African Fat-Tailed Gecko

Scientific classification:

Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:       Chordata
Class:               Reptilia
Order:              Squamata
Suborder:      Lacertilia
Family:            Gekkonidae
Subfamily:    Eublepharinae
Genus:             Hemitheconyx
Species:         H. caudicinctus
Binomial name: Hemitheconyx caudicinctus

 

Native Range:

Most of the African Fat-Tailed Geckos in captivity originate from stock collected in Togo and Ghana in Western Africa. They inhabit dry areas of desert scrub-land and savannahs, preferring sandy areas which provide burrows for cover. They spend daytime underground, where conditions are cooler and moist, emerging at night when conditions are suitable to hunt. Numerous specimens are still being imported from these regions each year. As with all imports, they are generally heavily infected with parasites and badly stressed. It is recommended that keepers purchase healthy captive-bred specimens to avoid the headaches accompanying such imported specimens. This will also serve to reduce the collecting pressures needlessly put on wild populations. They can become very personable as adults, taking hand fed meal worms and even sitting on a warm shoulder. Adults reach a maximum size of 18 – 25cm (7-10 inches).

Wild Status:              

It is widespread in its habitat but populations decline as its environment is lost to human encroachment.

Lifespan:            

Fat-tailed geckos may live 15 years or more in captivity.

Difficulty Level:

Beginner - Easy, but keeper must understand and focus on the animal's basic needs. Proper diet - including calcium & vitamin supplementation - is essential.

Temperatures & Heating:             

Provide your gecko with a basking spot of 85-88°F and an ambient (background) temperature of 78-80 °F. The ambient temperature should not fall below 75°F. It is vitally important to KNOW the temperatures at which you are keeping your gecko(s). DO NOT GUESS!! A great way to monitor temps is to use a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe.
Stick the thermometer to the inside of the cage on the cool end and place the probe on the warm end, and you'll have both sides covered at once.

There are several ways to go about heating the enclosure: under cage heating pads, ceramic heat emitters and basking bulbs (red "night" bulbs) are just a few commonly available methods that work well for Fat-tailed geckos.

Handling:

African Fat-Tailed Geckos rarely attempt to bite, although they may do so if restrained. Handle gently, without pinching or squeezing. Remember that the tail may break off if handled roughly, and although it will regenerate, it will not appear original. Until accustomed to handling; the gecko should be handled inside the cage or while sitting on the floor. A frightened gecko may leap out of the keepers hand and take a fatal fall if held while standing.

Caging:

There is nominal different caging one can use, from plastic shoe boxes or wooden cages to drawer systems. The ideal size is a ten gallon aquarium being adequate for a pair. African Fat- Tailed Geckos cannot climb smooth surfaces, so a screen cover is not needed - although it may keep out the family cat!

Substrate:

African Fat-Tailed Geckos will ingest particles of substrate to use as grit, similar to birds. Therefore, use caution in choosing a substrate or impaction may result. The new calcium carbonate based sands sold by pet stores (Calci-Sand) are ideal as they are digestible and provide additional calcium supplementation. Commercial breeders prefer to maintain their specimens on plain paper flooring and provide a special grit mix in a small dish. The grit mix consists of about 3 parts play sand, 1 part crushed egg shell, and 1 part calcium powder such as Reptical or Rep-Cal. Other keepers use play sand as a substrate and dust the food items heavily with calcium powder.

Accessories :       

The one cage accessory that is essential to a happy fat-tailed gecko is a good hide box…maybe even a couple of them. These are nocturnal, somewhat secretive lizards that appreciate & utilize a hide spot. Provide one on each end of your gecko’s enclosure so that it doesn’t have to choose between temperature & security. Clay flowerpots, plastic flowerpot trays, and commercially available hide boxes all work quite well. Fat-tailed geckos will climb under and through many accessories placed in their enclosure. Cork bark slabs make attractive hiding spots & your geckos will probably use them if present. Fat-tailed geckos are an excellent candidate for a “naturalistic” vivarium, as they do not have a reputation for “trashing” their enclosures as some heavier-bodied lizards may do.

