Diurnal desert gecko
- Thread starter MageAx
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thorrshamri
Moderator/The French Viking Moderathorr
The Rhoptropus genus from Namibia and other parts of Southern Africa are small, diurnal geckos living in the desert. They are difficult to find and may be expensive as CB. Other than that, North African geckos of the Ptyodactylus genus are typical followers of civilization, often found near or in houses as well as in rocky cliffs in the wild. They are active both day and night. Both aforementionned gecko genuses will need high UVBs (10.0) and eat only appropriately sized insects. Both genuses are extremely fast, Ptyodactylus geckos aka fan-footed geckos are hardy, easy to keep, very territorial, provided you heat them with a basking spot over 100°F and a subsequent night time temp drop. They are also very vocal geckos. I strongly advise not to keep more than a pair together because of their territoriality. Rhoptropus will spend a lot of time on ground level but may climb very well on boulders, while Ptyodactylus will need a vertically oriented enclosure, preferrably with stone walls (use rough tiles or slates). In Europe, Benjamin Scheler is a specialist of Ptyos, I keep P. ragazzi (the largest Ptyo species, about 20cm long with tail) and have kept and bred Ptyodactylus guttatus in the past (smaller, about 15cm but less shy than ragazzi which spend a lot of time hidden in rock cracks or behind vertical rocks). They are often imported from countries such as Egypt and found in some reptile shops, of course CB (CB= NC en français) are way more preferrable to specimens collected in the wild for obvious reasons. As for Rhoptropus, Hamm is the only place you will be able to find some...maybe, and at 200€ or more per specimen. Ptyos are usually much cheaper than this, pairs of the most common species are between 50 and 100€. You can keep them in ExoTerra with a covered top, but be careful as these guys are so fast that they may easily escape. If you can't go to Hamm, I might be able to help for the June or September show.
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MageAx
New member
Rabzouz thank you for this species! 
Thank you for your advice Thorr !
I am interested in Ptyodactylus, I think the Rhoptropus and Pristurus carteri are too rare. For UV and heat what do you think bulbs Solar Raptor? I have a terrarium 100cm length, 50cm wide and 70cm high. With these dimentions a small group of small Ptyodactylus is possible? With just one male of course. What other species Ptyodactylus available in captivity?
I can not go to Hamm. With a little luck I can go in December, but nothing is less sure. Go you in ReptilDay (formerly ReptilExpo) in June?
Thank you for your advice Thorr !
I am interested in Ptyodactylus, I think the Rhoptropus and Pristurus carteri are too rare. For UV and heat what do you think bulbs Solar Raptor? I have a terrarium 100cm length, 50cm wide and 70cm high. With these dimentions a small group of small Ptyodactylus is possible? With just one male of course. What other species Ptyodactylus available in captivity?
I can not go to Hamm. With a little luck I can go in December, but nothing is less sure. Go you in ReptilDay (formerly ReptilExpo) in June?
thorrshamri
Moderator/The French Viking Moderathorr
Ptyodactylus are best kept in pairs, NOT in groups of one male with several females, at least in my experience. These geckos are VERY territorial. Solar Raptor bulbs would work, though an eco bulb such as Arcadia or Zoomed 10.0 would be fine.
Your terrarium is huge for a pair of Ptyos! In DYI centers (Leroy Merlin, and possibly Castorama), you can find what they call "pierres de parement" for walls INSIDE houses, it is about 15-20€ for a big pack. I use them in my Ptyodactylus terrarium, glued with silicon sealer for aquariums (silicone pour aquarium, en animalerie rayon aquariophilie), so you can "decorate" the walls of the terrarium with rocky surfaces inside the terrarium, if I'm clear for you. A 45x45x60 ExoTerra would be enough for 1:1, maybe you can keep your big terrarium for another reptile species? I have written a care sheet about Ptyodactylus in French on Les Dragons d'Asgard forum, maybe you can find it and use it. You need to be a registered user on this forum with 5 or more posts to see the care sheets.
