# gecko



## EarthGirl (Sep 16, 2011)

I would like to get some geckos for my 5 year old daughter to take care of. I have an old fish tank that is about 80x40x40cm that we will convert to an enclosure. I have spent some time looking around the net at different species but am now overwhelmed by the variety of geckos. Does anyone have any suggestions on the easiest / cutest / friendliest geckos. She would really like them to lay eggs and hatch babies (so would I!).


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## crail4 (Sep 16, 2011)

Velvet Geckos?


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## Red-Ink (Sep 16, 2011)

Any of the _Nephrurus_ species would do well in that as pairs for the bigger _N. amaye _or up to five individuals for the smaller nephs.

If she want's something she can watch during the day then the _Strophuru_s are the way to go, the tank size is big enough to hold a decent size colony of up to 7-10 individuals.


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## Smithers (Sep 16, 2011)

Great choice of Reptile to start with low maintenance and easy to care for and feed. Just a word of warning as many 5yrs olds will want to touch everything, these are NOT a critter for handling and should be watched only imo. Sure if your cleaning the tank you can take them out gently into another safe enclosed tub but that's all I ever do with mine in the handling.

A great book to get the basics on quite a few of the more popular captive species is Rob Porter's Keeping Australian Geckos, highly recommend and its as low as 20 online.

Good luck Earthgirl let us know how you get on with it


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## ianinoz (Sep 16, 2011)

Surely geckos would be able to be handfed by your kid if you can get them tame enough.

I've seen stacks of photos of little children with geckos shirtsurfing and handsurfing too.


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## Jk888 (Sep 16, 2011)

no geckos are not to be handled , it stresses them they drop their tails an even die . yes you can pick them up but playing an picking up are two very different things, having said that there are not very many small Australian lizards which enjoy being held in the past ive had sand swimmers which dont mind being held daily however i wouldn't recommend it.


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## GeckoGuy (Sep 16, 2011)

Most Nephrurus are easy to care for but should not be handled without a good reason.If you want eggs I would recommend Levis Levis,Levis Occidentalis and Levis Pilbarensis as they will readily lay numerous clutches in a season and can be bred much earlier than other Nephrurus.Minimum for 1 adult would be 12" by 12" of floor space so you could fit a trio in there easily.


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## EarthGirl (Sep 16, 2011)

I looked up strophurus and there are a lot of species. Which ones are you refering to? I like the look of Strophurus Taenicauda!


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## GeckoGuy (Sep 16, 2011)

Strophrurus Taenicauda (Golden Tailed Gecko's) are awesome, I plan to get some at an expo next year


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## GeckoJosh (Sep 17, 2011)

EarthGirl said:


> I looked up strophurus and there are a lot of species. Which ones are you refering to? I like the look of Strophurus Taenicauda!


Either taenicauda or cilliarus would be ok for beginners, keep in mind though if you buying hatchies the tank you have is a bit too big until they reach sub-adulthood (hatchies are less than 50mm svl)


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## EarthGirl (Sep 17, 2011)

Goldmember said:


> Either taenicauda or cilliarus would be ok for beginners, keep in mind though if you buying hatchies the tank you have is a bit too big until they reach sub-adulthood (hatchies are less than 50mm svl)



Yes - good point. We can set up a click clack for the in between time  What time of year are hatchies most available?


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## Smithers (Sep 17, 2011)

EarthGirl said:


> Yes - good point. We can set up a click clack for the in between time  What time of year are hatchies most available?



August - Sept is the Start of Breeding season for a lot of geckos so around 60+ days after that they should start hatching and a month or more after that start to be offered more readily.


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## ianinoz (Sep 17, 2011)

Those knobtails and velvets are fab geckos, if I ever decide to get licenced and set up an enclosure either knobtails or velvets will be right at the top of my WANTED LIST.

What kind of dollars are they for babies ?


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## EarthGirl (Sep 19, 2011)

I got my tank for the geckos this weekend! Yay! Except my husband underestimated the size (it was free)! The tank is actually 110cm x 40cm x 50cm. Quiet a bit larger than I had originally expected. So... I'm thinking this tank will be too big for our ambition to have a gecko family. My recent thoughts are Pygmy Beardies. Forgive my ignorance if this tank is not big enough for a breeding pair and please feel free to correct me as I have never had any type of lizards before! Decisions, decisions... to be a woman and own the right to change my mind!!! :lol:


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## KREPS2011 (Sep 19, 2011)

EarthGirl said:


> I got my tank for the geckos this weekend! Yay! Except my husband underestimated the size (it was free)! The tank is actually 110cm x 40cm x 50cm. Quiet a bit larger than I had originally expected. So... I'm thinking this tank will be too big for our ambition to have a gecko family. My recent thoughts are Pygmy Beardies. Forgive my ignorance if this tank is not big enough for a breeding pair and please feel free to correct me as I have never had any type of lizards before! Decisions, decisions... to be a woman and own the right to change my mind!!! :lol:


 
You could own a trio of pygmy beardies in that size tank. I have pair of pygmy beardies in 3ft enclosure and their happy as. 

KREPS2011


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## mad_at_arms (Sep 19, 2011)

Is 40cms the depth or height of the tank??


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## GeckoJosh (Sep 19, 2011)

Central Netted dragons would suit that tank nicely


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## EarthGirl (Sep 20, 2011)

mad_at_arms said:


> Is 40cms the depth or height of the tank??



40cms is the depth



Goldmember said:


> Central Netted dragons would suit that tank nicely



Would central netted dragons tolerate being handled as well as beardies do?



KREPS2011 said:


> You could own a trio of pygmy beardies in that size tank. I have pair of pygmy beardies in 3ft enclosure and their happy as.
> 
> KREPS2011



Great - thanks for letting me know. Did you get your beardies as hatchies. Is there anyway of telling their sex when they are so small? The reason I'm asking is I read you need an unrelated pair to mate and I would like to get our beardies when they are small. Apologies now for all the silly questions.


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## GeckoJosh (Sep 20, 2011)

Central Netted Dragons can be handled but dont really like it, they also can be a bit nippy.
But what they lack in handling they make up in behaviour, they are one of the most interesting herps to watch interact with one another.
They constantly run around head bobbing and waving to one another.


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