New Pics of the planted 55 gal viv!

[Primal Rage]

Hello all! A couple months ago I posted a few pics of a viv that I had set up for a 1.2 trio of Lygodactylus Williamsi. Since then I have added more bamboo and a few more species of plants. A couple mushrooms have popped up too! Anyone else with shrooms in their vivs? The springtails seem to hammer them pretty quick. The geckos all appear to be thriving. They have all gained weight since I received them and both females have laid fertile clutches. One clutch got glued between the glass and the top plastic frame of the enclosure, the other was deposited in a small bamboo tube that I placed in there for egg laying!(good girl!)

The set up is still a bit crude but I have a "system" that works for me. smy_749 and Pirarucu you both were correct with your predictions. Having a top opening tank is a huge pain in the butt! I have been lucky with no real escape attempts while I am feeding or cleaning. One of the females is fearless and will jump on my hand and zip around on my arm. The other two dive and duck for cover when I take the lid off. Humidity loss has not been an issue so far. I run a humidifier in my reptile room that averages 65-70%. I still get paranoid and hand mist the viv 2-3 times a day. Just a light mist.

The only thing I would really like to change is to move them into a vertically orientated set up. And change over to RO water. The mineral deposits on the glass and plants drives me crazy! I really like this one. Amazon.com : Exo Terra High Glass Terrarium, 36 by 18 by 36-Inch : Pet Terrariums : Pet Supplies (http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Glass-Terrarium-36-Inch/dp/B0052Y3KTC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417091096&sr=8-3&keywords=exo+terra+terrarium+36x18x18)
Here are a couple pics.
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0020-1.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0019-1.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0207.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0004-1.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0144.jpg

[SnoopySnake]

Nice enclosure! Those eggs are tiny, lol. I get mushrooms around the water bowl in my CRB viv from time to time, usually gone the next day.

[Jim Smith]

Cool looking viv! Very pretty little critters. Were you able to move the eggs to your incubator or are you going to try to hatch them in place?

[smy_749]

Nice man! Gratz on the clutches. Baby williamsi are unbelievably small, cant wait to see the them.

[Primal Rage]

Many thanks guys!
Snoopysnake- They are super small! The babies are teeny tiny too!

Jim Smith- The eggs glued in the viv are going to be there til (if)they hatch. The clutch laid in the tube is cooking in my incubator at 79 right now.

smy_748- I will most certainly post pics once the itty bittys are hatched out!

[sharthun]

Looking good Primal!!!

[Primal Rage]

Many thanks Steve!!! Woke up this morning and found another egg glued in the tank. This time it was a little more accessible. I used a straight razor to remove the egg from the glass and put it in the incubator with the other 2. Sorry about the scale build up in the second pic!
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0029-1.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0034-2.jpg

[sharthun]

That is so cool!

[SnoopySnake]

Wow, I didn't realize how small they actually are!

[Primal Rage]

Tell me about it Snoop!! They can literally disappear into the foliage!! The male likes to sleep deep in the leaves of the guzmania bromeliad. It can be very stressful at times when trying to get a head count!

[Charis]

Great looking tank! I'd love to try my hand at this species sometime in the future and am always happy to hear about other people with them.

[Primal Rage]

Thanks Charis! Shrooms from this morning!
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/fullHOLLOW/DSC_0035-2.jpg

[SnoopySnake]

Oh wow, when I got mushrooms I only ever got 2 at a time at the most, lol.

[jossh27]

Are mushrooms a bad thing? Toxic to the animals? I think visually they look pretty cool in there

[prairiepanda]

Are mushrooms a bad thing? Toxic to the animals? I think visually they look pretty cool in there

Those mushrooms are not dangerous. Most mushrooms, even if poisonous to eat, wouldn't be a threat in an enclosure like this anyway since they won't get eaten by the geckos. A real concern would be fluffy mold, but the springtails in there should prevent that.

Awesome setup, though! And beautiful animals! I'm curious how you extracted the egg from the bamboo tube though?

[reptiledude987]

Thats a pertty big tank for some pretty tiny geckos. when the eggs hatch and babys get bigger will you be able to put them in with the parents? how many of thos guys could be housed safely in a tank that size?

[Primal Rage]

jossh27- I like em too! Not sure if the mushrooms are toxic or not. They do not last for more than a day or so and then they are broken down by the springtails. Also the geckos rarely venture to the bottom of the tank.

prairiepanda- Thank you! Some of the bamboo pieces in the tank are small enough to be removed and placed in an incubator. I am not planning on using this method anymore. For now the eggs will be left in the tank to hatch.

reptiledude987- The babies will be removed ASAP once they hatch(If possible). Some adults are good with hatchlings running around and some will eat them. I had a 1.2 group in there and until recently they got along very well. About 2 weeks ago the females started going at each other pretty hard so I relocated one to another tank. That got me thinking, now I might break down the 55gal, get 2 18"X18"X24" exo"s and another male L.Williamsi. That way everyone has a mate and a more manageable set up(s). To answer your question I would not house more than a pair together permanently. Here are a couple updated pics right before the females got separated.

[reptiledude987]

Very cool. What are their humidity requirments? Is it difficult to maintain with a screen top?

[Primal Rage]

reptiledude987- Indeed! They require "tropical" humidity (50-70%AH). The heavily planted tank holds humidity very well. When the lights are off the AH is around 70-80%. With the lights on it floats around 50-70%. Also, I run a humidifier in my reptile room so humidity is not an issue for me. Without all the plants and the humidifier I am sure maintaining humidity would be a pain in the butt.

[Chris72]

Very cool. What are their humidity requirments? Is it difficult to maintain with a screen top?

Was thinking the same thing about the screen.

Very cool set up you have there. :crazy: