DAS ZWERGGECKO-FORUM

Hello friends,

I would like to know what your common practice regarding young Gonatodes keeping is. Providing that you have 2 (or 3), in one breeding season consecutively hatched, young individuals of the same Gonatodes specie I wonder if you keep them together in one common breeding box or you separate them strictly without delay to avoid some potential conflicts/injuries .

My Phelsuma practice is that I can keep up to four hatchlings (2 hatchs á eggs, the age difference between pairs - 3 weeks) in one smaller terrarium without any visible problems. However, time to time I also separate the young if it grows too rapidly or if the first conflicts amongst males start later. Of course, Phelsumas are not Gonatodes and that is why I ask you kindly to share your experiences.

With best regards,
Radim

Ahoj Radime,

muzu asi psat cesky... Gonatody nemam, ale zkusenosti s felsumami, Lygodactyly a Sphaerodactyly mam vetsinou takove, ze jakykoliv pocet krome dvou mladat v jednom terariu je dobry, do urciteho veku. Myslim ze Sphaerodactylus je ekologicky dost podobny jako Gonatodes a osvedcilo se mi chovat 3-4 jedincu v jedne ubikaci. U Lygodactylu je to asi jedina moznost, jsou dost druzni a chovani po jednom ocividne chradnou. CHov po vicero u nich jde i do vyssiho veku, i dele nez pul roku.

Doufam, ze Ti poradi nekdo primo o rodu Gonatodes. Napis jake druhy chovas, kontakt s lidmi kteri chovaji stejna zvirata jako ja je dulezity.

Zdravi,
Petr

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Phelsuma inexpectata, klemmeri, madagascariensis, nigristriata
Lygodactylus kimhowelli, picturatus
Sphaerodactylus elegans, torrei
Chalcides sexlineatus

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Phelsuma breviceps, guimbeaui, guttata, hoeschi, inexpectata, klemmeri, madagascariensis, nigristriata, pasteuri, standingi
Sphaerodactylus torrei, Tympanocryptis tetraporophora, Platysaurus intermedius und andere Echsen und Schlangen

Hello Radim!
I don´t understand, what Petr wrote, so i hope that i won´t write the same to you
I keep my juvenile Gonatodes together in small plastic boxes. The juveniles should have nearly the same age (+-one month). You can also keep them together with Sphaerodactylus or even Lygodactylus without any problems. But they have to be the same length! I made the best experience with one Gonatodes + two different Sphaerodactylus species or one Lygodactylus/Phelsuma species, the worst experiece i´ve made was with one Gonatodes alb. alb. and one Gonatodes caudiscutatus: the G. albogularis are that kind of agressive so that it killed the caudiscutatus. However, keeping 2 G. alb. albogularis together or G. alb. albogularis with Lygodactylus or Sphaerodactylus is no problem..
Greetings
Dennis

Nazdar Petre,

dekuji Ti moc za Tve informace a zkusenosti s odchovem malych Lygodactylu a Sphaerodactylu. Domnivam se, ze rovnez mali Gonatodi nebudou vuci sobe agresivni (coz v podstate potvrzuje az na jednu vyjimku i Dennis) a budou se moci odchovavat do urciteho veku pohromade. Bohuzel zatim se pohybuji jen v teoreticke rovine nebot chovam pouze jeden chovny par Gonatodes albogularis fuscus a od Gonatodes vittatus mam jen samce. Od meho paru GAF jsem v 05/2008 nahodou nasel v substratu jedno vejce, ale bohuzel i po cca 130 dnech se nic nevylihlo (asi jsem je nasel a dal inkubovat prilis pozde). Dalsi vejce jsem jiz nehledal at par prilis nestresuji, pouze jsem samici nabidl ke snusce vajec upravene stonky kridlatky japonske (viz jiny prispevek v teto sekci pro anglicky hovorci chovatele), zatim jsem ale zadne vejce v techto stoncich nenalezl.
Lygodactyly ani Sphaerodaclyly nechovam (prestoze jsou jako vsichni denni gekoni nadherni), Sphaerodactylove ani s vyjimkou eleganse nejsou moc nabizeni, mam jen par beznejsich druhu Phelsum. Navíc je tu klasicky problem s mistem, bydlim v panelovem dome.

Petre, jestli je to jen trochu mozne, chtel bych Te poprosit aby jsi sve prispevky/odpovedi psal anglicky (s propadnými chybami si hlavu nedelej), jde o to aby vsichni ostatni navstevnici porozumeli a mohli take reagovat.

Zdravim a preji hodne uspechu v chovu !
Radim

Hi Dennis,

first of all I would like to thank you for your information-full reply, I really appreciate your almost daily consulting with less experienced breeders very much . It is very promising that there exists almost risk-free possibility to keep young Gonatodes together for certain time, even if due to their small size it would be not so big problem for any breeder to keep them separately in small breeding boxes. Thanks for sharing your experiences with next young day geckos (Lygodactylus/Sphaerodactylus/Phelsuma) keeping in common, too! I heard only about young Gonatodes/small Phelsuma specie temporary keeping up to now.

As for Peter’s response I will try to translate for you into English the most substantial passage from his answer:

He has no Gonatodes in his breeding today, but he has experience enough with following genera - Phelsuma, Lygodactylus and Sphaerodactylus. He says that any number (with the exception of two juveniles) of juveniles kept in one terrarium is OK, however, all that to the certain age limit of the young individuals only. He thinks that Sphaerodactylus is ecologically pretty similar with Gonatodes and he has approved himself breeding up to 3-4 juveniles in one terrarium. As for him it is maybe the only one possibility for Lygodactylus as they are pretty social, and when bred individually/separately they can waste away. He keeps more his younger Lygodactylus along even longer than six months.

Dennis, my question concerning common life of Gonatodes juvies is still in “theoretical level” for the present. I found first one fuscus’s egg by chance in my terrarium in mid May (it is still in incubation, however, with lower and lower probability of its successful hatchling). And since that time I have been waiting for either next egg finding (I do not seek too frequently and deeply not to disturb the breeding pair; most beautiful lignified stems from the meadow were offered to my female for her egg laying ) or first juvenile remark in parental terrarium after successful hatchling in situ.

With best regards,
Radim

P.S. I asked Peter to use preferably English (if possible) for his comments/breeding recommendations let also all other readers can understand all queries/comments/recommendations.

Hi guys,

sorry for my letter in Czech language, I hav it written only to get in contact with Radim. He answered me in Czech and pleased me to write anything more in English, for everybody here. I sometimes write something also in German but two years of learning are not enough to good communication.

I keep two species of Sphaerodactylus but I have them for two months so I am not much experienced in their breeding Hope next year it will be better!

Yesterday I was moving the furniture in my living room because one juvenile of Sphaerodactylus torrei found a way from his new little terrarium (through the tube for light cabel - I forgot to put a gap there). I thought I will never more find him but he was under the carpet. However, especially Spharodactylus juveniles are very quickly, so I had to move the wardrobe ... etc. But I captured him, so everything is O.K.

Hope you do not have similar experiences with your little geckos.

With best regards,
Petr

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Phelsuma breviceps, guimbeaui, guttata, hoeschi, inexpectata, klemmeri, madagascariensis, nigristriata, pasteuri, standingi
Sphaerodactylus torrei, Tympanocryptis tetraporophora, Platysaurus intermedius und andere Echsen und Schlangen

Hello Petr,

I am really glad to see you so active on this great web site. I admire you mistake-free German, my one is much worse and so I could hardly to post my comments or suggestions in German here. I found your breeder introduction as a very nice, too.

Well, as for small day gecko escapes I think that they are pretty common. I could not find my Phelsuma quadriocellata female escaping through incredibly narrow slot of not properly closed terrarium sliding doors approx one year ago. Finally, after long eight days, I found her quite content basking on orchid leaf. All necessary was quite near by - water in flower pot tray, orchid flower nectar above and small flies, which were present in soil of some grown plants, flying around. Real paradise! The second escape of my klemmeri female was only “one hour case” as she was found almost in the same place as her colleague she just preferred the leaf of Phalaeopsis instead of Cattleya’s crossbreed . Reportedly, some day geckos were caught when approaching the warmer light of lamp directed to a wall in the evening.

Best regards,
Radim

P.S. As for Spaeros, Lygos and Gonatodes bred in our country I would say that their list is a little bit longer as not all Czech breeders advertise their juveniles . I saw a couple of L. williamsi imports for sale last week in Ostrava (if I am right the seller’s name is M. Marecek from Zlin). I also heard that some other breeder from Kromeriz has already his first L. williamsi hatchlings at home.