Post by PeterUK on Apr 28, 2007 22:13:05 GMT 1
Teratoscincus
Fish scaled or wonder gecko
The Teratoscincus group consists of 6 species and 2 subspecies all of which are terrestrial. These geckos have adapted to live in the arid deserts of Southwest to Central Asia.
All species have a cylindrical body with a large head and large prominent eyes. The pupil is vertical. The tail is powerful and significantly shorter than the SVL (snout to vent length)
The scalation on the head is fine in comparison to the fishlike scales on the body, which are very large, semicircular, smooth and overlapped. The largest scales are on the tail.
All details below are from my personal experiences with these gecko, of which I currently keep four species (Teratoscincus roborowski, T scincus, T keyserlingii, T microlepis) and have bred two of these. ( T scincus and T keyserlingii)
Contary to popular belief these gecko's can be handled although gently and with care, if handled roughly the scales can tear off leaving the unfortunate gecko with a large wound but which will grown new scales in a remarkable short period of time.
As well as breathing through their lungs these geckos can also absorb oxygen through the skin. As with most geckos, males cannot be kept together as they will fight sometimes to the death
The species range in size from T. microlepis at 4 inches to T. keyserlingii at 8 inches.
Captive care
For juvenile Teratoscincus or adults of T microlepis a minimum vivarium size of 24in x 12in is recommended for 1 or 2 specimens; these are a very active gecko and will use all the available space. A 36in x 12 vivarium would be ideal for all species except for T. keyserlingii which should have a vivarium of at least 42in x 12 due to its larger size.
Substrate
The substrate of choice should be sand or a sand/soil mix (70% sand -30% soil) to a depth of at least 2-3inches, deeper is better as the geckos will spend most of their time rearranging the landscape. The bottom layers of the substrate should be kept damp at all times, this can be achieved by inserting a funnel or piece of piping vertically into the sand down to the base of the vivarium and slowly pouring in some room temperature water. Another option is to have a humid hide (a Tupperware container makes a very suitable choice) half buried in the substrate with an entrance hole cut into one side. Although the Teratoscincus genus has adapted to live in some of the harshest environments on earth, they live underground in burrows for most of the time which is considerable more humid that the surface.
Various size pieces of broken clay flower pots, cork bark and flat pieces of slate partially buried will be readily accepted as burrows.
A humid area must be provided for these geckos to survive in captive care in the long term.
Heating
Heating can be provided in two ways, by a heatmat or cable or an overhead heat source like a domestic household spotlight bulb or a ceramic element. If heat mats or cable are used, they must only be used outside the container otherwise the geckos will quickly unearth them and possibly burn themselves. If using this method of heating is used then a glass or plastic tank is recommended. Only a portion of the tanks should be heated, 1/3 ideal or ½ at the most. Only a shallow depth of substrate is needed if this option it taken (1/2 -1 in is ideal) the humid hide is essential if this heating option is taken and should be placed near but not on the heated area.
The other method is to use either a household spotlight or ceramic heating element this fitted to either the side or to the ceiling of the vivarium so that the focused beam of heat is focused to an area approximately ¼ of the way along the vivarium, this will ensure that the gecko can thermoregulate itself by moving from the warm end to the cooler end and visa versa. If this method is chosen then the same arrangement concerning the shallow sand and humid hide will be used. Some hobbyists will have the substrate as deep as 10 in if using this method but commonly a middle ground is chosen where the substrate is 2-4 inch deep and a selection of hides is chosen including a humid hide. The temperature of both methods should be 88-94f at the warm end on the substrate with a localised hotspot of up to 100f, at night the heating should be turned off to imitate the cooler desert nights.
As they are strictly nocturnal no special lighting is needed although a definite day/night cycles is needed to help keep their bodies in ‘sync’.
Feeding
Appropriate sized insects such as crickets and small locusts are a good staple diet with the occasional mealworm and waxworm for a treat. All food insects should be lightly dusted with calcium at every feed and vitamins once weekly. An easy method of dusting is to place some insects onto a small plastic bag like a freezer bag and add a pinch or two of calcium/vitamins, hold the bag with some air trapped inside and gently shake this will lightly cover the insects with the calcium/ vitamin powder.
The insects can be fed directly to the geckos from the bag. A shallow container with some calcium power can also be left in the vivarium so that these geckos can ingest it at their leisure.
As most, if not all shop bought insects are nutritionally very poor, they must be ‘gut loaded’. This means that the insects must be fed a nutritional balanced diet for at least 24 hours before feeding them to your geckos. This is simply achieved by feeding the insects foodstuffs like fish flake, pond sticks, brown bread and cereal with carrots, apples, oranges and potatoes fed for moisture.
Breeding
A cooling period of several months is recommended to get these geckos into breeding condition. It is advisable to stop feeding them for 7-10 days before the heating is turned off, this is to ensure that there is no remaining food in the stomach to decompose in the cooler temperatures. As most modern homes are centrally heated it may be advisable to move the geckos to a cooler room of the house like the basement, conservatory, garage or something similar.
When the cooling period has ended it is advisable to return the geckos to normal room temperature for a few days before turning on the vivarium heating so as to slowly acclimatise them. Offer 1-3 slightly smaller insects than normal for the first 3-5 days, once these have been eaten and the geckos have defecated it is time to start a heavy feeding regime so that the geckos can put on weight after their ‘winter’.
Every gecko will eat a differing amount but 5-6 insects per gecko per day will be a good starting point. After a period of time the female will be noticeably getting fatter in front of the hind legs and it is also sometimes possible to see the eggs through the stomach wall. The female may also be seen spending more time than usual at the hot end of the vivarium and sometimes may also be seen ’sunbathing’ spread-eagled out under the heat lamp shortly before the light go out for the evening.
During each breeding season, females can lay up to four clutches of two eggs. The thin, but hard shelled spherical eggs are simply laid under one of the hides or slightly covered with sand by the female. The eggs must carefully uncovered using an artists paint brush and using a small plastic sp00n, carefully removed to the waiting egg container which should be filled with dry sand to a depth of 1inch, the eggs or sand must not become damp or wet.
The eggs will hatch after 65-75 days at an incubation temperature of 82f - 84f and normal room humidity, Although I have had eggs from T. scincus hatch after 43 days at a temperature of 86f
The hatchlings, which are bright yellow with black bands need to be kept slightly more humid than the adults for the first few weeks, and will feed eagerly on small crickets 2-3 days after hatching.
Hatchling Teratoscincus scincus
Fish scaled or wonder gecko
The Teratoscincus group consists of 6 species and 2 subspecies all of which are terrestrial. These geckos have adapted to live in the arid deserts of Southwest to Central Asia.
All species have a cylindrical body with a large head and large prominent eyes. The pupil is vertical. The tail is powerful and significantly shorter than the SVL (snout to vent length)
The scalation on the head is fine in comparison to the fishlike scales on the body, which are very large, semicircular, smooth and overlapped. The largest scales are on the tail.
All details below are from my personal experiences with these gecko, of which I currently keep four species (Teratoscincus roborowski, T scincus, T keyserlingii, T microlepis) and have bred two of these. ( T scincus and T keyserlingii)
Contary to popular belief these gecko's can be handled although gently and with care, if handled roughly the scales can tear off leaving the unfortunate gecko with a large wound but which will grown new scales in a remarkable short period of time.
As well as breathing through their lungs these geckos can also absorb oxygen through the skin. As with most geckos, males cannot be kept together as they will fight sometimes to the death
The species range in size from T. microlepis at 4 inches to T. keyserlingii at 8 inches.
Captive care
For juvenile Teratoscincus or adults of T microlepis a minimum vivarium size of 24in x 12in is recommended for 1 or 2 specimens; these are a very active gecko and will use all the available space. A 36in x 12 vivarium would be ideal for all species except for T. keyserlingii which should have a vivarium of at least 42in x 12 due to its larger size.
Substrate
The substrate of choice should be sand or a sand/soil mix (70% sand -30% soil) to a depth of at least 2-3inches, deeper is better as the geckos will spend most of their time rearranging the landscape. The bottom layers of the substrate should be kept damp at all times, this can be achieved by inserting a funnel or piece of piping vertically into the sand down to the base of the vivarium and slowly pouring in some room temperature water. Another option is to have a humid hide (a Tupperware container makes a very suitable choice) half buried in the substrate with an entrance hole cut into one side. Although the Teratoscincus genus has adapted to live in some of the harshest environments on earth, they live underground in burrows for most of the time which is considerable more humid that the surface.
