Marbled Gecko Care Sheet

[1131035]

Hi, I am thinking of getting some marbled geckos (not velvet just standard) and wanted to know if anyone had a good care sheet or some info?

Thanks

 

[richoman_3]

the tank should be minimum 25x20x20cm, the substrate should be washed sand about 4 - 5cm deep or cocopeat or mix. Make sure there is alot of hides in the enclosure ( rocks, bark caves, etc ) as they are nocturnal and hide during the day. Make sure there is no gaps bigger than 7mm in the enclosure as they are escape artists and can squeeze their body through gaps. As i said they are nocturnal which means you probably wont see them much during the day. They are very fast and skittish and i suggest you dont handle them as if they jump out of your hands, its very hard to get them back as they will just climb up the wall and run around everywhere. They will eat crickets ( buy them from your local pet store, dont catch them from the wild to be on the safe side ). I feed mine 3 crickets every 3 days.(dust them with calcium every 2nd feed). Spray the tank every 2 days, you can have a waterbowl in there if you want but ive never seen mine drink out of it. Heating is not required for them - room temperature if perfectly fine. If you are in Vic you will not need a licence for this species. They are very easy to breed, just cool the male down and in spring he should breed with females
If you need more info let me know
Cheers Nick

 

[1131035]

Thats great thanks, what do you mean by washed sand? so you don't think I will need a heat mat? and last question sorry, do they need greens at all e.g. vegies?

Thanks again

 

[richoman_3]

you buy it at bunnings in big bags, its called 'washed sand'
and you buy cocopeat in bricks which you put in warm water to expand.
you shouldnt need a heat mat, room temperature is fine.
No they dont need any veggies
alot of petshops around melbourne have them, amazing amazon is your best bet for healthy ones

 

[1131035]

Sounds good, what about misting and water? and do you feed them at night?

 

[richoman_3]

yeah i misted mine every 2 days
i had a waterbowl in there but they never used it,
yeah feed them before it gets dark

 

[1131035]

What do you think about reptile bark as a substrate?

 

[mad_at_arms]

I suggest minimum gaps of 5mm as opposed to 7mm as richo suggested.
I say that because I bought a pair and housed them in a small glass enclosure with sliding doors.
Short story:- they climbed up in the plastic channel moulding for the sliding glass and escaped.
Gap would have been barely 5mm and required two opposing 90 degree turns in the space of 15mm.
I did recapture the bigger one after about 3 months on the lamb.

I use coco peat and play sand with a bit of coarse gravel mixed in.

 

[PeppersGirl]

Just look at the size of the gecko's head, if it can't get its head through the gap, there's no way it'll get out

 

[1131035]

Thanks

Hi guys, I am putting my gecko enclosure together and wanted to know if it is ok to use reptile bark as substrate? What do you also think about bynoe's geckos?

 

[PeppersGirl]

Bynoes are good geckos, mostly terrestrial and require a little more heat than marbled geckos. Mine also come out in the day, even the hatchies don't seem to mind the light for a while, so long as it's not too bright.

 

[1131035]

cool, what heat do you recommend? I am thinking of using a heat mat but am not sure what heat and when to have it on e.g. at night or day or both?

Thanks

 

[PeppersGirl]

I have it on both night and day for mine, as long as the heat only covers part of the floor area so they have a cool side as well. The substrate is 30 degrees. Oh, and they also like drinking from standing water some of the time

 

[1131035]

Great thanks, so the substrate should be 30 degrees all the time?

 

[PeppersGirl]

Only up to a third of the enclosure floor. But I'd leave it on, they can judge they day/night cycle by light and it helps to be warm when you hunt