Post by HelenAldredJones on Apr 14, 2004 1:22:14 GMT -5
Pictus Gecko
Paroedura Pictus
written by Helen Aldred-Jones
General Information
The Pictus Gecko (or Big-Headed Gecko) is a smallish gecko from Madagascar. It is a very pretty gecko, and various colour morphs and phases are appearing as this gecko grows in popularity, such as the xanthic, banded and hypomelanistic morphs. It is quite excitable as a hatchling, but will become calmer as it gets older and you handle it regularly, remember, this species has an autonomous tail, which means it can detach itself as a form of defence, and the re-grown tail will never be as nice as the original tail.
These geckos are very similar in care to the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis Macularius), and as such they are nocturnal geckos. They grow to a size of around 5-8 inches.
Housing
For hatchlings I would use a medium or large ‘Geo flat’, with kitchen towel as the substrate to avoid impaction. In my Pictus enclosure, I have a ‘humid hide’ which is basically an old tub with a hole cut out of the side, and I have added damp sphagnum moss and placed the tub on the ‘hot end’ of the enclosure, this can be used to aid shedding as the gecko will enter it, and the humidity should soften the skin, making it easier to shed. I have also got a water bowl, a hide, and an old bottle top which I hold calcium powder in so they can regulate their calcium intake. I would also have 2 thermometers, one placed at the warm end, and one at the cool end to monitor the temperature in the enclosure.
Picture
For adults, I would recommend at least a 24” (2 foot) vivarium for a pair. As adults, you can continue to use kitchen towel as a substrate, or a more aesthetically pleasing substrate such as calci-sand. Still include a humid hide, water bowl, hide, and calcium pot, but make these larger to accommodate the adult size.
I have used an under tank heat pad over half the vivarium so the geckos have a warm end and a cool end so they can thermoregulate. The temperature needs to be around 85F and can drop to around 75F a night. Once they are in a larger enclosure, hides can be placed at both the cool and warm ends of the enclosure.
Remember never to house two males together as they are territorial and can be prone to fighting.
Feeding
I feed my geckos brown crickets, mealworms and the occasional wax worm. For hatchling geckos, use micro or 1st or 2nd instar crickets, increasing the size of the crickets gradually as the gecko grows. Remember, only feed crickets NO BIGGER than the space between the geckos eyes, to avoid impaction- it is better to feed more smaller items than less larger items. I dust my food items at every feeding with either Nutrobal vitamin supplement or ‘Bone Aid’ calcium supplement. I also gut load my crickets by feeding them ‘Cricket Diet Plus’ cricket food and giving them ‘Aqua bites’ for moisture, but you can use ‘Bug Grub’ and vegetable peelings for moisture. I normally feed my geckos every day to every other day, with adults being fed less often (once every other day) but more food items than hatchlings or juveniles.
Sexing
Sexing is relatively easy in pictus geckos, Males will have an obviously swollen tail base, where the hemipenal bulges are, as well as having a ‘V’ shaped row of pre-anal pores, the female will have less obvious pores and the tail base will not be as swollen.
Picture
Breeding
As this species can breed all year round, and tend to mate in the early hours of the night to early morning. These geckos can store sperm, so I am not sure how helpful removing the female from the male is, but if you feel she is being ‘over mated’ by all means remove the female temporarily. I recommend that females be at least over one year of age, and males at least 11 months old before breeding.
Once the female is gravid, she should lay her eggs within 2 weeks. Provide a laying box for her to deposit her eggs. This should be an area with moist substrate (such as ‘nature bed’ or ‘bed a beast’ compressed coconut fibre, which she is able to dig in) Females will usually lay two eggs per clutch, but first clutches may only have one egg per clutch.
As the eggs are hard-shelled, they can crumble easily, so I would lift them out with a spoon or such and carefully place them in the incubator, being careful not to turn them as the embryo may drown.
Incubation
I would use an incubating medium such as perlite (a soil lightener available from most garden centres) or vermiculite. Make the medium damp, but not too soggy or the egg will absorb too much moisture and will become infertile. Incubate the eggs at around 82-86F, and at this temperature the eggs should hatch in 45-90 days. It must be noted that unlike some gecko species, Pictus geckos are not usually temperature sexed.
Hatchling care
Leave them in the incubator for 24 hours after hatching to absorb their yolk sac. If one is having trouble getting out of the egg, leave it be as you may rupture the umbilical cord causing them to bleed to death.
Hatchlings often do not feed until after their first shed, which normally takes place within a week of hatching. Feed them micro crickets, removing the remaining uneaten ones so as not to stress the gecko. Keep them in the setup described above. I would recommend misting the hatchlings during a shed to prevent any skin remaining.
