Gold Dust Day Gecko???

[arodz_29]

I've had a gold dust day gecko for a little over a year. The place I bought it from was unable to tell me the sex. I'm looking into buying another one and housing it with our baby. Does anyone know how to determine the sex of your gold dust?

Thanks

 

[Haroldo]

Yes, males have pores before their vent in a v-pattern.

As far as housing Phelsuma together, I really wouldn't do it, especially with Ph. laticauda (gold dust). Phelsuma are fairly intraspecific aggressive, and laticauda are known for their aggression. If you are going to try to house two together, be sure you know both sexes!
Be sure they're of similar size.
Be sure they are in a vivarium of adequate size!
Be sure the are introduced into a new vivarium jointly-so there isn't an immediate infringement of territory (such as introducing a new animal to an already established animal's cage).
Be sure the new vivarium has an over-abundance of hiding spaces, including a number of bamboo pieces.

There are alot of "be-sures," (even some not mentioned here) but really be sure to quarantine and examine the new animal for endo- or ectoparisites.

 

[Haroldo]

I thought I'd clarify one thing:

When I say don't house Phlesuma together, I meant that as a conditional to the following statements (not to be understood as a comprehensive list of "do's"). Of course these geckos get together for breeding purposes, but few of the many species seem to 'bond' to each other--demonstrating life-long tolerance. With many of the species I work with, I have to watch for compatibility rather regularly, as it can shift without notice.

 

[arodz_29]

Thanks for the reply. When you say vent???...is that the vent displayed between his hind legs and tail? We have other reptiles, our bearded dragon has the most notable pores (Is that what I'm to look for?). When we originally bought our day gecko he was housed in with other day geckos (so I've always wondered if housing with one more was a problem). We bought him from a Petland, I don't think they knew much of the species...what we know, we've researched online.

 

[TokayKeeper]

if you're looking at getting more look up Leap'n Lizards (Greg and Leann Christenson...daygecko or daygeckos.com, forget which it is). They have tons of day geckos. They work with P. laticauda angularis, and IMO are some of the prettiest gold dust days (lots of blues and reds). I picked up a young pair from them back in 99 or 00. All I did was put them in a Model 16 Lizard Lounge (15 gallon vertical) with some bamboo and a pothos, fed em, and let them do their own thing. Within 6 months I was getting babies.

If I ever do Phelsuma again it'll be P. lat lat's, P. lat. ang's and peacock days (quadracellata is the species I think).

 

[Ccrashca069]

Thanks for the reply. When you say vent???...is that the vent displayed between his hind legs and tail? We have other reptiles, our bearded dragon has the most notable pores (Is that what I'm to look for?). When we originally bought our day gecko he was housed in with other day geckos (so I've always wondered if housing with one more was a problem). We bought him from a Petland, I don't think they knew much of the species...what we know, we've researched online.

Those are the vents. If you see 2 little round bulges then its a boy in not a girl.

Also try www.geckoranch.com Julie Bergman always has day geckos for sale.

 

[Haroldo]

Crashca069, not all Phelsuma species have discernible hemipenal bulges on males. In fact, I've about 6 species or so here, that pores are the clearest indicator.

The other posters gave some good references...Julie, Leann (and Greg) are all good friends of mine. Leann's book is a good starter book, but I'd also recommend picking up "Day Geckos" by F. Bruse, M. Meyer, and W. Schmidt. Another is "Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar..." by Friedrich-Wilhelm Henkel and Wolfgang Schmidt. Not very expensive books, and you'll find them very helpful. Unfortunately, there's not a complete Phelsuma reference book out, and many of the really good ones are in completely different languages (often German), so you'll need to slowly assemble a "research-grade" book collection if you are really interested in the genus.

Best of luck!

 

[Ccrashca069]

Julie is pretty cool. I have 3 leopard geckos from her. She is only about 35 miles from me. Takes me maybe 30 minutes to drive over ( most of the way is 2 lane mountain roads). She sell books she wrote or co-authored about them too on her site. I only had giant day geckos (grandies) and I was told to look for the bulges like leopards. I know that white-spotted geckos are the same way.

 

[arodz_29]

Thanks for all the info. I got a boy!!!

 

[Ccrashca069]

cool I hope you find anouther gold dust to go with it.

 

[Gecko Ranch]

Thank you for the kind words John and Harold! That is good you have a boy, they are harder to find than females CB.