First Reptile! Help!

[Phoenix5]

Okay, a little preface is in order.

First of all, I'm from israel, and a real fish freak. (been a moderator on several forums as far as fishkeeping goes, have written articles for numerous magazines, etc)...

Now if it's got gills, I got the answer... but this sure doesn't have gills. :P

We're moving and while packing up the kitchen we found a little surprise in one of the storage closets.

http://grm.m.walla.co.il/briefcase/00f3/p/h/o/e/n/i/x/f/l/a/m/e/s/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/r/200408061716489754/200408061722036013/lizard.jpg
http://grm.m.walla.co.il/briefcase/00f3/p/h/o/e/n/i/x/f/l/a/m/e/s/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/@/r/200408061716489754/200408061722435816/lizard2.jpg

So, one of us goes out of the kitchen screaming...
and I catch it and play with it. :P

So, since I have a zillion aquariums at any given time, I grabed the smallest empty one and dropped him in. He's cute, but his tail looks wierd... I'm going to hazard a guess and say he lost it and is growing a new one.

I'm sorry the image quality stinks. :(
He's 5cm long not including his tail, about 7cm with the tail.
He's speckled all over (I'm going to guess that his colors change like an octopus) and his tail is all brown.
He's obviously something indigenous (or possibly an invasive exotic, though I doubt it) Anyone know what he is?

And don't worry, I'll be removing the internal filter and aquarium heaters that are there now.

Also if you know what he is, what substrate would he enjoy, and what decorations? (I've got loads of amazonian driftwood I could use if it's suitable for him) also, what does he eat?

[Samba]

Try offering bugs such as crickets, mealworms and silkies. He'll probably eat those, but if he doesn't it may be because it's stressed. Provide a nice sized enclosure for it, and give it lots of places to hide. Keep it warm using a heat lamp or UTH. Whereabouts do you live? That could help us determine the species... Good luck with it, and don't handle it too much right... it's more than likely still upset about being captured!

[thunder]

i suspect that it is a species of ptyodactylus. does it have sticky toes that allow it to climb walls? also, it would be helpful to know what part of the country you are from, as geckoes in the mountain regions, and thos furthest south are different from those found in the rest of the country.

if i am correct about the type of gecko you have, it is what we call in english a fan-footed or fan-toed gecko. feed it insects as described by samba. it should have a substrate of sand and gravel, with many rocky structures to hide behind and climb on. the enclosure should be rather dry overall, but give it a moist hiding place as well. you can easily build this hiding place by finding a tupperware that is big enough for the gecko to fit into, cutting a small hole in it big enough for the gecko to enter, cutting a sponge to fit the bottom of the container. place this in the gecko's enclosure, and moisten the sponge daily with a spray bottle. every once in a while, clean the tupperware to prevent the growth of mold.

the gecko's aquarium should be kept at a temperature of 25 celcius during the day and 20 at night.
also provide it with a small water dish, although i am not sure if this species requires water.

good luck! i know these instructions sound complicated, but once you've set it up it will be quite easy to care for, so long as you supply it with insects.

welcome to the world of herpetoculture!

[DragnDrop]

It's hard to make out the gecko, but I seem to see some large toes. Adding in the speckled all over colouring, I'm thinking Ptyodactylus guttatus, Fan-fingered Gecko. It's native to your area (Egypt, Israel, Sudan (Gizeh/Beni Hassan, Faroun), Syria, West Jordan). Check the pictures at GGA Photos - Ptyodactylus guttatus (http://www.gekkota.com/html/p__guttatus.html)
Failing that, if it does look similar but not quite right, there are 6 Ptyodactylus species, one might be right.

[dank7oo]

Samba and Thunder *shakes head*

If the first post was completly read, you would know that he lives in Israel (which I am visited next summer :))

Jason

[thunder]

i know he lives in israel, i asked where in israel. i have been to israel and i also happen to know that different geckos are found in different parts of the country. if you had read MY post thouroghly you would have seen that.

[Phoenix5]

I live in Tel Aviv.
Now, I will note something interesting... no sticky feet. Can't climb the walls of the aquarium, it has little tiny rounded claws on the ends of it's feet!
So, not what you gave me the picture of.

[DragnDrop]

If it can't climb glass and is that small, them my second guess is a Stenodactylus of some sort. Check this link and see if one of them fits: Family Gekkonidae (Geckoes) (http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/~uetz/families/Gekkonidae.html) Scroll down to Subfamilia Gekkoninae and the Stenodactylus link. Check those links out, they live in your general area too. I can't supply the direct link because of the coding in the URL which doesn't seem to work with the VBS code from this site.

[Rikki]

Are you going to be giving him a better habitat?