Paroedura Pictus
written by Helen Aldred-Jones
General Information
The Pictus Gecko (or Big-Headed Gecko) is a smallish gecko from Madagascar. It is a very pretty gecko, and various colour morphs and phases are appearing as this gecko grows in popularity, such as the xanthic, banded and hypomelanistic morphs. It is quite excitable as a hatchling, but will become calmer as it gets older and you handle it regularly, remember, this species has an autonomous tail, which means it can detach itself as a form of defence, and the re-grown tail will never be as nice as the original tail.
These geckos are very similar in care to the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis Macularius), and as such they are nocturnal geckos. They grow to a size of around 5-8 inches.
Housing
For hatchlings I would use a medium or large ‘Geo flat’, with kitchen towel as the substrate to avoid impaction. In my Pictus enclosure, I have a ‘humid hide’ which is basically an old tub with a hole cut out of the side, and I have added damp sphagnum moss and placed the tub on the ‘hot end’ of the enclosure, this can be used to aid shedding as the gecko will enter it, and the humidity should soften the skin, making it easier to shed. I have also got a water bowl, a hide, and an old bottle top which I hold calcium powder in so they can regulate their calcium intake. I would also have 2 thermometers, one placed at the warm end, and one at the cool end to monitor the temperature in the enclosure.
Picture
For adults, I would recommend at least a 24” (2 foot) vivarium for a pair. As adults, you can continue to use kitchen towel as a substrate, or a more aesthetically pleasing substrate such as calci-sand. Still include a humid hide, water bowl, hide, and calcium pot, but make these larger to accommodate the adult size.
I have used an under tank heat pad over half the vivarium so the geckos have a warm end and a cool end so they can thermoregulate. The temperature needs to be around 85F and can drop to around 75F a night. Once they are in a larger enclosure, hides can be placed at both the cool and warm ends of the enclosure.
Remember never to house two males together as they are territorial and can be prone to fighting.
Feeding
I feed my geckos brown crickets, mealworms and the occasional wax worm. For hatchling geckos, use micro or 1st or 2nd instar crickets, increasing the size of the crickets gradually as the gecko grows. Remember, only feed crickets NO BIGGER than the space between the geckos eyes, to avoid impaction- it is better to feed more smaller items than less larger items. I dust my food items at every feeding with either Nutrobal vitamin supplement or ‘Bone Aid’ calcium supplement. I also gut load my crickets by feeding them ‘Cricket Diet Plus’ cricket food and giving them ‘Aqua bites’ for moisture, but you can use ‘Bug Grub’ and vegetable peelings for moisture. I normally feed my geckos every day to every other day, with adults being fed less often (once every other day) but more food items than hatchlings or juveniles.
Sexing
Sexing is relatively easy in pictus geckos, Males will have an obviously swollen tail base, where the hemipenal bulges are, as well as having a ‘V’ shaped row of pre-anal pores, the female will have less obvious pores and the tail base will not be as swollen.
Picture
Breeding
As this species can breed all year round, and tend to mate in the early hours of the night to early morning. These geckos can store sperm, so I am not sure how helpful removing the female from the male is, but if you feel she is being ‘over mated’ by all means remove the female temporarily. I recommend that females be at least over one year of age, and males at least 11 months old before breeding.
Once the female is gravid, she should lay her eggs within 2 weeks. Provide a laying box for her to deposit her eggs. This should be an area with moist substrate (such as ‘nature bed’ or ‘bed a beast’ compressed coconut fibre, which she is able to dig in) Females will usually lay two eggs per clutch, but first clutches may only have one egg per clutch.
As the eggs are hard-shelled, they can crumble easily, so I would lift them out with a spoon or such and carefully place them in the incubator, being careful not to turn them as the embryo may drown.
Incubation
I would use an incubating medium such as perlite (a soil lightener available from most garden centres) or vermiculite. Make the medium damp, but not too soggy or the egg will absorb too much moisture and will become infertile. Incubate the eggs at around 82-86F, and at this temperature the eggs should hatch in 45-90 days. It must be noted that unlike some gecko species, Pictus geckos are not usually temperature sexed.
Hatchling care
Leave them in the incubator for 24 hours after hatching to absorb their yolk sac. If one is having trouble getting out of the egg, leave it be as you may rupture the umbilical cord causing them to bleed to death.
Hatchlings often do not feed until after their first shed, which normally takes place within a week of hatching. Feed them micro crickets, removing the remaining uneaten ones so as not to stress the gecko. Keep them in the setup described above. I would recommend misting the hatchlings during a shed to prevent any skin remaining.
