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    Care Sheet - Helmeted Gecko (Tarentola Chazaliae)

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    John Gamesby
    Helmeted geckos are found along the northwest African coast from Mauritania to Morocco, within 3 miles of the ocean in desert habitats with little vegetation. They store fat along their sides rather than in their tails. During the day their coloration camouflages them in the sand, changing to brown and speckled at night. For housing, a terrarium or aquarium at least 80x45x45 cm is suitable, with sand, pebbles, cork bark hides, and moss patches for humidity. They breed from February to September, with females laying eggs every 4 weeks that are incubated at 24C. UV lighting for 12 hours per day and a temperature gradient from 27-28C

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    Care Sheet - Helmeted Gecko (Tarentola Chazaliae)

    Uploaded by

    John Gamesby
    2K views2 pages
    Helmeted geckos are found along the northwest African coast from Mauritania to Morocco, within 3 miles of the ocean in desert habitats with little vegetation. They store fat along their sides rather than in their tails. During the day their coloration camouflages them in the sand, changing to brown and speckled at night. For housing, a terrarium or aquarium at least 80x45x45 cm is suitable, with sand, pebbles, cork bark hides, and moss patches for humidity. They breed from February to September, with females laying eggs every 4 weeks that are incubated at 24C. UV lighting for 12 hours per day and a temperature gradient from 27-28C

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    Care Sheet - Helmeted Gecko (Tarentola chazaliae)

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    Care Sheet - Helmeted Gecko (Tarentola chazaliae)

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    Helmeted geckos are found along the northwest African coast from Mauritania to Morocco, within 3 miles of the ocean in desert habitats with little vegetation. They store fat along their sides rather than in their tails. During the day their coloration camouflages them in the sand, changing to brown and speckled at night. For housing, a terrarium or aquarium at least 80x45x45 cm is suitable, with sand, pebbles, cork bark hides, and moss patches for humidity. They breed from February to September, with females laying eggs every 4 weeks that are incubated at 24C. UV lighting for 12 hours per day and a temperature gradient from 27-28C

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Care Sheet - Helmeted Gecko (Tarentola Chazaliae)

    Uploaded by

    John Gamesby
    Helmeted geckos are found along the northwest African coast from Mauritania to Morocco, within 3 miles of the ocean in desert habitats with little vegetation. They store fat along their sides rather than in their tails. During the day their coloration camouflages them in the sand, changing to brown and speckled at night. For housing, a terrarium or aquarium at least 80x45x45 cm is suitable, with sand, pebbles, cork bark hides, and moss patches for humidity. They breed from February to September, with females laying eggs every 4 weeks that are incubated at 24C. UV lighting for 12 hours per day and a temperature gradient from 27-28C

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
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    Care Sheet - Helmeted Geckos

    Helmeted geckos (Geckonia chazaliae)


    This interesting little Geckos can be found along the North West African coast
    from Rio de Oro in Mauritania, northwards all the way to Morocco. They are not
    normally found more than three miles inland. Although such proximity to the
    ocean increases humidity, the habitat of the gecko is desert with little vegetation
    where they can hide during the day.
    Description
    This gecko is sometimes mistaken for a rather short and stout species of Agama.
    Like Agamas, the helmeted gecko stores its own fat reserves along the side of its
    body, rather than in its tail as most other geckos do. Its head is separate from the
    body and at the rear of the head there are enlarged tubercular scales which
    resemble a helmet, giving this gecko its name. These geckos have tough skin
    and can be handled but this can also stress them.
    The Helmeted Gecko has no eyelids, and relies on its tongue to clean the
    brille/surface of the eyes. The pupils are vertical, like many other nocturnal
    species of gecko. During the day, the helmeted geckos colour blends in
    remarkably well with the sand. At night, the light sandy colour changes to
    chocolate brown, with dark and light speckles along its spine.
    The tail of this species has not got much fat storage capability, and so it looks
    very thin in comparison to other types of geckos.
    Husbandry
    Housing is a very important consideration when thinking about getting a lizard.
    Helmeted geckos are best housed in a Terrarium or an aquarium.
    One male can be housed together with up to four females. The size of the
    enclosure of a harem of helmeted geckos should be at least 80x45x45cm.
    The dcor can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. Use sand with a few
    small pebbles and pieces of cork bark for them to hide under, and one or two
    patches of sphagnum moss to keep it permanently damp and to raise the
    humidity slightly. These geckos are part nocturnal and so they like to hide in the

    day. A simple hide can be made of plastic guttering or hard cardboard tube2.
    Breeding
    Breeding females are should be between 20-25 grams and are very prone to
    calcium deficiency when breeding. So conditioning is essential especially for the
    females and added Calcium+D3 should be added to the food prier, and after egg
    laying.
    Helmeted Geckos breed from about February to September and lay hard shelled
    eggs ever 4 weeks.
    Incubate in dry substrate with damp vermiculite around the dry area and incubate
    at about 24C.
    Lighting and Heating
    Although helmeted geckos are nocturnal, they seem to have a high demand for
    ultra violet (UV), especially babies and sub adults. A full spectrum lighting tube
    should be placed in the vivarium, and should be switched on for at least twelve
    hours per day.
    The daytime temperature should be around 27-28 C, and a hot spot of about 35
    C should be provided. Part of the vivarium must be kept cool to allow them to
    thermoregulate. At night the temperature should be allowed to fall to 20 C.
    Feeding
    Babies should be fed on micro brown crickets, and all adult geckos should be fed
    medium to large brown crickets. To improve the rapid growth of babies, all food
    should be dusted with calcium every feed and multi-vitamin should be used twice
    a week. A shallow water dish should be placed in the vivarium for drinking.
    John

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