Care Sheet updated: 5 July 2019
Is it only males who vocalize? What type of housing do they require? It appears to be a live planted vivarium :scratchhead: I'm guessing being from S.E. Asia they need higher relative humidity.
The volume that little fellow produces is remarkable given his size. He looks like he is no bigger than Apollo's tail, but not nearly as big around :coverlaugh:
Click:
Cyrtodactylus peguensis | The Reptile Database
The risk of calcium crash is no joke!
ALL Cyrtodactylus peguensis zebraicus females, who are producing ANY eggs, are extremely susceptible to blood calcium crashes!
VITAL tip: When I started back up with these gorgeous geckos in September 2015, European breeder Georg Simon shared this important advice with me!!!
"Most important: Offer them sepia skulls (cuttle bone) in small crumbs, NOT just powder! They will eat it pure!" (NOT the actual cuttle shell -- the "softer" powder part)
These females are EXTREMELY prone to calcium crashes once they begin developing eggs whether those eggs are fertile or not. Both my original females died (April 2015 & August 2015) from calcium crashes.
NOW for all these geckos including egg-laying females I lightly dust ALL prey at every feeding with Zoo Med's supplements and this rotation (if not Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). For mature males I lightly dust 1/2 the prey.
- Monday - Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
- Wednesday - plain precipitated calcium carbonate (Zoo Med or NOW brand)
- Friday - Zoo Med's Reptivite withOUT D3
ADD a small dish of shaved cuttle bone for 24/7 access for females who are producing ANY eggs! You won't be sorry. Females need those supplements throughout their lives on a very regular basis!
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Cyrtodactylus zebraicus (Thai Ocelot Gecko) Care Sheet
26 February 2018
Updated: 21 June 2023
(work in progress)
NOTE: If you took any of these photos, please let me know via Geckos Unlimited or FB Private Message so that I can give you proper credit. Many thanks!
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Cyrtodactylus peguensis zebraicus
COMMON NAMES
Thai Ocelot Gecko, Pegu Forest Gecko, Thai Bow-fingered Gecko, & Thai Bent-toed Gecko
DISTRIBUTION & TYPE LOCALITY
Distribution of subspecies
zebraicus: Thailand
Type locality: Ronpibon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
This subspecies,
Cyrtodactylus (peguensis) zebraicus, is mentioned by German Boris Klusmeyer in the
Reptile Data Base. It was classified in 1962 by Taylor and in 1999 by Chan-Ard et al.
- Cyrtodactylus peguensis zebraicus Edward Harrison Taylor 1962: 213
- Cyrtodactylus peguensis zebraicus Tanya Chan-Ard et al. 1999: 113
DESCRIPTION & SIZE
Many seem to begin life with yellowish patterned bodies & heads. Their tails are black & white striped. As they mature, many hatchlings "lose" their yellowish bodies & heads.
Sometimes their hatchling body color changes to brown.
Hatchlings begin life at less than 1 gram. At first they usually gain 1 gram per month.
My younger adult male weighs 7.8 grams. He seems to have maxed out. My 6.5 yo male is larger. Both females weigh 10+ grams.
BEHAVIOR
*** These geckos are mostly active at dusk, during the night, & at dawn. ***
Males occasionally 'chirp' loudly. They'll even chirp when one
IS watching! I've infrequently heard my females peep softly.
They are crepuscular &
very secretive. They love their narrow cork bark tubes!
My adults do use their water dishes.
They don't have "sticky feet". Give them something to grip like Exo Terra Jungle Vines & cork bark, so they can fully explore their environments.
HOUSING IN CAPTIVITY
I keep 3 of my 5 adult
Cyrtodactylus zebraicus on layered substrates, so that I can periodically water the substrate. That keeps the relative humidity somewhat higher than in my bedroom. It keeps the topmost substrate layer relatively dry. I occasionally spray the enclosures.
- Bottom layer ~ a couple inches of Hydroton clay culture balls
- Mid layer ~ Easy Gardener Landscape Fabric: a porous black cloth that lets water pass through
- Top layer ~ well-washed fine grade orchid bark in my 20 gallon regular; Eco Earth's coco fiber in 2 of 3 smaller habitats.
In Derek Dunlop's 12 yo male's 20 gallon regular enclosure I have
- 1 cork bark flat on 2/3rds of the back wall
- 3 long narrow cork bark tunnels
- 3 inch diameter water dish
- 8 ounce clear glass food dish with vertical sides
- 2 small coconut shell hides
- 2 Exo Terra's Jungle Vines -- very important for climbing! (Twist 1 large & 1 small jungle vine together.)
- 1 philodendron plastic hanging plant with small leaves
- Silk hanging plants with variegated leaves. Some silk plants are suspended from the screen top.
TEMPERATURES
All the enclosures sit in my upstairs gecko room/bedroom. Round-the-clock temperatures during the summer range from 71 - 80ish*F (21.7*C - 26.7*C). At night the actual temperature may drop to 69ish*F (20.6*C). The room's thermostat is set for 71*F year-round.
"
Keep eggs in the mid-70s. These geckos will hatch about 4 months later." ~~ Jm
LIGHTING
Mine are kept with natural room lighting only. Their room has a large southern-facing window & an eastern-facing deck door with full glass window panes.
FEEDING & SUPPLEMENTS
Feed these geckos well-fed &
lightly dusted crickets. Other people also feed them wee
Blaptica dubia & mealworm larvae.
Start off hatchlings with 1/8 inch crickets. Soon they'll accept larger prey.
Feed hatchlings just about daily. For the entire group of growing chirpers I rotate
Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3,
plain calcium carbonate, and
Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins without D3 every 3 feedings.
Feed and supplement the breeding females as follows. I include the young male, but only
lightly dust half his prey.
- Monday ~ lightly dust all crickets with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
- Wednesday ~ lightly dust all crickets with plain - no D3 calcium carbonate
- Friday ~ lightly dust all crickets with Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins without D3
In addition provide a shallow dish of shaved cuttle bone for every female, whether or not she's laying eggs. They devour the cuttle bone chunks and powder!
Each time I feed these geckos I moisten 1/2 their blue shop paper towel substrate with water to increase the humidity. They actually lap water directly from those paper towels!
SEXING
Males develop substantial hemipenal bulges AND they chirp early on! Sexing them at about 6 months is fairly easy.
Males are sometimes smaller than females.
BREEDING & INCUBATION
Wait until females & males are 18 mo prior to breeding.
- Hunt for eggs: carefully search Eco Earth's coco fiber substrate.
- Carefully place eggs individually in bottle caps upon a dry substrate like seramis.
- Then place each bottle cap into a deli container that contains a damp incubation medium like seramis.
- Cover deli container with perforated lid.
- Place deli container into a 2.5 gallon glass enclosure that has a 1/2 glass-covered screen top.
- Keep eggs at room temperature between 70ish*F ----> to 80*F MAX.
- As the humidity increases, beads of moisture will build up in the deli container.
These geckos take
4-5 months to hatch when their eggs are kept between 69ish*F - 80ish*F (but not year-round). Even an 88*F room spike for several hours on the 24 June 2017 when my small town experienced a record-breaking high of 101.25 did not slow things down. (
Whew!)
Other keepers have reported 100 & 180 day hatch times.
FYI: Because I've been cautioned about temperatures exceeding 80*F with this species, I mention that during that
HOT 24 June 2017 day Derek's then nearly 6 yo male survived the afternoon with room temperatures reaching 94*F. His 20 gallon regular enclosure was too heavy to move downstairs.
