Marbled Geckos

[Logan92]

Hey everyone!
im looking at getting 2 marbled geckos..
what is needed for them in terms of heating, lighting?
and how often do i powder their crickets with calcium?
thanks!
Josh.

 

[tommy123]

room temp is fine.
they dont need heating or lighting but its always good to get a bit of sun.
they dont need lighting because they prefer to come out at night.

 

[PeppersGirl]

Dust the crickets every third feed
You don't 'need' heat for them, but I find they like it if there's a heat mat on a low temp - up to you

 

[Logan92]

hmm fair enough, well my room gets pretty warm and stays pretty warm in summer, generally hot sometimes.
so it shouldnt be to much of a problem.
is there a way to tell the sex of them pretty easily or is it a difficult thing to do?

 

[tommy123]

i keep my in the reptile room it allways warm so its probly a good i dear to have a heat mat on a low temp

it can be diffecult to get a male to push its hemmypenis out thats how i sexed mine but if ben doing it for a while now it probly better to git a reptile vet to do it if you havent done it before

 

[PeppersGirl]

There is no need to find the hemipenes on a marbled gecko. Females have calcium stores (white lumps) on either side of their neck, males won't.

 

[tommy123]

did'nt no that it just goes to show that you learn somthing every day thanks peppersGirl

 

[richoman_3]

tommy they do not need sun....
room temp is fine and if you want to breed them seperate the male and keep it in a cooler spot during winter than introduce it in spring
and yeah as peppersgirl said females have calcium deposits on there necks

 

[tommy123]

breed mine the last 3 years i no they dont need sun but a little bit wont hurt them cheers mate

 

[PeppersGirl]

I would think in giving them sun there's a chance you could have them overheat, they don't like the light much

 

[richoman_3]

whats the point of giving them sun though, theyd just get stressed out :S

 

[B-Bear]

I find at a very early age the males have like little tiny rice grains that are fairly easy to see even with out magnifying glass, just above cloaca. Females don't have this and with this method you can sex them very early on in the peace. With calcium spurs on their throat they have to be of breeding age since these glands actually produce a liquid that they put on their eggs to make the shells harden.

 

[Logan92]

ok well i think they are both males.
and im finding it pretty hard to make it humid and warm in there tank without any heat source so im thinking...
does my stimson python need the heat mat underneath his enclosure if he has the overhead lamp in there?

 

[PeppersGirl]

They don't need humidity - the reason you spray the enclosure is so they can drink the water droplets. If as you say the room stays warm, keeping them without heat (at least for this time of year) is fine

 

[Logan92]

ah ok then :S well i just picked them up and they are sitting in my room now, so hopefully it will get warm enough for them in there
they are so little :S

 

[PeppersGirl]

Hehe, they don't get huge either! How little, can you measure one?

 

[Logan92]

yeah i know well i just measured and one is about 8cm and the other is a tiny bit smaller.

 

[PeppersGirl]

Quite young then Well enjoy them, nice little critters they are... even when they poop down the glass

 

[Logan92]

yeah they are youngings thanks peppers! lol, they have already pooped quite a bit actually. umm 2 more questions, how long do they get when they are fully grown and how exactly do i get the crickets out of the container and into the tank? haha

 

[PeppersGirl]

They get to 13cms, maybe a little more but mine have shorter tails. Crickets are tricky at first! If you're keeping them with an egg carton, get a container and gently tap the carton over the top of the container - some of the hiding crickets should fall in, but remeber they jump so keep an eye out then you can tip them in easily.
Marbled geckos also like hunting small moths, it's fun to watch.