Hi Johnathan and all,
Congratulations and Merry Christmas. Your fish-keeping background will
be good!! I don't keep this species, but have several species of
Phelsuma and have running water in some of my tanks. IMHO the easiest
way to do running water is with a false-bottom setup, a technique often
used by keepers of dart frogs. Unfortunately I don't have a reference
handy that shows this, but I'll try to find one. It's basically, from
the bottom, Ts or Ls of 1 1/2" plastic pipe, a sheet of plastic
"eggcrate" usually used to cover fluorescent lights, then a sheet of
fiberglass screen. At that point I put in plants in double 6" pots (so
I can take the plants out and switch them), surround them with empty
closed plastic cartons to fill space, then cover the plastic cartons
with a mix of 1/2" gravel and LECA (too big for the gex to swallow). If
you want running water, put a pump (I use Duetto 50) in the bottom and
cut a plastic carton creatively so that you can later get to the pump
without dismanteling the tank. I usually run a tube up from the pump,
and create a waterfall with rocks placed in a shallow dish. The water
runs over the side of the dish and back through the gravel. In a
55-gallon you might want to partition off a section for the false-bottom
area. Also, if it's not possible to have a drain, put a 1" tube in one
corner of the false bottom area, and you can use that to siphon. For
frogs and geckos it doesn't need changed all that often.
People will usually tell you not to mix frogs and geckos, but some
people do it. However, if you are new to keeping geckos it would be
best to just get the geckos up to optimum health and comfort in the new
tank, then maybe add carefully-chosen frogs later. In choosing
companion animals, of course one of the first criteria is that they
won't eat each other ;-} Beyond that, choose animals that use different
times and areas. If my memory is correct, your geckos are nocturnal and
arboreal, so frogs that are diurnal and mainly stay on the land would be
best. I keep dart frogs (D. tinctorius) with Phelsuma klemmeri, and
red-eyed tree frogs with Phesluma madagascareiensis. However, breeding
is not as successful with the geckos in these tanks as it is with the
geckos-only tanks. If you want to breed your geckos, it might be better
to not add frogs. You could partition the tank and have the gex in one
end and something else in the other. A glass or acrylic partition with
plants next to it would hardly show. Hmmm -- this has me thinking about
MY 55-gallon tank that I usually don't use because it's so big...
As to plants, I use several kinds of pothos, Chinese evergreen, jewel
orchids, creeping fig, wandering jew, and a few others.
Hope this helps,
Melody
Jonathan Scott wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> This Christmas, I was the unexpected recipient of a 55 gallon tank and two
> Satanic Leaf-Tail Geckos. Of course, the tank is solely for the sake of
> building a terrarium for the new creatures. In the meantime, I had a clean
> 5 gallon tank which I established for the pair -- keeping the temperature
> around 73 degrees and a humidity level of 80%.
>
> I'm hoping for some advice -- I'd like to make the terrarium a beautiful
> thing, replete with flowing water and living plants. Can someone point me
> to some on-line resources, and provide any advice? My experience with
> aquariums, fresh, brackish and salt, is extensive -- but this is clearly
> beyond the realm of my experience.
>
> What would be some good plants to purchase -- preferably some which do not
> grow profusely and need constant tending?
>
> Are there any animals that I can mix with the geckos? I'd like to get some
> small frogs which, I believe, would appreciate the temperature and humidity
> -- but I'm a bit hesitant introducing some South American amphibians to the
> geckos. Any advice? Its a huge tank, and I'd like something more than
> what I presently have.
>
> Also, about two years ago there was a vogue for ultra-sonic foggers; I've
> not seen them in pet stores recently, instead, they seem to be fixtures in
> tranquility gardens. Are they harmful to the creatures?
>
> Again, any advice, links, and resources would be greatly appreciated. I've
> avoided reptiles as pets for most of my life, but have always been
> immensely fond of geckos.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Jonathan
>
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