Crocodile/Moorish Gecko care? Substrate?

[Reborn]

:main_thumbsup:Long story short pet store has one, I wanna get it but im a little confused on substrate, some say sand(which i dont wanna risk imaction with) some say eco earth some say tile. Can any help me out there? thanks sorry if this isnt the right spot, theres no section for them so..

 

[Dog Shrink]

What does the pet store have it on? I would think tile or eco earth would be appropriate. Did you check past threads for a care sheet?

 

[Reborn]

I have but found none, i was hoping for one;D They have it on wood chips, no hides and its only like 6 inchs high so its obvious there not housed right. Eco earth is seeming like the right choice so far.

 

[T-ReXx]

Moorish geckos come from savannah like habitats and live in rock piles and on rock walls. I would avoid straight sand, they are not desert geckos. Eco earth is fine but you don't want it too moist, these guys like it a bit on the dry side. A peat moss/coarse sand mix (60% peat, 40% sand) works well. Provide large flat cork sections leaned against the enclosure walls and a cork tube or pvc section for a hiding area. A few fake or mildly arid plants(snake plants are great) low to mid 80s ambient temp with a 90F hotspot. No UVB required. Nocturnal lamps or Ceramic Heat emitters work best for a heat source. Mist once daily. Feeding is pretty easy, they're fairly voracious geckos and will eat crickets, roaches, and meal or superworms usually. Roaches are the best diet, followed by crickets. Dust feeders with calcium containing D3 every other feeding. Handling is pretty much a bad idea, they're fast moving and have delicate skin, and most readily bite. They're a fairly easy species to keep and breed.

 

[Reborn]

Moorish geckos come from savannah like habitats and live in rock piles and on rock walls. I would avoid straight sand, they are not desert geckos. Eco earth is fine but you don't want it too moist, these guys like it a bit on the dry side. A peat moss/coarse sand mix (60% peat, 40% sand) works well. Provide large flat cork sections leaned against the enclosure walls and a cork tube or pvc section for a hiding area. A few fake or mildly arid plants(snake plants are great) low to mid 80s ambient temp with a 90F hotspot. No UVB required. Nocturnal lamps or Ceramic Heat emitters work best for a heat source. Mist once daily. Feeding is pretty easy, they're fairly voracious geckos and will eat crickets, roaches, and meal or superworms usually. Roaches are the best diet, followed by crickets. Dust feeders with calcium containing D3 every other feeding. Handling is pretty much a bad idea, they're fast moving and have delicate skin, and most readily bite. They're a fairly easy species to keep and breed.

My worry with feeding roachs is they'll try to bury themselves in the bedding@.@ dont want the little guy getting impacted. oohhhh 90F hot spot see not a single caresheet ive read mentions that, says room temps fine and a lamp is nice but not needed@.@ Delicate skin? like it'll fall off? Only time i planned to handle it was when i need to clean its HOLE cage(not spot cleaning) Right now the little boogers gonna need to deal with the eco earth, my moss is on its way;D Its not most at all, been drying for 3 days now and it wasnt very moist to begin with, id say its 40% humidity tops.:main_laugh: Ill pick up a few cork bits, I read they like rocky serfaces so i got a basking rock that also is a hide(very secure wont move at ALL) But a cork peice will be easy to get. Thanks for the help:main_thumbsup: your always helpful;D

 

[Reborn]

LOL sorry forgot to say BREED? Doesnt seem like many are working with the little guys. it'd be neat to see what morph/colors could come out of them tho. I also hear there terribly hard to sex right and males are very terriotorial with other males.

 

[T-ReXx]

My worry with feeding roachs is they'll try to bury themselves in the bedding@.@ dont want the little guy getting impacted. oohhhh 90F hot spot see not a single caresheet ive read mentions that, says room temps fine and a lamp is nice but not needed@.@ Delicate skin? like it'll fall off? Only time i planned to handle it was when i need to clean its HOLE cage(not spot cleaning) Right now the little boogers gonna need to deal with the eco earth, my moss is on its way;D Its not most at all, been drying for 3 days now and it wasnt very moist to begin with, id say its 40% humidity tops.:main_laugh: Ill pick up a few cork bits, I read they like rocky serfaces so i got a basking rock that also is a hide(very secure wont move at ALL) But a cork peice will be easy to get. Thanks for the help:main_thumbsup: your always helpful;D

To avoid roaches burying themselves, use a feeding dish.

These geckos come from warm areas, they need heat.

The skin tears easily. For removing the gecko from the cage use a small soft fish or bird net. These guys do very well in naturalistic setups, if you have live plants directly in the substrate and use bioactive substrate with introduced detrivores the only cleaning requirement is wiping down the glass and spot cleaning.

Rocks are good with these guys, just have to make sure they're secure, like you said.

 

[T-ReXx]

LOL sorry forgot to say BREED? Doesnt seem like many are working with the little guys. it'd be neat to see what morph/colors could come out of them tho. I also hear there terribly hard to sex right and males are very terriotorial with other males.

Sexing can be difficult but males have obvious preanal pores. As with most geckos males should never be kept together. As far as I know there are no genetic morphs or variations of Moorish gecko in existance and producing one would be unlikely, but is possible.

 

[Reborn]

Well i picked up the guy(looks like a male) he was wild caught and been in the pet store for a year easily. He is FREAKING THIN! his stomach is sunkin even. I left him alone for a hour then put a few crickets dusted in just to see if he'd go after them. He went for them right away. He's eaten all there back legs off but hasnt eaten a full cricket just yet. Im hoping it was just from neglect that hes so thin... Ive read parasites are super unlikely with them, should i be worried to much? I've got parasite/wormer so it wouldn't be a huge deal if i had to worm him. One of his toes too are broken....He's had a very rough start but im hoping i can get him to pull threw.

 

[Reborn]

thnk he'd eat mealworms or supers? i put a dish of mealies in there last night and it does seem like some are missing(they cant crawl out the dishis to hide and the sides are curved inward) His stomach also doesnt look as thin still noticablly bad but not as bad as it wasy. Might have aten a cricket but not 100 havent gone threw the cage. Ill get a pic of his stomach ASAP(later today) Im not exadgerating in the least...poor guy....