

Excellent photos! Congrats on your first AFT!!

 

[josabby]

Very nice. AFTs have very docile temperments. I don't recommend using sand though. It traps bacteria and can cause impaction. Heavy duty paper towels work great. They make the cage easier to clean and provide traction. Good luck.

 

[the_sneetch]

I don't recommend using sand though. It traps bacteria and can cause impaction. Heavy duty paper towels work great. They make the cage easier to clean and provide traction. Good luck.

First of all, I did not include a picture of her setup in this thread, so how do you know that I am keeping her on sand? Yes, she was photographed on some sandstone rock, but that doesn't mean she lives on sand.

We've owned various species of geckos for the past five years, and we have yet to lose any to impaction. I'll take my chances.

We are more interested in providing our geckos with setups as close to their natural habitat as possible. Paper towel does have its uses; we normally raise offspring, especially Rhacodactylus species on it. But eventually even those adult animals we keep make it into arboreal gecko setups. Complete with substrate.

My husband does his own necropsies, and not once has any gecko that has passed in our care had a stomach/intestinal tract filled with substrate.

But yes, for your average keeper, paper towel is probably the way to go.

 

[pakinjak]

I have kept animals both on sand and on paper towels, and personally find paper towels to be just about the most frustrating substrate I've ever used. You can't spot clean it, and you have to take everything out of the tank to change it. If it gets wet then dries, it sticks to the bottom of the tank making a mess. I only recommend it to people for quarantine, and would go with the sand too.

 

[acpart]

My AFT's have done well on coco fiber which I like better than sand.

Aliza

 

[cricket4u]

First of all, I did not include a picture of her setup in this thread, so how do you know that I am keeping her on sand? Yes, she was photographed on some sandstone rock, but that doesn't mean she lives on sand.

We've owned various species of geckos for the past five years, and we have yet to lose any to impaction. I'll take my chances.

We are more interested in providing our geckos with setups as close to their natural habitat as possible. Paper towel does have its uses; we normally raise offspring, especially Rhacodactylus species on it. But eventually even those adult animals we keep make it into arboreal gecko setups. Complete with substrate.

My husband does his own necropsies, and not once has any gecko that has passed in our care had a stomach/intestinal tract filled with substrate.

But yes, for your average keeper, paper towel is probably the way to go.

Hello,

You have one beautiful AFT. I hope you don't mind me asking and for the record my question goes beyond substrate. So in only 5 years, how many deaths have you had? Has your husband been able to determine the cause of death?

 

[josabby]

First of all, I did not include a picture of her setup in this thread, so how do you know that I am keeping her on sand? Yes, she was photographed on some sandstone rock, but that doesn't mean she lives on sand.

We've owned various species of geckos for the past five years, and we have yet to lose any to impaction. I'll take my chances.

We are more interested in providing our geckos with setups as close to their natural habitat as possible. Paper towel does have its uses; we normally raise offspring, especially Rhacodactylus species on it. But eventually even those adult animals we keep make it into arboreal gecko setups. Complete with substrate.

My husband does his own necropsies, and not once has any gecko that has passed in our care had a stomach/intestinal tract filled with substrate.

But yes, for your average keeper, paper towel is probably the way to go.

Sorry my bad. I was reacting to this statement more than the pic "Plus, this is our second sand gecko."

 

[alanamichelle66]

I rescued an AFT who was kept on sand for 5 years. He passed a few months after and it was due to impaction. But the previous owners fed him crickets on the sand so he was constantly getting mouthfulls and he had no moist hide or a hide at all for that mattter. Shes a beauty though. They are probably my favorite kind of gecko and theyre big dark eyes have so much soul lol