re: african fat tailed geckos

raebug2000 · 08-09-04, 11:18 PM

ok, my first geckos.
They are so kewl. The male with a dorsal strip i have named Sly and the banded reddish female i have named Sin.
They have a comfy half cocnut house and an area with moss and a disk with munchies and another disk with water all on calisand.
My question is when do they move?
I saw Sin poking around last night kind of exploring...some digging...some climbing on the smallish rock i put in the tank....
and back into the house she went....
but all Sly ever does is sleep.....
I just got them a couple days ago and I know better than to stick my hands in there and stress them all out with my new owner jitters but im just curious....
what else should I expect?

<please say eggs in a few months>:atom: :thumbsup: :bounce:

raebug2000 · 08-09-04, 11:19 PM

PLease oh please say baby african fat tails in a few months

silent_truth · 08-10-04, 07:28 AM

I don't think your female is gravid because it is the off season for laying eggs but that doesn't mean it can't happen. First, I advise removing the sand from the enclosure as these are not desert geckos and they will require a slightly higher humidity to shed properly. What is their appetite like? Many geckos significantly reduce their food intake when in the breeding season but some do not. Though I'm not there to observe the daily behaviour of your geckos, initially this sounded like your female is either just exploring the enclosure by digging or looking for a spot of higher humidity. I have no documentation for this, but a possible theory is that if the ground and air is not humid enough, instinct may cause them to seek out humidity by digging down. I like to think that there is a specific reason for every action with animals, but again, they may just be checking out their new home.

Best of luck with the fat tails,

-Adam

Kevin McRae · 08-10-04, 10:15 AM

Put yr AFTS on a sand/peat mixture, the geckos will move when you put the insects in the cage and at night.

corn king 73 · 08-12-04, 03:31 PM

i have three and have then on papertowel and they are doing great and always have been. They dont move around alot anyways,they are lazy and if they are digging it is possible that they are looking for food(not that you are not feeding then)i think they do this just for fun sometimes.lol. papertowel works very well i have lots of stuff on it and they have never had any problems shed,living or eating.hope this helps.good luck.

Siretsap · 08-12-04, 03:46 PM

At the moment, we have, 1.2 breeders and 3 juveniles growing quite fast.

For the fist time, we hatched 2 babies this year!!! yessss. The male is awesome color (cream colored and light chocolate). But the idiot is really dull when it comes to breeding. We were sure the eggs weren't fertile this year, but to our suprise, we got 2 beautiful little babies.

We keep ours on newspaper and the babies are on scott towel. They are less active than leopard geckos, they are slower moving almost like lethargic. But drop crickets in there and wham, they hit harder than leopard geckos. Mine are mainly active at night, and by active, I mean move an inch by 5 seconds, just cruising around.

corn king 73 · 08-12-04, 03:51 PM

congrads on the babies, mine are not ready to breed yet but i can not wait.

Painted Desert · 08-20-04, 07:02 AM

Fatties, like leo's are mainly active at night. Have a quick peek at 1 am... it's quite the sight to see them all out and alert! I was certain my hoard was getting fat due to lack of exercise.... Calcisand is not recommended for AFT's..too dry, and a high risk of impaction. Papertowel is fine, repticarpet, felt, and i personally use slate tile. Large humid area (hide) of peat works for me..
managed about 40 babies this year, 4 still in the incubator.... I'll be up to my backside in amels come Spring...eeeek!