Introducing Split, my daughter's new Gargoyle Gecko

[cardcrimson]

Picked him up today at the East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley. A big departure from the Leopard Geckos she fell in love with at Petco. She adored "Split" from the moment it crawled up her arm. Attached are some photos of the little one and its home. Constructive criticism welcome.

The basics:

The terrarium is 12x12x18. The guy at the store recommended this size for a smaller gecko and moving to a larger set up in about 9 months. As I'd spent hours researching leopards, I was at his mercy. I did subsequently read online, that this current set up should be fine for a full grown gecko as well. Thoughts?

Reptile soil as the substrate. Sphagnum moss dampened set about in several places. One half cut tree thing as a hide. Plastic plant. Large climbing root and several rocks (boiled, baked to clean). A water bowl. A flat rock to place fruit puree on a leaf so it's easy to clean (see pic).

One area where I'm perplexed is on lighting. He recommended UVB during the day, and UVA as a heat lamp 24/7. Then I read UVB isn't necessary and heat is only necessary if the room is cool. Currently ambient is around 78 to 80 in the room. Thoughts? As a side note, both UVA and UVB cause skin cancer. Has there been much discussion/concern in the reptile world? Huge concern with fluorescent rock collectors.

Feeding thus far has been the banana puree, that Split seems to love. Crickets will be a staple as well.

Thanks for any and all suggestions and comments.

 

[Herpin Man]

Although I'm relatively new to this species myself, I have done a substantial amount of research on them, and my own group of them seems to be thriving. I agree that there is conflicting information out there, but that is true of many herp species.
East Bay Vivarium has a reputation for good advice. The size that was recommended to you is good for now; for later, I would go bigger.
Substrate and decor that you got should be fine. The setup looks nice.
This species is nocturnal and does not bask- heat lamps and UVB are unnecessary. Your current ambient temps are good, and a slight drop at night is fine. This species does not need hot basking temps, which would in fact be a detriment. To my knowledge, UVB does not cause skin cancer in herps. If you did use a UVB light in a reptile enclosure, the UVB is only effective for a distance of a couple of feet or so- no danger to humans, if that is what you are asking.
For food- I recommend Pangea prepared diets. They are powder that you mix with water. Try several flavors, including the one with insects. It smells good. I've tasted it myself- kind of like a smoothie. Mix it runny, per the instructions on the package, and put some in a tiny dish. It will be too runny for placing on a leaf. I use the lid from the small solo cups. Your gecko may not eat every time you feed it; or, it may eat so little that it's barely noticeable. Some nights it will clean its plate. You should offer it food 3 or 4 times a week. Since they are more active at night, I feed them late in the day. Place the dish near cover, so the gecko does not need to venture into the open to eat. The Pangea should be the main diet. It already has vitamins mixed in.
You should also supplement with live insects- mine will eat superworms, crickets, and dubia.

 

[cardcrimson]

Thanks for the help Herpin Man. Good to know there is a lot of conflicting info out there, t'was a bit confusing. Will go with what seems most reasonable, for example nocturnal animals don't have the same needs for UV, makes sense.

We also collect fluorescent rocks, hence the concern for UV exposure. Those lamps are a tad bit stronger than reptile lamps, and can cause some serious problems. Glass blocks some, but not all of the UV.

The prepared diets seem to be a great solution after my daughter tires of making a daily fruit puree for Split. So far, it's tough to see exactly what it's eating so far. It did lick the puree Sunday, but not much of it vanished. Crickets hard to tell if they've vanished, either. Will keep checking.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Herpin Man]

Your daughter has excellent taste in geckos.