Care Sheet for Geckos: Knob TailAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.17 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 01/25/2006 |
Main Category: | Lizards |
Sub Category: | Geckos: Knob Tail |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Spic |
Years Experience: | Under 1 Year |
Species: | Nephrurus amyae (Rough Knob Tailed) |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | This is meant for Rough Knob Tailed geckos only |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Sexing knob tails is hard when they are mature, it is best to see a vet. the males are often smaller then the females but you can never tell. This species usually is grown and ready to breed at an age of 12 months. Like other gecko species the males are territorial and should not be kept together under any circumstances. If you place a place and female in the same enclosure when they are ready to breed, too things may happen, the female may elevate herself, trying to look bigger, maybe she will lift up her knob of a tail and try to keep her distance, if she does this she is NOT ready and they should be separated. a female ready to breed will see a male, stay still and lay low to the ground or on the ground altogether, in a submissive looking posture.
Be for you breed it is also most successfully if you provide a 3 month period of less moisture, feeding, and a heat ranges of 75 -80 F during day and 70- 75 F at night to imitate winter, and when you bring feeding heat and moisture back to the regular level it will imitate spring, and they will be compelled to start mating. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | These geckos should be kept on sand, unlike other geckos. The amount of sand depends on what they are doing. Normally 1 inch of fine sand will be OK because these Nephrurus amyae is not an avid digger but if you have a gravid female you need to have 5-6 inches of sand so that she can comfortably burrow and lay eggs or she will refuse to lay them and this could cause serious problems and even lead to death. To be sure they are drinking water it is best to mist them down 1-2 times a week while they are out of their hide outs. |
Lighting and UVB: | These geckos are nocturnal by nature and it is best to give them a light schedule of around 12 hours lights on to 12 hours night time. I use 3 lights, one nocturnal flood light for when i want to see them at night, one heat spot light to create a basking area on the hot side, and one flood UVB light to help them absorb calcium from their meals (not required with proper supplements BUT i recommend it) |
Temperatures and Humidity: | The Nephrurus amyae is of the rough skin category of knob tailed geckos. These geckos don’t need much humidity. The cool side of the tank should be misted 1-2 times a week and even less during the cooler months of the year. The hide outs do not need to be misted. The warm side can stay dry year round. |
Heating and Equipment: | The temperature during the day should be 80-85. one side should be 80, the other should be 85. Now during the night time they will come out and be ready to eat, after eating they will want a warm place to rest on, the warmth on their belly will help them digest. To keep this warm area, an under tank heater is good. A flat rock big enough for them to rest on could retain the heat from the basking light through most of the night, and that would work. A more controversial method, is buying a heat rock that they can crawl onto and you just plug it in at night. i use the heat heat rock because the brand i bought took steps to reduce Hot spots that may burn reptiles and I’m sure to turn it off during the day in case the heat from the lamp and rock becomes to great for the reptile. there are people who do not trust the heat rocks anyways because there is still a risk, its all up to you |
Caging Provided: | These rough knob tailed geckos are the biggest of the knob tailed geckos. a minimal surface area of 1 by 2 feet is required per gecko. A 10 gallon tank has a 1 by 2 area. |
Diet: | Carnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Knob tailed geckos have large heads. this is especially the case with Nephrurus amyae. This allows them to eat larger meals with less of a problem. They are insectivores and should be kept to only insects. Recommended insects are crickets, meal worms, silk worms and lobster cockroaches. Wax worms can be fed to them at a rate of 3 or less a week. There are breeders who swear by feeding females pinkies in order to fatten them up and prepare them for breeding but I don’t recommend them. There is no guarantee pinkies will make them sick, but they COULD create fatty liver disease and impaction from the bones as under developed as they are. Keep to insects! silk worms and roaches are best and can each be used as a staple diet. meal worms and crickets are good too and can be used as staple diets. don’t let you geckos get hooked on wax worms, be careful with them. Each day feed them all they want to eat in 30 minutes. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | Use a calcium supplement with D3 and powder all their food with it ever day of the week. Some say its better to get 2 supplements, one with D3, one with out, and feed them food with D3 only a few times a week, and use the regular calcium every day you not using the D3 supplement... if you got that. |
Maintenance: | Feeding every day, cleaning up the poop at least once a week, and making sure you mist twice a week unless its during the 3 cooler months is it i think. But if you have a gravid female who displaces allot of sand and seems restless don’t touch the sand let her do what she wants until she lays the eggs. |
Some Words on this Species: | They look like little dinosaurs i love them, don’t expect to see them during the day, and if you want some TALK TO ME 1st to buy them!! if your from this web sight ill probably give you a good deal. |
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