Hi Folks,
to decrease the mail-flood a little, I am using this mail to comment on these
topics in one ... OK?!
> Most of you know of the shipments of cepediana, guimbeaui, and ornata that
> have recently come into the US.
... and into Europe ... and it seems there are more species out currently - I
have
heard from offerings of serraticauda and more.
> While they are being sold as CB, my eyes disagree.
I do, too ... and most I know do as well.
> That being another discussion, I'll leave it alone. What I am interested
in
> is whether these animals tend to have parsites. Most I have seen look
> healthy. Some though looked horrible.
> I have not done any fecals, but I have not seen any symptons in any of my
> vn vnigra, ornata or cepediana.
I (or friends) have done fecals for the following: cepediana, ornata,
guimbeaui
and v-nigra. And I know of some serraticauda, too ... but they had to be
checked when dead already :-(
> Has anyone done fecals or had animals grow sick after showing symptoms?
> I may buy some cepediana and I am curious what everyone is finding.
> I will do fecals on any new introductions, don't worry. Just interested in
> any trends.
OK, what did we find:
The guimbeauis had almost nothing, only a bit "Flagellaten" (sorry, I don´t
know
the english word for it ... maybe someone can help?), and no death cases due
to these so far. But they need LOTS of fresh air, and, if possible, and
outdoor
stay in summer. Breeding season should start soon again with them, I hope :-)
The ornata had the same, but as well some "Ascariden" - nothing tragic, but
it should be treated. They are hardy, and no losses so far. But their season
has not yet begun, it seems, also ... .
The v-nigra are doing good with only some "Flagellaten" as well, and these
can be found even in captive-bred groups ... after all, these parasites are
easily
introduced with CB-animals from breeders who introduced them into their
CB-groups by transfering plants or other decoration from WC-cages ... and
mot Phelsuma will not show sings of sickness when all else is well. By the
way, the v-nigra comoraegrandensis I have breed very well.
The cepediana ... these are infested HEAVILY .. not only with the above, but
in addition with the far more dangerous "Kokzidien", causing two casualties
at my place and a lot more I know of ... and especially the females were not
stable. No breeding so far, even after appropriate (singled out) medicamental
treatment.I´d say - beware of those, especially of getting these parasites
into
your other cages.
About the serraticauda this is hearsay - of five animals I know of, only 2 are
still living ... and the dissection of two showed LOTS of parasites ... not
nice.
As they are difficicult anway, only expert should try their luck with these.
I rather waited two years for the CB-young I have currently, and they do well
- I only hope there is a male among them. Anyone got a leftover one, and is
coming to the international Gecko-Meeting in Dortmund ... ?
OK, those animals I talked about were bought last autumn in european fairs,
and maybe those currently in the US come from elsewhere ... but I would
strongly advise to keep them seperately in the beginning and to get fecals
frequently ... after all, parasites have periods, too, in which they don´t
send
out sign of beeing there at all ... and at other times you will be amazed how
much there can be of them in one fecal. Only one fecal taken is NEVER
secure - take at least three in weeks apart to be on the safer side.
OK, change of topic:
> I kept the following Phelsuma sp. successfully in groups;
> P.cepediana*
I can agree - I keep them 1,3 currently
> P.klemmeri**
Many friends keep them in groups, and with seippi or nigristriata as well (but
these are then held 1,1)
I can add to Emmanuel´s list the following:
P. ornata (does well if in a larger group than 1,2)
P. v-nigra comoraegrandensis (does well 1,2 and up)
P. lineata dorsivittata (does well 1,2 and up)
P. guimbeaui guimbeaui (does well in 1,3 and up)
But you cannot say theses groups will work in general. It largely depends
on the setup and size, and - very important - it depends on the animal´s
character. There are "nice and tolerant" males and females, and you can
have some that won´t even get along well with one partner. So you have to
try it and be prepared to seperate them at any time. Critical phases are
when breeding season begins, and when food shortage occurs (vacations)
- or when new animals are introduced into the group, or the setup of the
cage is changed too much. So I would always try it, but be prepared to
loose an animal if you don´t keep an eye on them closely... .
Hope this helped - Hartmut
Remarkable is that all mentioned species live in bamboo, palm and/or
screwpine trees except for P.standingi and some P.borbonica populations.
In the wild, P.serraticauda, P.cepediana & P.borbonica ssp. live in groups
of approx. 1.5. Other species I observed in their natural habitat living in
groups are; P.astriata ssp., P.sundbergi longinsulae, P.sundbergi
ladiguensis, P.v-nigra pasteuri & P.nigistriata.
######################################################################
THE GLOBAL GECKO ASSOCIATION LISTSERV
WebSite: http://www.gekkota.com
The GGA takes no responsibility for the contents of these postings.
######################################################################