They need a small bowl of water and sprayings 1-2 times a week with warm water inside the terrarium, no spraying at all in winter. Increasing temps stimulates breeding in Spring- I just change the basking bulb to a more powerful one (from 40 to 60 or 75 watts). Avoid buying from shops, imported animals are always full of parasites. The substrate is not really important as they almost never go on the ground, I use fine sand. I use pieces of "agglos/parpaings" as hides. A heat mat can be placed vertically outside the terrarium, behind the rear wall. I use a normal bulb (40 or 60-75W depending on seasons as I said) coupled to an Arcadia 10.0 UVB bulb and it works really fine. They will eat crickets (grillons) without problems, they like small locusts (criquets) and roaches (blattes) too. Don't give them superworms or mealworms (vers de farine et morios).
You will hear Ptyodactylus often, they emit vocalizations quite similar to a small chirping bird. It is not a loud noise, so if you have them in your bedroom, it is not a problem. They glue their eggs on rocky surfaces, don't try to remove the eggs, either transfer the piece of rock to an incubator or leave the eggs incubate inside the terrarium, with a protection such as a piece of pantyhose (un morceau de collant) to protect the eggs from crickets (crickets can damage eggs) and when they hatch, from their parents.
I don't think I will go to Arras in June, but depending on where you live, I will have to go to Hamm either in June or in September, and if you live near Cambrai, Valenciennes or Amiens, this is the road I take. You can send me a private message if you need an arrangment with me
Your terrarium is huge for a pair of Ptyos! In DYI centers (Leroy Merlin, and possibly Castorama), you can find what they call "pierres de parement" for walls INSIDE houses, it is about 15-20€ for a big pack. I use them in my Ptyodactylus terrarium, glued with silicon sealer for aquariums (silicone pour aquarium, en animalerie rayon aquariophilie), so you can "decorate" the walls of the terrarium with rocky surfaces inside the terrarium, if I'm clear for you. A 45x45x60 ExoTerra would be enough for 1:1, maybe you can keep your big terrarium for another reptile species? I have written a care sheet about Ptyodactylus in French on Les Dragons d'Asgard forum, maybe you can find it and use it. You need to be a registered user on this forum with 5 or more posts to see the care sheets.
They need a small bowl of water and sprayings 1-2 times a week with warm water inside the terrarium, no spraying at all in winter. Increasing temps stimulates breeding in Spring- I just change the basking bulb to a more powerful one (from 40 to 60 or 75 watts). Avoid buying from shops, imported animals are always full of parasites. The substrate is not really important as they almost never go on the ground, I use fine sand. I use pieces of "agglos/parpaings" as hides. A heat mat can be placed vertically outside the terrarium, behind the rear wall. I use a normal bulb (40 or 60-75W depending on seasons as I said) coupled to an Arcadia 10.0 UVB bulb and it works really fine. They will eat crickets (grillons) without problems, they like small locusts (criquets) and roaches (blattes) too. Don't give them superworms or mealworms (vers de farine et morios).
You will hear Ptyodactylus often, they emit vocalizations quite similar to a small chirping bird. It is not a loud noise, so if you have them in your bedroom, it is not a problem. They glue their eggs on rocky surfaces, don't try to remove the eggs, either transfer the piece of rock to an incubator or leave the eggs incubate inside the terrarium, with a protection such as a piece of pantyhose (un morceau de collant) to protect the eggs from crickets (crickets can damage eggs) and when they hatch, from their parents.
I don't think I will go to Arras in June, but depending on where you live, I will have to go to Hamm either in June or in September, and if you live near Cambrai, Valenciennes or Amiens, this is the road I take. You can send me a private message if you need an arrangment with me
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thorrshamri
Moderator/The French Viking Moderathorr
I have no idea whether you can find Ptyos in Arras. Most likely, if you find them there, they would be wild, imported animals. Yes, you can use my care sheet for all Ptyo species. The best option in my opinion is Hamm and what I've told you before.
There should be no problem housing them in a large terrarium, provided they can easily spot prey insects. Do not leave wandering insects inside the terrarium, this is a general rule for all geckos, it would stress them if they constantly have uneaten prey bothering them once they are not hungry any more.
There should be no problem housing them in a large terrarium, provided they can easily spot prey insects. Do not leave wandering insects inside the terrarium, this is a general rule for all geckos, it would stress them if they constantly have uneaten prey bothering them once they are not hungry any more.