Getting my first Sikorae

[darkridder]

So I have been wanting a new species for a long time, actually sold all but one of my gargs, out of my red group of cresteds sold all but the lovely Rubia. But I was really itching for something a little more like crested care, by that I mean not a lot of heating required. I do want more phelsuma, just right now I think I will hold off on that. So with that I was considering either uros or agris, the bonus of agris already had the perfect setup for a pair, and pretty much the same upkeep as cresteds. But my eyes kept going towards uros. And well yesterday I seen one and went I MUST HAVE, sent the pm and now I have a girl on hold...lol I did this while at work yesterday in or work cooler.....bad me looking at geckos for sale when I should be working. But thankfully I was the first one to email her as I was talking to another forum friend over on Pangea and she was like oooo you beat me to her I inquired!

So now I am on the hunt for an even larger exo, I have a 18 x 18 x 18 exo she could go in, but I do plan on getting her a male and I am assuming that will be a bit small for a pair? I have a 29 gallon tall also but thats a pain in the butt for a shorty like me although I have considered using it since it is only like 3 gallons smaller than the 18 x 18 x 24 exo. What size would you suggest in the long run? Are there tanks better than others for these guys? I thought about trying an all screen with a substrate holder, then for the sides have them completely covered with either the bark backgrounds or styrofoam sheet and just decorate that....but honestly I hate doing that, not a fan of getting dirty lmao. Is there such a thing as too big for a pair? I found a decently priced 36 x 18 x 18, didnt know if that would be over kill. Any suggestions?

 

[Northstar Herp]

Uroplatus range quite a bit at night and will cruise around whatever space you give them, but they'd probably be just fine in the tank you already have. I've always wondered how the "experts" determine what minimum cage size should be for a given species. They seem to just make it up if you ask me, or determine it by feelings. If they animals can move quite a bit so they don't get lethargic and obese, if they eat and breed then I don't know how it could be called too small unless the keeper just arbitrarily thinks it is.

Rant over... having already said the 18x18x18 would work, I think if it were me I would use the 29 tall. Outfit it well with lots of branches and make sure you can search for eggs, then you're good. They'll use the entire enclosure and sikorae are a blast to watch at night. It shouldn't be a pain since Uroplatus are a hands off species anyway and most poop would end up in the bottom two thirds of the tank.

 

[darkridder]

I had decided just to go with the 29 gallon tank as I had talked to several owners and they said it would work perfectly fine. I just need to buy a different screen top, a hinged one so I dont have to keep removing the light to get in there.

How easy is it to locate their eggs? I have a frend who plans to hose her pair on paper towels and just offer potted plants and an egg laying box, myself I heard they dont do as well on the paper towels as it looses its humidity quickly. I thankfully dont have to play the find the buried treasure with my phelsuma since she likes to lay them up on a basking ledge that has soil in it. Just wondered how much of a pain is it, or if they leave their mark well known where to dig.

Also I have been looking into lights. Some say a 5.0 but the 5.0 on my 24 x 24 x 24 exo was too strong for my plants so I actually have to cover it by 50% so that the plants dont die from it, it has worked pretty well so far this way, but still gives my phelsuma access to the light. I kind of want to try a LED bulb, but from what I can read from the one I have been looking at it doesnt actually produce any UV, and although these guys dont necessarily need it it could only help. I know the bulb will be variant on species of plant used, I am thinking of just going with Sansevieria, Dracaena, and pothos as I already use some of those in my other 2 planted tanks...I have one plant that has done really well, cant remember its name though.

 

[Northstar Herp]

It may be a debatable subject, but most of the successful keepers I know use UVB. Most I know use 5.0.

I use layboxes with my uroplatus and they've served me very well so far. Sikorae will lay under some kind of cover like leaves, logs, bark etc. so you can use that to somewhat limit the area you need to search. I use Zilla Jungle Mix with no other cover, but then a laybox filled with Jungle Mix with a layer of moss and leaves. I've had fimbriatus and henkeli lay in these boxes 100% of the time, and sikorae lay their eggs in a similar fashion.