Will this be good for a gargoyle?

M

majahawt

New member
I'm getting a Gargoyle gecko sometime over new years and I've started setting up my tank. Could you guys verify that it's ok/make suggestions?

45x45x60 Swell Reptiles tank w/knock-off Exo Terra background
Hydroballs
Substrate mesh
Plantation soil
Moss & orchid bark for top substrate
2 tall & 1 low plant (can't remember their names, but I crosschecked several reptile-safe plant lists)
1 cork hollow
1 wood hollow with several holes
2 vines
2 silk vine plants
1 5% UVB-bulb for 10 hours a day
1 mister
1 arboreal dish (water & food)
2 different decorative bark flats and roots for the ground

The temperature sits at 25-27 C in daytime, drops down to around 20 C in nighttime. Humidity is 50% with highs at 100% in the morning and evening when the mister goes off (how long should I keep it on?)

My feeding plan will be mainly Repashy, with livefood twice a week (I already have 2 leopard geckos so I have lots of different bugs around). Dusting with a mix of multivitamin and calcium once a week and calcium with D3 once a week, will this be OK?

Will I need a hide on the ground in addition to the two hollows?

Does this sound OK? Suggestions? (I can't post any photos because my plants haven't actually arrived yet)
 
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A

acpart

Well-known member
Welcome to GU. In my opinion it generally sounds good. I don't have a mister; I hand mist every evening and that does the trick. I find that gargs are very hard on plants, so, while it's worth a try, the real plants may not make it. I do have a hide on the ground which they use rarely, not as much as my crestie.

Aliza
 
M

majahawt

New member
I realise now that I misspoke, it's not actually a mister but a fogger. It doesn't provide that much moisture so we mist regularly in addition (the fogger is really just for show, it was 90% off).

We did end up getting our gargoyle a bit earlier than expected since there was one available in the area. His name is Bagel (most likely male) and here's a photo :3 I have two questions about him/his enclosure:

- 1: Initially I got an analogue humidity gauge because I wasn't expecting anything but plants in the tank for a while so I just needed something approximate. It is, of course, already busted. I'm getting a digital one as we speak but I'm wondering what the placement for the probe should be? I assume it shouldn't be on the side with the fogger, or I might get false highs, but how high up in the tank should it hang?

- 2: I've read that their colour changes aren't really completely understood but perhaps based on humidity, temperature and light. Are there any opinions/experiences with what causes colour changes? So far, I've seen that he tends to go white when he's high up (near the light) in daytime and go dark when he moves about the tank/nighttime.
 
M

majahawt

New member
I'm wondering about handling as well. Obviously we are leaving him alone for a couple of weeks to get settled in but the other day we had to move something so he could reach his food and he was quite startled. We know he's not too bad with handling because we got him from a local (very, very good) reptile store and we got to see and hold him before we got him but considering they're asleep all day, how do you do it if you need to wake them up? Do you just grab them or poke them or what?
 
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