I love those guys! Cute as buttons and easy care too.
Check out the care sheet for
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus Care Sheet at the GGA. Their care is pretty much the same, just scale down the food to the smaller sized versions. The Stenos and Tropios come from the same general area, even live together in some areas.
I had T. steudneri about 12-14 years ago. My 3.7 ended up being 9.1 but it was a long time before I knew what to look for and figured it out. The group was set up in a 40 (45?) gallon tank with play sand. I made several 'cliffs' with large rocks resting on the floor so they don't tip, left crevices for the geckos to hide in. A few humid hides all over the tank in different temperature ranges were all used, I guess it doesn't matter if it's a warm or cool hide as long as it's humid? They also had some wood branches to climb around. Even with only one female, the males never fought, never saw injuries. They seem to be at least a bit communal since they do accept other males but one male will become dominant. He'll find himself a high spot and chirp often, calling females and warning other males he's the boss. The chirps are way quieter than crickets, it took me ages to figure out it was coming from the geckos so there's no need to worry about the neighbours complaining. Heat was supplied with a UTH at night as well as an incandescent light during the day. They are supposed to be nocturnal but I found them out and about any time of day, even basking under the light.
All told, if you can get a group of them set up you'll be pleasantly surprised. They are fun to watch.
Hybrid Mode
