Thinking of getting a FT, need help

[Kay26]

So I have been thinking about it for awhile about getting a Fat tail, but I need to know all I can before I make any decisions of getting one.
Right now I have 4 leos and a bearded dragon, is a FT any different from a Leo besides the humidity?
What are the lighting requirements for these guys?
what type of live plants can I have in the tank?
What type of substrate would I need for a FT? and if I had plants?
Does there need to be a cool side and a warm side?
Do they require a great deal of time more so than a leo?

Also, please give me any suggestions that could help me if I do decide to get a FT.

Thanks!

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Here are some sections from my care sheet on my site that address the questions you are asking..as for the live plant idea, i dont know which ones could be in there but i would not recommend it..they require the same amount of time,attention, and care as a leopard gecko

Substrate:
Here at Imperial Geckos we use either paper towel or newspaper as the substrate of choice for our geckos. We sometimes don’t even use any substarte at all. African Fat Tailed Geckos can successfully be kept on Eco-Earth (coconut fiber) or Cypress Mulch. However, we choose to use paper substrate because of it affordable price, it lets us rest assure our geckos are not ingesting any substrate, and it is very easy to clean. Sand should NEVER be kept as a substrate for African Fat-Tailed Geckos.

Heat:
Fat Tail Geckos, like all reptiles, are cold blooded. Thus, they need to thermo-regulate their body temperatures. We believe the best source of heat should come from under. If using a glass tank, the best choice should be an under tank heating pad. While the breeders best choice is to use Flexwatt heat-tape or heat cable underbelly heating controlled by a thermostat. We keep our hot spots at around 91F and our cool side at around 75F-83F (depends on time of day and temps outside our facility). Even though Fat Tail Geckos are nocturnal, they should be able to see light. We supply our geckos with 12-hours of light.

I am also in Florida, so let me know if you want a fat tail gecko.

If you have any questions give me a call (number is on my site)

Regards,
Alex
imperialgeckos.com

 

[acpart]

I am one person who keeps my fat tails on eco earth with live plants. One problem I ran into when I started this set-up is that plants should have a bottom layer of hydroton clay balls for drainage with mesh on top followed by the eco earth. On the other hand, if I did that throughout the tank, I was worried that my UTH wouldn't heat well through all those layers. What I chose to do was to use the layers in 2/3 of the tank and to divide the other third with a piece of plexiglass put end-in. The hides are in the third of the tank with just eco earth. I made ceramic hides with ceramic bottoms and half buried them in the substrate so the fat tails don't dig down to the UTH. It works well for 1.2. In my next setup, I think I'm going to do away with the plexiglass and just shove the clay balls into one side of the tank. The plants that do the best are aloe and haworthia. I had a few dracaena that died after a year or so and I keep trying African violets, but haven't had much luck with them.

I'm including a picture of my tank as it looked about 2 years ago; it's been renovated a bit since then.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

I am one person who keeps my fat tails on eco earth with live plants. One problem I ran into when I started this set-up is that plants should have a bottom layer of hydroton clay balls for drainage with mesh on top followed by the eco earth. On the other hand, if I did that throughout the tank, I was worried that my UTH wouldn't heat well through all those layers. What I chose to do was to use the layers in 2/3 of the tank and to divide the other third with a piece of plexiglass put end-in. The hides are in the third of the tank with just eco earth. I made ceramic hides with ceramic bottoms and half buried them in the substrate so the fat tails don't dig down to the UTH. It works well for 1.2. In my next setup, I think I'm going to do away with the plexiglass and just shove the clay balls into one side of the tank. The plants that do the best are aloe and haworthia. I had a few dracaena that died after a year or so and I keep trying African violets, but haven't had much luck with them.

I'm including a picture of my tank as it looked about 2 years ago; it's been renovated a bit since then.

listen to aliza shes the "fatty" girl

 

[acpart]

THanks for the compliment, but given my 2 whole seasons with fatties, I'd hardly consider myself an expert.

Aliza