Giant Day Gecko Advice: TIA!

[Revasius]

Hi everybody!

I recently picked up a 4 m/o male grandis from an expo... he's the cutest thing EVER and I adore him. I feel like I have a good cover of his husbandry but wanted to check with the pros!

Enclosure: Exo Terra front-opening 12x12x18. (As he grows, his enclosure will be upgraded). Layer of hydroballs on the bottom and then Exo Terra Coco Husk bedding on top. I'm going to start watering the substrate every other day or so to keep the humidity higher in this summer heat! He has multiple cork tubes and flats, bamboo tubes, driftwood, a feeding ledge, and tons of fake plants for cover.

Heating/Lighting: In the Zoo Med Mini Dual Deep Dome fixture: a 50 watt incandescent bulb (currently turned off because it's so hot outside) hooked up to a rheostat and an Exo Terra Reptile UVB 100 26 watt Tropical Compact bulb. (Formerly known as the Repti Glo 5.0 compact). Since his enclosure is so small, I am NOT going to go out and purchase a tube lighting fixture and setup UNTIL he outgrows this enclosure. There is not a tube lighting fixture which will fit a 12x12x18 appropriately, and I am already aware of the fact that that lighting is best. That's a project for down the road. However, if you have alternate suggestions for UVB lighting BESIDES tube lighting, I am all ears! Temps average 79.2 at the warm end and drop down to 78ish at the cooler end. Nighttime temps average at around 78-74 degrees without supplemental heating.

Diet: 5-6 small or 2-4 large chopped-up crickets dusted with Zoo med Repti Calcium WITH D3 every day, and one dusting of Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 per week. Less than half of bottle cap offered of either Pangea + Insects formula, Zoo Med Day Gecko diet, Gerber brand banana or mango baby food, honey, or bee pollen 1x per day. (He never finishes it, hence the small serving). He is also offered mango or banana about once a week or so. I have purchased but have not tried powdered crickets by the company Cricket Flours, intended to be used to supplement offerings of baby food/honey. I'll get back to you on how he receives that!

Let me know what your thoughts are!

Thanks!

 

[acpart]

Congrats on your new gecko. I haven't any experience with giant day geckos, though I have a gold dust and have also kept P. klemmeri. With the substrate, usually there is a layer of mesh in between the hydroballs and the substrate. I would recommend getting and reading "Day Geckos in Captivity" (Day Geckos in Captivity) if you can find one in print. There is a bunch of info about lighting. It's possible to maintain day geckos without the UVB, but if you decide to use it, you could also use a compact florescent in a dome. A basking light is also a good idea. I use puck lights that I get from Home Depot but there is also a nano light. It can be connected to a rheostat if it seems too hot for the enclosure. My day geckos were originally fed baby food (peach) with calcium and vitamin D3 mixed in, but now they are eating Pangea CGD and doing well.

Aliza

 

[Revasius]

Thank you, Aliza! The only reason I don’t use mesh in this viv is that the coco chips are big enough that they just sit on top of the hydroballs, and once they break down to the point where they can trickle down, it’s time to replace them anyway. He does have a basking light, but with it being so hot right now, there’s no need. Thanks for the info!