 

Feeding :       

Fat-tailed geckos are carnivorous and thrive on a diet of crickets and mealworms. Consider your gecko's size when choosing prey items - young Fat-tailed geckos should be fed small crickets and mealworms, moving up to adult crickets/mealworms as your gecko matures. Start your young fat-tailed's on a feeding regimen of every other day, and offer them as many insects as they will eat in one sitting. Crickets can be introduced to roam throughout the gecko's enclosure, while mealworms may be offered in a shallow dish that allows the lizard to locate and capture them easily. Remove any uneaten food items within a few hours of feeding.

Supplementation:

Fat-tailed geckos require calcium & vitamin supplementation throughout their lives. Younger geckos should be supplemented every feeding, while older fat-tailed geckos require supplementation only on every second or third feeding. To "dust" prey items prior to feeding, shake a small quantity of calcium & vitamin supplement into a plastic bag. Add prey items and "shake & bake" them by gently jostling the bag until all insects are covered in a layer of calcium/vitamin dust, then feed them to your geckos. For older geckos, you may also leave a shallow dish of calcium/vitamin supplement available within the enclosure, as the geckos will utilize and ingest the supplement of their own accord.
Note: When offering live prey items to your geckos, it is extremely beneficial to "gut load" the feeder insects for 24-48 hours prior to feeding them off. Give your feeder insects a mixture of fruits and vegetables dusted with calcium powder, or offer them any of the commercially available "gut load" diets specifically designed for feeders. Ensuring that your crickets and mealworms are gut loaded will help provide a balanced diet for your fat-tailed geckos.

Other Prey Items:

Adult fat-tailed geckos may be offered wax worms and small pinky mice upon occasion. Both contain higher amounts of fat & protein than are necessary in a standard fat-tailed gecko diet, so use these items sparingly, or to provide an extra boost for breeding adults.

 

Maintenance:            

Spot-clean your fat-tailed gecko's enclosure as necessary. When feces/urates/uneaten prey items are present, remove them as soon as possible. Fortunately, fat-tailed geckos make this task very easy by often choosing one corner of the enclosure in which to defecate - a "gecko litterbox" of sorts. Once your geckos have established their "toilet area" of the cage, you can make your job even easier by lining the spot with paper towel or newspaper. Simply remove the soiled paper when necessary & replace it with clean paper. Clean & disinfect the water bowl on a weekly basis. Depending on cage conditions, remove all substrate & cage furniture and completely disinfect using a 5% bleach solution approximately every 30 days. Rinse the enclosure thoroughly and allow to dry before replacing cage furniture & your gecko(s).

 

Humidity & Water:

Provide clean water in a shallow dish, about the same height as the gecko. While care is outwardly similar to Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius), humidity should be kept somewhat higher or shedding problems and dehydration can result. Due to the variance in cages and home environments, some geckos may experience shedding problems, particularly the toes. If this is noticed, provide a small plastic container with lid (cut an access hole in the side) filled with damp sphagnum moss. This moist hide box will allow the animal to shed properly. Stuck sheds on toes may harden and constrict the blood flow to the toes, causing loss of the toes.
Remember to check the box at least a couple of times a week to gauge the moisture level. Spray the moss within the box as necessary to keep it damp. Fat-Tailed geckos will spend increasing amounts of time in the humidity chamber as they are ready to shed, as the moisture assists them in removing all old skin.
NOTE: Fat-tailed geckos, like many other gecko species, eat their shed skin & leave very few remnants of the shed within the enclosure. Make sure that you check your gecko's toes and the end of its tail to ensure that all old skin was removed during the shed. Skin that is stuck to the toes or tail tip can eventually restrict blood supply to these areas, resulting in tissue death.

 

 

Heating & Lighting:

Provide a thermal gradient by placing a heat pad under one end of the cage. This should allow the gecko to choose from higher temperatures (about 90F) at the warm end, and cooler temperatures (about 75F) at the cooler end. Provide suitable hiding areas at both warm and cool areas, so the lizards can feel secure at any temperature. Temperatures below 75F should be avoided. No special lighting is required for these nocturnal animals.

