Sphaerodactylus torrei advice

N

Nathanb

New member
Hi,
I've been keeping day geckos for a while up to now all phelsumas and williamsi.

I've just acquired (well, I haven't got them yet - I'll get them Saturday) a pair of these spectacular little lizards (well, it's 3 - the previous owner is putting 'junior' in as part of the deal.)

I'm setting up a new tank for them - what's the light requirements? They're going to be on a day/night dimmer thermostat to regulate the temperature between day and night, but what level of UVB and UVA do they need? And will they be ok with a jungle dawn to help keep the plants healthy?

Hope someone can help
Thanks
Nathan
 
A

acpart

Well-known member
I've been keeping S. macrolaepis since March. There's a great website that will provide care and breeding info here: +++ The Genus Sphaerodactylus +++ (unfortunately the forums are in German).
i keep my slightly smaller S. macrolepis in a 12x12x12 planted enclosure. I don't use UV; I maintain them with calcium and D3, as I do my day geckos. I have a light for the plants and a halogen puck light for basking. I feed them 2-3 times a week. They get isopods, pinhead crickets or small flightless fruit flies. If you use a front-opening enclosure, be sure to check the seams where the doors meet the sides of the enclosure. They usually have to be built up with clear tape because otherwise the geckos will squeeze through. When I received my S. macrolepis, one had managed to squeeze through the air hole in the deli cup and was in the shipping box.
Here's a picture of my setup:



Aliza
 
N

Nathanb

New member
Thanks for the reply Aliza, your setup looks good :). These 3 are going into a 30x30x45 - it's had dart frogs bred in it before, I got it from someone I know and she reckons fruit flies can't escape - if fruit flies can't excape I'm hoping geckos can't escape! (I'll just blu-tack up all around the top) My baby williamsi are in a slightly modified Exo and they haven't escaped (yet!)

Good call building the edges up with clear tape - I've always modified sliding door strips to go in, but for tighter gaps I can see how tape is easier and better, I'll remember that for future!

I'll go with a weak UVB I think - 7% (I don't see what harm it will do) then an infrared spot for basking. I will probably also put a Jungle Dawn on their too - since I first put them on a couple of the other tanks the other week the effect on the plants has been amazing!
Out of interest what humidity do you keep them at? The current owner reckons he only mists them every couple days and they're fine, but form reading they seem to like quite high humidity most of the time....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top