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can anyone help me with african clawed dwarf geckos

 
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sam316
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Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 143
Location: kent

PostPosted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:28 pm    Post subject: can anyone help me with african clawed dwarf geckos Reply with quote

i have just been given a pair of the above, which is all very exciting but i cannot find any info on them. i am mainly concerned over the correct temperature and humidity but if anyone can give me any info at all i would very much appreciate it. i've kind of had them landed on me last minute with absaloutely no guidence on there needs so info asap would be very much apreciated (i am also posting this in the lizards-general section)
thanks
sam
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Ace
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Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 44
Location: surrey/n.wales

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

they really like to dig. deep sand, 28Degrees C with a basking spot at 32C, keep the sand damp (about 3 inches depth minimum). they are strictly nocturnal and very rarely do i see mine above ground during the day. keep an eye on their feeding as they can be a right pain if they are fresh imports (most are wc). try getting them feeding on small hoppers or wax worms initially as they eat termites naturally and struggle to catch cricket's until they get a bit of practice. try putting some 3rd instar crickets in the fridge for 5 minutes and feed them just before lights out so that the crickets are a little slower and they have more of a chance of catching some.

cheers, will
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serpent
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Joined: 12 Jul 2004
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Location: Kent

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good luck with these Very Happy

These little fellas should be renamed Mostdeadquickus geckosintheworldus
Although I have managed to keep a trio a live for about a year, they can be a right pain in the butt and it was like keeping a pet hole in the dirt. I think I saw them 3 or 4 times in a year, all at early hoiurs of the morning

Substrate ..... I would use a mixture of sand and eco-earth or organic top soil (40/60) to a depth of at least 6 inches.
Half bury a piece of bark going into the substrate at a 45 degree angle and make a starting hole for them so that they have somewhere to start digging and they will usually keep that starter hole as their main entrance. You can also slowly pour water onto the TOP of the bark and it will trickle down to the bottom layer more efficiently rather than pouring it into a corner.
They prefer smaller prey items than a gecko of similar size, i fed mine on no 1 and 2 crickets with no problems.
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sam316
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Joined: 15 Jun 2007
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Location: kent

PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok, thanks guys. very useful stuff there and info is really needed so thanks. also i was wondering what size they reach as mine are 2 inches at the mo. do they get much bigger as they are called "dwarf" or is that just the name? i'm keeping there humidity at around 65% at the moment, is this roughly the right amount? i have no idea if these are wc or not, i believe they are cb but the circumstances in which i was given them were not that helpful so i really can't be sure.
once again thanks for your help on this, i really wanna make sure these little guys do well!
sam

ps Serpant, you said "Mostdeadquickus geckosintheworldus" do they die really easily then, whats there average lifespan?
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serpent
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
ps Serpant, you said "Mostdeadquickus geckosintheworldus" do they die really easily then, whats there average lifespan?


Its not their lifespan that is the problem, it is the getting them acclimitised to captive conditions.
Average size seems to be between 3.5in to a max of 4in.
It almost certain that they are WC.
Ambiant humidity doesnt matter in the slightest.
What is very IMPORTANT is that underground in the burrow is high humidity, I would guess 75%+ at least.
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sam316
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Joined: 15 Jun 2007
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Location: kent

PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok. will set up a burrow for them and put a piece of slate angled out of it. then when i mist the enclosure i can aim on the slate so the water travels to the burrow. is there anything else i can do that will help them aclimatise easier?? eg what sort of live plants would be suitable if any? also do you know specifically where they come from in africa? then i can look into what sort of environment they were most probably in before they were caught and removed from there home (i think its sad, i am still very against the whole wc thing unless in extreme circumstances eg endangered species)
thanks again,
sam
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serpent
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
also do you know specifically where they come from in africa? then i can look into what sort of environment they were most probably in before they were caught


Here you are, a brilliant site to find almost any species natural habitat Very Happy
Just zoom in and out to your spec's Very Happy

http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildfinder/searchBySpecies.cfm?fClass=&fOrder=&fFamily=&fGenus=&fAdvancedSearch=closed&fSearchMode=simple&fIUCN=&fSpecies=Holodactylus%20africanus&startIndex=1&orderBy=1&fWildCard=exact%20match&speciesID=8400#
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Scott W
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Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 13355
Location: London, England.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

that's a great link, very handy tool!
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