Reproduction:

Fat-tailed geckos reach sexual maturity around 18 months of age under optimal conditions. Mature males are easily sexed by the presence of hemipenal bulges as well as femoral pores. The pores will be obvious in a V-shaped formation right above the vent. Females will also exhibit these pores, but they are much less pronounced. Animals should be well established and in excellent condition before any breeding is attempted. Breeding may be induced by reducing daytime photoperiod to 8 hours and dropping nighttime temperatures to 70 degrees for approximately 4-6 weeks. Do not feed the geckos at this time. After the cooling period, slowly raise temperatures to normal levels over the course of several days. Mature male fat-tailed geckos will typically breed with any receptive, available females several times throughout the course of the year. Breeding groups of one male & several females may be kept in the same enclosure as long as space is available to accommodate them all.

Gravid females are easy to spot - eggs are visible through the skin on the female belly, and typically two eggs will be present. Provide an egg-laying chamber similar to the humidity box, and place it on the warm side of the gecko's enclosure. Check both the egg box & the humidity chamber daily for the presence of eggs, and monitor the humidity within both boxes.
Once eggs are laid, they can be checked for fertility by "candling" with a small flashlight. Fertile eggs will give off a pinkish glow and a network of blood vessels will be visible within the egg. Incubate fat-tailed gecko eggs in slightly-moist vermiculite for approximately 60 - 70 days.
As gender of fat-tailed geckos is temperature-dependent, incubation temperatures in the low 80's should yield mostly female babies; at 88 - 90 degrees the resulting offspring will be mostly male.
Fat-tailed geckos are considered very easy to breed and are an excellent starter project for the beginning herpetoculturist.

Color & Pattern Morphs:

African Fat-Tailed Geckos are patterned with bold dark bands on a pale tan or pale brown background. Some specimen’s exhibit and orange background color, and many breeders are selecting for this trait. Current known color morphs include the following.

·        Wild (Normal)

·        Amelanistic (Albino)

·        Tangerine Albino

·        Peach Albino

·        Striped Albino

·        Caramel Albino

·        Tangerine

·        Patternless

·        Striped

·        Ghost

·        Oreo

·        Axanthic

·        Jungle

·        White Sock

·        White Out

·        Aberrant White Out

·        Patternless White Out

·        Aberrant

·        Zero

·        Super Zero

·        Stinger

·        White Out Super Zero

·        Granite

Additionally, wild specimens sometimes exhibit a wide white stripe down the length of the back. Originally thought to be a simple recessive trait, our research has shown the actual method of inheritance of this trait to be somewhat more complex. While more study is needed, it is likely that this trait will prove to be co-dominant in nature, or perhaps that there are several loci involved, or even a combination.
Juveniles are banded in dark brownish black on yellowish tan. Juveniles of the white-striped form show only faint evidence of the striping on the head and pelvic regions, with full striping developing quickly over the coming months. Over the years, breeders have selected for various traits, and a wide variety of color and pattern types are being produced.
Many of these are not yet firmly established genetically and the buyer is advised to select carefully. Amelanistic albinos are being produced in very limited numbers, and currently are rather expensive. The whitest of these, known as ‘Leucistic’ is particularly attractive and often command even higher prices.
 At least one breeder is working with what appears to be a melanistic mutation, and while the intensity of the black pigmentation apparently varies, the best are already nearly solid black. With time, this trait will undoubtedly be refined; producing spectacular examples of what is a rather uncommon mutation in reptiles. Needless to say, breeders are already hard at work combining the various color forms and pattern types, including the white striped morph, into what will prove to be a veritable palette of colors for the hobbyist to choose from. Many pattern types are not genetic, or are at least difficult to reproduce consistently, and such herpetoculturists are on the cutting edge of our hobby.

Notes/Comments:

Fat-tailed geckos are a mainstay of the herp hobby. Their rich, velvety colors, docile nature and simple husbandry requirements make them an attractive candidate for the beginning & advanced herper alike. As these lizards are bred more and more in captivity, it is very easy for anyone to acquire and enjoy these reptilian gems!

 

Sumber: Di Sini

Posted in: Gecko,Reptil