Various size pieces of broken clay flower pots, cork bark and flat pieces of slate partially buried will be readily accepted as burrows.
A humid area must be provided for these geckos to survive in captive care in the long term.
Heating
Heating can be provided in two ways, by a heatmat or cable or an overhead heat source like a domestic household spotlight bulb or a ceramic element. If heat mats or cable are used, they must only be used outside the container otherwise the geckos will quickly unearth them and possibly burn themselves. If using this method of heating is used then a glass or plastic tank is recommended. Only a portion of the tanks should be heated, 1/3 ideal or ½ at the most. Only a shallow depth of substrate is needed if this option it taken (1/2 -1 in is ideal) the humid hide is essential if this heating option is taken and should be placed near but not on the heated area.
The other method is to use either a household spotlight or ceramic heating element this fitted to either the side or to the ceiling of the vivarium so that the focused beam of heat is focused to an area approximately ¼ of the way along the vivarium, this will ensure that the gecko can thermoregulate itself by moving from the warm end to the cooler end and visa versa. If this method is chosen then the same arrangement concerning the shallow sand and humid hide will be used. Some hobbyists will have the substrate as deep as 10 in if using this method but commonly a middle ground is chosen where the substrate is 2-4 inch deep and a selection of hides is chosen including a humid hide. The temperature of both methods should be 88-94f at the warm end on the substrate with a localised hotspot of up to 100f, at night the heating should be turned off to imitate the cooler desert nights.
As they are strictly nocturnal no special lighting is needed although a definite day/night cycles is needed to help keep their bodies in ‘sync’.
Feeding
Appropriate sized insects such as crickets and small locusts are a good staple diet with the occasional mealworm and waxworm for a treat. All food insects should be lightly dusted with calcium at every feed and vitamins once weekly. An easy method of dusting is to place some insects onto a small plastic bag like a freezer bag and add a pinch or two of calcium/vitamins, hold the bag with some air trapped inside and gently shake this will lightly cover the insects with the calcium/ vitamin powder.
The insects can be fed directly to the geckos from the bag. A shallow container with some calcium power can also be left in the vivarium so that these geckos can ingest it at their leisure.
As most, if not all shop bought insects are nutritionally very poor, they must be ‘gut loaded’. This means that the insects must be fed a nutritional balanced diet for at least 24 hours before feeding them to your geckos. This is simply achieved by feeding the insects foodstuffs like fish flake, pond sticks, brown bread and cereal with carrots, apples, oranges and potatoes fed for moisture.
Breeding
A cooling period of several months is recommended to get these geckos into breeding condition. It is advisable to stop feeding them for 7-10 days before the heating is turned off, this is to ensure that there is no remaining food in the stomach to decompose in the cooler temperatures. As most modern homes are centrally heated it may be advisable to move the geckos to a cooler room of the house like the basement, conservatory, garage or something similar.
When the cooling period has ended it is advisable to return the geckos to normal room temperature for a few days before turning on the vivarium heating so as to slowly acclimatise them. Offer 1-3 slightly smaller insects than normal for the first 3-5 days, once these have been eaten and the geckos have defecated it is time to start a heavy feeding regime so that the geckos can put on weight after their ‘winter’.
Every gecko will eat a differing amount but 5-6 insects per gecko per day will be a good starting point. After a period of time the female will be noticeably getting fatter in front of the hind legs and it is also sometimes possible to see the eggs through the stomach wall. The female may also be seen spending more time than usual at the hot end of the vivarium and sometimes may also be seen ’sunbathing’ spread-eagled out under the heat lamp shortly before the light go out for the evening.
During each breeding season, females can lay up to four clutches of two eggs. The thin, but hard shelled spherical eggs are simply laid under one of the hides or slightly covered with sand by the female. The eggs must carefully uncovered using an artists paint brush and using a small plastic sp00n, carefully removed to the waiting egg container which should be filled with dry sand to a depth of 1inch, the eggs or sand must not become damp or wet.
The eggs will hatch after 65-75 days at an incubation temperature of 82f - 84f and normal room humidity, Although I have had eggs from T. scincus hatch after 43 days at a temperature of 86f
The hatchlings, which are bright yellow with black bands need to be kept slightly more humid than the adults for the first few weeks, and will feed eagerly on small crickets 2-3 days after hatching.
Hatchling Teratoscincus scincus
