[gecko]Gecko enclosure sizes

[obeligz]

Hello I'm writing a sort of care sheet about arboreal geckoes in general and I need to recommend some measures on enclosure sizes.   The only formula for cage size I’ve seen before is 1.5A x 2A x3A = size A=animals length This formula seems to work well for the smaller species but does not give enough space for the larger geckoes.   Also, normal formulas say add 50% to the tank for each new animal or, add 50% of one animals size requirement to the tank for each new animal. Neighter of these works with larger colonies since one is exponentian and by the time you get to the 10th animal in a colony the tank has grown out of proportion. The other one reduces the space per animal quite much even before you get to the 10th animal in the colony.   Hence I believe that for every new animal one puts in a tank the tank should grow by 1 animals size requirements.   I tried to come up with a formula that would satisfy most geckoes of different sizes but the more I punch numbers the more my headache grows.. ^_^   I finally came up whth this one, does it seem very far fetched and ridiculous?   My formula for tank size requirements: A= animals SVL (A^3/1000)*(40+(A/2))= volume   As a basis of my formula I use A^3/1000 since I believe that with geckoes, an animals size requirements are proportional to it’s size and this gives me a volume to work with.   The next factor is my own uneducated guess that I have toyed with for many hours. I multiplied the initial volume with 40 and added half the SVL since I believe that this number has to grow with the size of the gecko. I explain this to myself with the fact that larger geckoes are higher up in the food chain and their prey takes longer to mature and has a slower reproduction cycle. If large geckoes over millions of years of evolution have gotten used to eat large prey that they have to gather from a larger territory it should be imbedded in their DNA that they have larger size requirements for territory/tank.   Tank size in liters Type animal SVL cm 1 animal 2 animals 3 animals 4 animals L. lugubris 4,5 3,850031 7,7000625 11,550094 15,40013 R. ciliatus 11 60,5605 121,121 181,6815 242,242 G. gecko 16 196,608 393,216 589,824 786,432 R. leachianus 23 626,6005 1253,201 1879,8015 2506,402             Tank size in gallons Type animal SVL inch 1 animal 2 animals 3 animals 4 animals L. lugubris 1,77 1,016408 2,0328165 3,0492248 4,065633 R. ciliatus 4,33 15,98797 31,975944 47,963916 63,95189 G. gecko 6,3 51,90451 103,809024 155,71354 207,618 R. leachianus 9 165,4225 330,845064 496,2676 661,6901   Unfortunately I have little to none field experience, and I suck at math so my formula seems to be somewhat inaccurate.   I believe that a geckoes enclosure should reflect the size of it’s natural habitat except that hides and hotspots are ideally placed and food is abundant, which should allow to shrink “the habitat” significantly.   (A^3/1000)*(40+(A/2))= volume Does anyone have any suggestions about what to put in the second half of my formula?   Regards obeligz