Fat-tailed geckos make great pet reptiles for both novice and veteran reptile owners alike, thanks to their distinctive appearance, varied care requirements, and ever present smile.
Feeding your gecko a high-quality diet is essential to their wellbeing and happiness. A good place to start would be with feeding crickets dusted with mineral powder and gut loaded.
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Crickets
As reptiles are insectivores, African fat-tailed geckos are insectivores as well. When kept captive they feed on live insects such as crickets (create a cricket farm), appropriately sized mealworms, hornworms silkworms and waxworms; these insects should be gut loaded using calcium/multi-vitamin powder or sprayed with vitamin D3 supplement prior to being offered as sustenance for your gecko.
Since these lizards are mostly nocturnal, they will hide throughout the day in different spots and require high humidity levels. Therefore, using a moist substrate such as sphagnum moss that can easily be cleaned and checked daily for water availability is recommended.
African fat-tailed geckos are ideal pets for families with kids or those allergic to fur and dander. No daily feedings or handling is needed – only occasional feeds a week. Plus, their tank can go without cleaning for several days at once without being bothered with by anything!
Mealworms
Fat-tailed geckos in captivity are insectivores and should be fed appropriately sized crickets and mealworms dusted with calcium/phosphorus powder (such as ReptiCalcium and ReptiVite) or multivitamin powder in order to balance out their ratio of nutrients. Insects like waxworms, roaches and silkworms also often enjoy being fed.
These geckos tend to be more accommodating of being handled than their leopard cousins and should be handled twice weekly for approximately 15 minute sessions, starting around feeding time. Soon enough they’ll start associating you with food time and become much calmer.
These lizards thrive in enclosures equipped with substrates like EXCAVATOR(r) burrowing clay, REPTISAND(tm), or Vita-Sand. A suitable habitat should also include rocks, pieces of wood, and artificial plants to provide places for them to hide – be sure to spot clean the enclosure regularly while changing out bedding every four to six weeks for optimal care.
Bug Mix
Fat tailed geckos can be slightly jumpy when handled, so gently supporting their weight and nudging them toward another hand is recommended to ensure they do not feel threatened or scared. Acclimatizing them early to being handled will make them more tame and less easily startled in future handling situations.
African fat-tailed geckos are insectivores that primarily feed at night on various insects; when kept captive they can be fed a wide array of bugs such as crickets, different kinds of worms and even wax-worms for feeding purposes.
African fat-tailed geckos should be kept in an enclosure at a humidity level of 70% or lower. A digital probe hygrometer should be used to monitor this humidity level. Misting with distilled or reverse osmosis water will also help maintain adequate levels of humidity in their environment. A hideout lined with sphagnum moss or vermiculite should also be included to provide them with somewhere they can retreat should their surroundings become uncomfortable or stressful.
Reptirock
African fat-tailed geckos are insectivores that, when kept as pets, feed on insects such as crickets or appropriately-sized regular mealworms. They may also enjoy treats like waxworms silkworms or hornworms.
These lizards are predominantly nocturnal and require low levels of indirect UVB in their environment during the day to support their exceptional night vision. A simple setup works just fine – with one side of their habitat or tank cooling to 86-90 degrees and the other end of the enclosure reaching between 74-84 degrees.
These lizards make an excellent starter reptile pet as their humidity requirements are minimal. An ideal environment should range between 40% and 60% humidity for optimal living conditions, but any humidity between this range works just as effectively. Regularly spot cleaning their habitat and providing fresh water daily are both vital elements to maintaining good health and hygiene in these lizards, thus decreasing chances of respiratory infections or cryptosporidiosis due to unsanitary living conditions.
