Uroplatus

[Ptindy]

Hey everyone, I'm considering getting a pair of Uroplatus Phantasticus and I was wondering if anyone had the issue with Neil Meister's article in it?? And if they could scan it and send me the images that'd be awesome. I know it's a long shot but it's worth the try. Or any techniques people have of keeping the moisture up. Calgary it's super dry and its extrememly hard for me to keep the moisture up for cresties nevermind uroplatus. I maybe buy a humidifier for my room if I have to.

Mike

[StickyToes]

If you spray the tank down 2 to 3 times a day, and put live plants in it you shouldn't have a problem with keeping humidity up. I find the bigger issue in Alberta can be keeping the temperature down during the summer months for this species.

[little_dragon_]

I spray my tanks whenever I walk by them, lol

[Ptindy]

Sticky toes what do you do to keep the temperature down? I've heard putting ice packs on top of the enclsoure if you don't have access to a basement.

Mike

[Brock]

Moss is great for humidity, also putting seran wrap on half of the screen lid, or just using an all plexiglass enclosure like Mark Pepper's at www.understoryenterprises.com

Ice packs are a good idea too for temps, you could also get computer fans and blow them over small bowls of cold water directed into the tank.

-Brock

[Ptindy]

I was actually thinking of using a cool air humidifier. I figured if I fill up the tank with cold water and some ice it will be blowing ice cold water. It can get the surface temps for a tank down by 10 degrees. If I do this and the phantasticus is too hot do you think they will find the cooler surface temps and hang out on the ground if proper litter is on the floor to resemble a forest floor???

Mike

[StickyToes]

Putting ice packs on the screens of the tanks is exactly what I do religiously for the duration of the hotter days. The humidifier is a pretty good idea if you have a fairly large cage. If the cage is too small though I could see you running into a problem with there being too much moisture in the cage causing the substrate and branches to mold. If there are live plants they would really have to be moisture loving to withstand that high of a humidity as well.
There seems to be quite the difference of opinion as to the maximum and minimum temps that are tolerated by this species. Especially between European and North American keepers. It seems that North Americans like to keep them in much cooler environments (I've read all the way down to 52 degrees F in some articles), but the Europeans still have really good success with keeping them at slightly higher temps.
Leaftails in general don't hang out on the floor unless there is something seriously wrong with either them or their environment. It's not natural for them, unless they are laying eggs, so it is usually an indication of something drastically wrong. This means that the stress levels are high and they will usually succumb fairly quickly.
Neil is working on a book and it should be published pretty soon from what I understand. It should have all the info that you missed in that article, plus tons more about phantasticus!
James

[Stevo26]

i just may have that issue somewhere, ill check into it if your still interested...

[Ptindy]

Please stevo, if you could that'd be awesome

Mike

[little_dragon_]

I have a fan circulating over their tanks all the time. day temps are 70-75, night temps are into the low 60's/mid 50's. Regardless of the air temp the ground temp is always low because of the moisture in the coconut fiber. When I witnessed my female laying a fertile egg the round temp was 72. The humidity varies during the day. 80/90 percent for up to 2 hrs after a heavy spray and in the mid 60's to 70's the rest of the time. i mist them whenever i look at them or if I'm not home for a while I'll super saturate their tanks before i leave. I have noticed everytime they are misted they will take a drink. They love to be very hydrated. Neil suggested to me even putting in some calcium or supplements in their misting water. My female has been gobbling up small snails. I collected a lot a couple weeks ago. I'm going to try small silk worms and mineral.

moist coconut fiber will hold in the humidity. The plants I use are weeping figs and pothos. Ficus leaves naturally drop so there's usually an area with leaf litter for them to hide. Pothos are good low to the ground they'll use them for cover to ambush or lay eggs. Mine spend their day time at the top of their ficus plants soaking up the uv from their light. at night they go to the ground to hunt the temps also cooler.

I've been thinking of getting an acrylic tank with a fan from mark pepper. I'll have to save up. clear rubbermaid bins would work just as well. My C.b pair are in a standard 20 gallon tank. My two w.c males are in a five gallon loaded with sticks and fake plants. I'll post some pics of the enclosures soon.soon. I haven't read that reptile mag article either so if you find it I'd love to read it as well.

Kingsnake has a good uroplatus forum.

[Ptindy]

Thanks a lot for the info, i'll go check out that forum.

Mike

[Jordan B]

Cpver the top of the tank with a piece of glass. I do this for my darts and I don't even worry about the humidity. And don't worry, they wont run out of air lol.

Jordan